The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-06
CDe CDeatres
"The Eternal Citr."

l
 AS Edward Morgan and his company play l ed The Eternal City" here last season a re- view of Hall Gaines great drama. pro- l duced at the Montgomery Theatre last night With Jane Remark es the star. Is of value
 in a comparative way only.
 Hal Caine Is always overpowering. He IS stupendous in whatever he undertakes. And so. a Hall Caine play without hundreds of people on the stage and without d for
 tune tn scenery appears inadequate. Mr. Morgan's company left this impression be- hind 1t. The thought Is intensified when one views the company of which Miss Ken. mark Is the head. Inadequacy the dom mating fault with The Eternal City, as
 presented last night. Hundreds of people
 are not slain with few rifle shots thous- ands of people passing through a street make more noise than the hum of half a
 dozen voices. These were the defects that
 marred The Eternal City" of Mr. Morgan
 They were even more marked last night If
 we are to have such scenes effort should be
 made to give them at least a semblance
 Of relaity.
 But Hall Caine's trenchant pen does mt
 trace dull lines. He strikes boldly at the
 very flores of the human heart and reaches
 them every time. In ''The Eternal City,
 dramatic interest Is cumulative and notwith- standing the defects of Its version for the
 stage, it will ever be one of the great dra- mas of human life.
 Those who revelled in the remarkably clever portrayal of Cigarette by Miss Ken mark last year were somewhat disappointed In her Donna Roma and yet there were times when she played with force and au-
 thority. She has had the advantage of a stock company training and she is a sterling actress. She brought great power to her emotional scenes by their quiet restraint. but in the less serious shades she was not exact in her reading. This was especially noticeable in the first act when, she viewed the pageant from the balcony of the loggla In the two last acts. however. which are really the greatest acts of the drama. Miss Remark fulfilled every requirement. In the highly dramatic scene in her studio where the prime minister is killed by David Rossi she reached supreme heights of artis- tic genius.
 Miss Remark was the one person In the company who appeared to better advantage than did those in the corresponding roles last season. Janet Waldorf was the Donna Roma with Mir. Morgan and Mss Remark showed more ability than Miss Waldorf.
 William E. Bonney who played Bruno Rocco with Mir. Morgan and played 1t so well that he took the honors away from hs principal. the David Rossi last night. Here is one of the safest, surest and most seasoned actors on the stage of today He certainly relaizes that his physique does not fit Rossi and maybe his voice IS too big. Still he filled the picture so com p,eteiy that forgot that Rossi was not a fat man and accepted this Rossi as one who had lived at least 45 years Really Mir DpHHeS remuneration or Donn2 Roma in the fourth act was of the greatest bits of purely dramatic acting that has been seen here this season and he given un- stinted applause at it's finish.
 Mr. Bonneys old part. that of Bruno Rocco, did not suffer in the hands of Jaffer- son Lloyd. Mir. Lloyd stamped it with fin ish and won the greatest sympathy for his intelligence and his perfect reading. Mir King very good as Baron Donelli and so was MT. Sherry at Tomasso and MT. saIter as MinRhe!H
 Other members of the company in point of merit all the way from mediocre to very bad. MT. Ranous failed completely to ilusionize the audience into witnessing tho Pope. He lacked poise an1 dignity when he was on the stage the royalty impressive figure of Mir. Bangs. who played the part the heart rebslled against the portrayal of Mir Famous
 If a bold conception of Mir. Caine this presenting of His Holiness on the stage in the Vatican guards and Mir. Caine would not have undertaken 1t if he had half suspected that the Pope would ever be presented m l such way as he was presented last night and amid such cheap surroundings
 The audience which the play was not ! large. but 1t enjoyed the entertainment and | Mts Remark must not believe that Mont 1 gonery viewed her offering of this season as | altogether unsuccessful She is too clever a | woman not to be appreciated here and we hope to see her every season
 The scenic equipment was well worn. but | the costuming was accurate and complete | The incidental music by Mascagni was en- | joyed very much. It would have been tn ! ioyod more if played by a larger orchestra i as Mascagnfs music should have been
 Browns in Town" comes to the Theatre tonight