Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-11

receive a rude shock. We VINO
- have the play-going habit come u
share the Impressions OF peiioin
ers themselves. we nave an w.
that the daylight is but wise anu 49, 49,,
cory nroyision of nature to enao-e peop
,o earn the price of theater tickets
cleo useful In affording the foothght law
&c ,,n,e for repose. But real existence ~
rs the low-browed public, does ho' g.
until the curtain is rung up ON 'he
81 ,na life becomes q blank In the neish-
,.o.hood ~ II O'Clock when the orchesla
marches us out into the cold street 10 y"
triotic and usually inappropriate fhusie'
,,,re,cb the other day to en-
counter man who didn't have the thea'er
800, ua was not Goth, but an aver
GO ,yeIl-to-do citizen, who spoke gooa pun
ne school English and shaved regularly
.rSo " he said, Il am not going 10 sec
,bosa people play Romeo and Juhet a'
che National Imagine calling T. h. Soln-
ern and Julia Marlowe those people!
never go TO see tragedies. l can stay :sonie
and feel bad over my troubles. thlhk !
viii go some night this week and see tha'
MAY called Mrs. Something-or-o'neFe
Roots' although my folks advise me 10
take In The Prince Chop But don't care
for these musical comedies. ana he
smiled complacently as becomes man
who has met the serious responsibilities VI
life capably and who does not take MS
amusement too seriously. But these COL
umns of explanatory adulation by press
agents: these pages of painstakins analysis
by critics; these shelves full OF volumes oy
learned and weary-eyed reviewers! what Is
the use?
To those who like tragedy, or more prop
erly speaking classical drama, the Sotherh-
Marlowe engagement afforded great salts
faction. Mr. Sothern illustrates once more
the triumph of the man with the manner
ism Tricks of speech and gesture Whlch
at the outset seem almost personal defects
prove in the end to be commodities OF great
value. John IT. Raymond's drawl was dis
tinctly a personal popularity and one cal
culated to seriously retard success in that
form of art which requires the effacement
of Identity But even to this day John I.
Raymond is remembered. and his celebrated
phrase, There's millions in it, is quoted
in jocose tones of imitation. When Stuart
Robson was of the firm of Robson and
Crane many looked upon him merely as a
man with a curious squeak IN his voice.
Their performance of the Comedy of En-
rors" was considered chiefly remarkable for
the manner in which Mr.. Crane initiated
his partners eccentricities of speech. Yet
after their separation Mr. Robson attained
a reputation for serious and straightfor-
ward work which at least equaled that Of
Mr.. Crane. Sol Smith Russell's slow ma
salty speech was his best commendaton
to popular favor. A later instance of the
power which mannerisms exert in compell-
ing public interest is Mr.. Lawrence Dor
say whose broad "Haw-haw" accent made
him rank at first as a freak, but in a sea-
son or two as a favorite actor. Mr.. Soth-
ern years ago, before the thoughtful lines
appeared between his eyes and the touch of
iron gray came upon the hair, which he
wears almost long enough to suggest palmy
days, had in a mild degree some of the
D'Orsay mannerisms. His English accent,
though very subdued in comparison with
that of today's stage Briton, was yet suffi-
GENTLY strong to challenge the attention of
the imitator. and his Lord Chumley" was
included in nearly every mimic's reportory
of stage celebrities. But having made his
mannerism means of attracting notice, he
subordinates it, and now practically aban-
dons 1t.
ambitious to permit his success to rest
entirely upon his personality. He was es-
sentially a student, even something of a
bookworm. He progressed through the
usual stages of popularity, being first
known as Eddie" Sothern, then as Ned"
Sothern and now most respectfully as "E,
H." Sothern. 1t is altogether probable that
he will associate himself with the higher
traditions of the stage to such an extent as
TO be remembered only as "Sothern." Mr..
Sothern has realized that success depends
less upon the individual Interpretation of a
stellar role than on the extent 20 which one
intelligence can be made 10 YitaliZe an en-
tire performance. Whatever criticism may
ofter as 10 mis- own representations, there
can be no doubt that the plays produced
last week showed most agreeably the re-
suits OF study and comprehensive care.
With so eminent an actress as Miss Mar
lowe IN the leading feminine role, de-
hciencies in the list OF subordinate charac-
tiers might have been overlooked. but they
did not occur to any conspicuous degree,
and the scenery was handled with a faciI-
ity which brought that often narrowing ex-
perience, the entr'acte. down TO mimi.
mum. Mr.. Sothern's exploitation of the
modern school OF Shakespeare was quite
as complete and satisfactory as was Mr..
Ben Greets presentation of the Eliza
bethan variety.
Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots" proved anus
Ing to many people. although II again illus
trated Mr.. Augustus Thomas tendency to
put too many different kinds of a play into
the same performance. He has fallen into
something of the same frame of mind that
Sardou had when he undertook to exploit
spiritualism in a play. New methods OF
healing are ever interesting, but a farce
should not be made medium of advertise
ment. In order to enliven the serious and
slightly mystical material he employs Mr.
Thomas has recourse TO some very rudi-
mentry methods of laugh manufacture.
The refractory fountain which In the first
act deluges people. without assisting in
the slightest degree to develop the plot IS
but an elaboration of the seltzer bottle,
which Is piled with such industry in the
variety afterpieces. And the nanikin that
played so important part in the second
act bears suspicious marks of relationship
to the dummy which the rough-and-tumbIe
comedian has. since prehistoric days. loved
to thresh about the stage. As for the