Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-09-02
THE MOOR OF VENICE
SOME o5THE orHELLos AND LAGOS
OF THE PAST.

mund Kcun'H Characterization of
the Noor-IScan's Death.
One Is struck by the number Of great
actors who have attempted Othcllo ami
failed in 1t. The really successful
othcllos are n very small and select
company. Burbagc, one assumes, was
the original Moor, and was probably
MS good In it as in any other part he
played.
! We get in Mr.. Pepys' Diary two
quaint references to the play. On Oct.
III, 1850, he tells us he went with Mr..
Salisbury and Mr.. Creed to see dThe
Moor of Venice" as It was always
called then. 1t "was well done. Burt
acted the Moor. BY the same token n
very pretty lady that sat by me called
out to see Desdemona smothered."
Nine years later, OH Feb. 6, 1GGS, he
writes: "To the kings playhouse, and
there In an upper box did sec The
Moor Of Venice but Ill acted In most
parts, MOhun, which did n little sur
prise me, not acting lagos part by
much so well as Clun used to do; nor
smother Iart's, which was Cassio's, nor
indeed Burt doing the Moor's so we'll
us l once thought he did" But Mr..
Iepys was in bad temper that night,
Tor Ills carriage had broken down on
the way home, and he was "mightily
YeXed, poor wretch"
Bettcrton's Otlcllo would apncar to
nave been remarkable performance.
NSne writer speaks of 1.-The terrible force
or his Othcllo," and Addison says: "The
wonderful agony which he appeared in
when he examined the circumstance OF
the handkerchief in the part of Othcllo,
the mixture Of love that intruded upon
MS mind upon the innocent answers
Desdcmona makes, betrayed in his gcsJ
ture such variety and vicssitudc Of
passions as would admonish man to
bepfraid Of his own heart"
1t was In the Portugal Street thea
ter. sometimes styled the Dukes thea
ter, that Bctterton played, but we have
unfortunately but little record Of his
appearance in the part, nor do we
know how he was dressed for It. The
costume some of the old actors adoptcd
for the part appears to modern taste
quite ludicrOus. In his "Autobiogra-
ply Reynolds tells us he remembered
seeing Sprangcr Barry play Othcllo In
full suit of gold laced scarlet, n small
cooked hat, knee brooches and silk
stockings.
Garrick was but n poor Othello OK
cept in the scene where Iago first i'm
plants the suspicion Of Destlcmona, anu
Quin WAS very little superior. But
Garrick did. at any rate. adopt Moor
ish costume, startling innovation.
which led one writer to say that he
was llnmcaningly dressed On the first
night Quin was In the pit and when
Garrick entered exclaimed In allusion
TO IIogarth's black boy: Here's Pom
pcy, by -! Where's the lamp and
the tcakettlc:"
John Philip Kcmblc also did much to
improve the public ideas on the fitness
of costume IN the thcatcr. The stiff
skirtcd coat, brooches, waistcoat, black
face, white, full bottomcd wig and
three cooked hat which tradition pre-
scribcd for Othello despite Garrick's
landable cndcavor was swept away
after Kcmble's time. He himself
played Iago much better than Othello.
and Byron said OF the performance
that 1t was perfection.
Another very excellent lingo was
George Frederick Cooke. Playing the
part one night at York, he was loudly
Kissed by two or three men In the au-
dIence, who cried OUT, "What a VII
lain. 1t was compliment he much
appreciated.
Coming, to Edmund Kean. we find
this actor playing Othello and Iago on
alternate nights. DR.. Doran says Of
Kean's Othcllo, "In the fcrcer scenes
he was unsurpassablc, and in the great
third act none who remembers him
will, ! think, be prepared to allow that
he ever had or is likely to have an
equal" His Iago was quite original,
"a careless, cordial, comfortable VII
lain." as Hnzlitt calls him.
Subsequently Kean played Othcllo
to the Iago OF Young. 1t Ind been ar
ranged that they should alternate the
parts, but after the first performance
Kean preferred to leave ,Ingo to Young.
Il flatter myself" he said to Whit
bread, who was then manager OF Dr,l-
~ Lane, "he could not net Othello as
!, yet what chance should I have i'm
1ago after him with his musical voice ?"
Kean's last Appearance OH the stage,
on March %, 1888, was in "Othcllo,"
with his son Charles as Iago. Kcan
went through the play, "dying as he
went" until he came to Farewell.
Othello's occupation gone" Then he
gasped for breath, tried to begin the
next speech and fell forward on his
sons shoulder, moaning: II am dying.
Speak to them for me-"
Charles Ynunf, 1vas nSnnIlnnt Il Innn