The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-22
4EIDSUMMEU NIGHTS DREAM
,,,Ir BTSSELL 4 "PUCk' or Ex-
oJrSJTE CHARM AND SPIRITS.

,Oun Bum, LeSiumate'S SC ores as bot
,om"-Thr New AstOr Opened with
ShnLespcariRn Production % Tn
n.,,l Integrity aDd Poetic Suggestion.
Tho s,erusst stickler for the ShakeSpearian
In,tstiss must have been charmed last
", Nv the performances Of "A Midsummer
S W. Dream at the new Aston Theatre II
L.bsdthe least capacity for poetic allure
,a.r, and liking for the witchery Of fairy
harm and fun, A long catalogue could be
asdso f the defects Of the production. The
..,, vas cut, paraphrased and transposed a.
,hs custom Of the modern stage. Many
= The actors lacked distinction, and all
y ,hsm at times fell short in that prime
o,nisi,e of the poetic dramA-cleAr and
Ed.icsllv modulated speech. But the fact
D.osips that by and large the play was
ivan in greater integrity and with hort
= the rrus ShakcsPeayian atnosph"re ~
Jrs,m poetry and wakeful humor than 1t
~. heen our fortune u find for many a
"TTbs cute and t~ranspositions were sur
= zrsineIy few. and the performance wa
apooriided, without delay and without
Svrrv. bet ween the hours II 3 and IL.
throughout the audience was manifestly
nis.sed. and there were times when one
~, an exposition Of courage and hope
uncn him a. powerful a. Bottoms EXPOSE
I'm oi sleep-theI fine frenzy Of poetic rap
mr.. in which il seemed possible TO square
IA circle by two times two OF win the
Vanderbilt cup race on a velocipede.
Miss Annie Russell has e more
truly at home than as the frolicksome,
Kindly inn. Robin GoodfeHov. This was
NJ creature of half draped feminine curves
and pretended romps. Always, In Miss
Russelrs most modern assumptions, there
Sas neen something Of disembodied, elish
snirits. Of frank grace and sly Invention,
Lindling upward into the sphere OF refined
and compelling poetry. Last night she
found her trIe medium, was transported
and transported Us all.
Pvrk walked on his heels with iaunty
shrlutness and abandon. Puck danced
on he tirs Of his toes with the liRhtest,
most inconseCuent grace. His eyebrows
Jared above ~slanting. half demoniAc eyes.
His lcng face shone with merrinent. In
one moment Of perplexity he rubbed an
ankle with the point of his great toe, and
when the invention was found he clapped
his hands with impish glee. Glow worms,
owls and bats he teased delightedly. He be-
fooled the crew of Bottom and Peter Ounce
with amiabls nal lice and played his pranks in
the love affairs of The gentle Athenians
with impish kindness. He danced with a
humor t1at was Of the eddying winds, and
scared aloft among the treetops like a dis
embodied Joy. The touch of the %grotesQue
was upon Il all, at once insistent and evan
escent. Miss Russell was, in short, Shake
~speare's merrie wanderer of the night as
be has never appeared TO us before,
The Bottom OF the surprisingly able actor
John Bunny was scarcely less a delight.
In sheer cleverness it fell short, perhaps,
Of Nat Goodwin's rendering OF the part.
But where Mr.. Goodwin was always the
actor c%ontriving his effects. Mr.. Bunny
got into the skin Of the s-elf-consctous bump
kin. and instead Of artistry gave us sheer
native mirth. And the rest OF the band Of
artisan actors we're scarcely less spon-
taneous and true in their fun. The Ounce
Of Thomas Coffin Cooke was the carpenter
dramatist to the life.
There were times when the quartet OF en-
chanted lovers lacked personal distinction
and c~learness in the utterance of their lines.
But In the rIcial scene Of their distracted
wranglings in the wood they brought out
the broad human farce Of the situation with
striking effect. Seldom has the scene
seemed less forced and more spontaneously
funny,
The keynote of the production in the macs
was beauty and vivacity in moderation.
The two woodland scenes were enchanting
deep and rich in atmosphere, with no
touch too much in the matter of properties
and effects. There were no electric toad
stools. Owl and glow worm were suR-
gestive Incidents, unspoiled by mechanical
fight or i~nsistent superiority. Puck and
some few Of the fairies scared aerially at
times upon wires, but with Tar more Of
Pete. Pan than OF Beauty and the
Beast
There was less of dancing than the text
pstiiee, and the music OF Mendelssohn,
Ischaikowsky and Dvorjak never obtruded
upon the lines Of Shakespeare. The single
srring note wasSa drapery dance a Ia Loie
RULER. II was not particularly we'll done,
and to introduce il the dawning light Of
Day in the forest glade was affronted by
light.
Particularly admirable was the simple
and poetic suggestion that enveloped he
ietlnue OF the Fairy Queen! Their ap-
pfoach was heralded by a musical mono
Tone waxing and waning as they came
ana went. uncanny to the point of the
weird, yet always charming, always beau
Il is the custom of the merely literary
critics to say that the spirit Of this play
Vsnlshes amid the concrete -Appurtenanoes
the playhouse. II that were true It would
1gue Shakespeare at once inapt as a poet
ana a failure as a dramatist. Unless all
sgns fail, the great public. and that In the
PUBIC the great playwright labored TO please,
VII lake the present production to its heart
= us own. And in spite OF its many and
manifest shortcomings. those who recog-
use Miss Russell as the rarest OF our poetic
A1resses and one Of the most powerful
WI not be wanting in the audiences, for IL
. lons cay since they have been privi-