Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-04

comedian instead of carrying with MN
mariner to ask the questions Whlch WIN
give point 10 his jokes, merely carries
monograph. Into this machine ne 'aNeu
the queries, leaving spaces between ioa MS
own witty answers. and occasionally arrow
ing little more time than was apsoiu'eiS
necessary for the laughs expected from tio
audience. 1t was a plan whose ingenuity
commended It, even though 1t was a some
what depressing revelation OF the mechah-
les of stage mirth. 1t was crushing oiow
for the trustful person who honestly ana
truly believes that the smart comedian
makes up what he says as he goes along
The act was not widely copied, yet the
idea may terminate and flower, as other
ideas of humble vaudevillians nave zone
until # at last lands on the legitimate
stage.
The production Of Norma Wanna COM
peeled too much imaginative effort on the
part of the auditor Had the actors sur
rounding Madame Kalch been content to
recite their speeches passively and lneruy
they would have been culpable, but not be-
yond forgiveness. Their zeal was their I'M
doing Seldom has an actress been SO ruin
lesslv bombarded from all sides with mis-
calculated elocution. The actors who nave
been told by thoughtless, or perhaps mis-
chievous. persons that they resemble some
of the traditional great players OF the
worlds stage were Conspcuously in evil
denCe. There was the young man who had
been informed-at least some such sus-
picion presents itself-that he resembles
the late John Mccullough. And the thought
stirred him to resounding energy. He kept
struggling so hard for climaxes, where they
were not. that by the time the real one
was reached he had nothing in reserve
Than hon
Young man with small mustaches and bru-
nette complexion who has been compared
TO the younger Salvni-perhaps within his
hearing and surely TO his injury. He is the
temperamental type. Emotion swells and
bubbles within him until it is no longer
possible 10 keep the lid on. Mere human
speech is inadequate for the expression of
his intense feelings, and the syllables as
he utters them are fused into lncoherency
by the holiness of his own dramatic fire.
The old gentleman who has doubtless been
likened unto William II. Thompson plays
the part of an old man with simulations of
decrepitude which very scantily DISCUSSES
a stalwart alertness underneath his make
up. The attendants with monotonous pre-
Cision fall into the Delsartian poses which
indicate love, fear hatred, revenge, etc.
Through this maze OF mediocrity moved
Madame Bertha Kalich, proclaimed an
alien less by the slight accent of her speech
than by the utter incongruity of her ar n
tistlc surroundings. The cast of characters
is small, only three roles Of great impor-
lance being included in it. The play Is
one whose adaptation to the theater would
Z seem at the outset a problematical VEN
tufe How delightful q purely literary play
may be made was shown by the perform
ance of In Balcony" with Mrs. Lee
Moyne Eleanor Robson and Otis Skinner
IN the cast. To convey the full possibii-
ties OF Norma Wanna a cast which would
at least approximately correspond to this
ia requisite, The appearance Of his pro-
dpction under the same management as
that OF Mrs. Fiske gave hope that the same
minute regard for efficiency in the por-
trayal Of the characters that distinguished
Leah Kleschna" would be reflected in the
cast Of Norma Wanna
Mr.. Harrison Grey Fiske is man of repu-
taton for substantial achievement and for
critical taste. With every production there
may be many considerations which inter-
fere with fully carrying out the best con-
ceptions of the author and manager. 1t is
impossible to believe that this presentation
OF Norma Wanna" reflected the bes; judg-
ment of Mr.. Fiske. Why 1t should not have
done so is one of the mysteries into which |
the initiated are not permitted to pry.
u
But here was noble and glorious oppor-
tunIty to link modern science with the most |
ancient traditions of art; to let poetry and |
mechanics clasp hands in affectionate sis |
terhood after centuries OF estrangement-in |
short, to rescue the photograph from the |
variety stage. A good actor could have |
spoken into series of monographs which |
represent all the characters In Norma |
Wanna" except that portrayed by Nine. |
KaIich. They could have been draped to |
represent mobiles of the period In statuesque |
repose. They would have been quite as i'm |
pressive In demeanor as the living, players |
employed. and far more impressive in |
speech.
Edna MAY. dovelke and demure. came |
nuttering and cooling about the stage of the |
New National Theater for little visit prior |
TO her departure for London to claim her |
customed tribute Of admiration from the
Connolsseurs OF beauty IN the English me
tropoIs Miss May is OF the few people |
Of the stage who never disappoint She is |
only expected TO be beautiful and she al
ways is. Which is great achiave Iuent |
The Catch of the Season is one OF those
rather pallid English comedies which. If
productive OF no uproarious hilari,y. give
the auditor from the outset a sense OF COM
Portable security from offense.
The past week was made notable by two
announcements that may affect the future
Of the American theater to no slight ex-
tent one is that there is TO be an en-
dowed theater in New York city. 1t IS not
10 be described az a national theater. as the
impropriety OF locating any such enterprise
elsewhere than at the national capital
would be OBVIOUS 1t is. however a practi-
cal project. in so much il is backed, not
by gentlemen with long hair and dreamy
eyes. but bv men with substantially filled
walstcoats and correspondingly plump
purses. The present purpose rs to produce
only plays of high artistic quality, the
hackers OF the project TO be content with
consciousness OF duty done In lieu of dNi-
bends. which. II any. are to be turned back
into phllanthropiC or otherwise unselfish
schemes. The other announcement IS that
Mr.. Richard Mansfield. desiring to retire
with ease and dignity from his continued