The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-08-10
THE MOOR OF VENICE
SOME OF THE OTHELLOS AND LAGOS
OF THE PAST.


the MOOr-kean's Death.
One is struck by the number Of great
actors who have attempted Othello and
failed in it. The really successful
Othellos are a very small and select
company. Burbage, one assumes, was
the original Moor, and was probably
as good in it as in any other part he
played.
We get in Mr.. Pepys' Diary two
quaint references to the play. On Oct.
II. 1859, he tells us he went with MIR.
Salisbury and Mr.. Greed to see ''The
Moor of Venice" as 1t was always
called then. 1t was well done. Burt
acted the Moor. By the same token
very pretty lady that sat by me called
out to see Desdemona smothered."
Nine years later, on Feb. 6, 1868, he
writes: ITO the kings playhouse, and
there in an upper box did see The
Moor of Venice but ill acted in most
parts, Mohun, which did little sur
prise me, not acting lagos part by
much so well as Clun used to do; nor
another Harris, which was Cassio's, nor
indeed Burt doing the MoOr's so well
as | once thought he did" But Mr..
Pepys was in bad temper that night,
for his carriage had broken down on
the way home, and he was nightly
vexed, poor wretch
Betterton's Othello would appear to
have been a remarkable performance.
One writer speaks of the terrible force
of his Othello," and Addison says: THE
wonderful agony which he appeared in
when he examined the circumstance Of
the handkerchief in the part of OthellO,
the mixture of love that intruded upon
his mind upon the innocent answers
DesdemOna makes. betrayed in his ges
ture such a variety and viciSSitude of
passions as would admOnish a man to
be afraid of his own heart"
1t was in the Portugal Street thea
ter, sometimes styled the Dukes thea
ter, that Betterton 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 adopted
for the part appears to modern taste
quite ludicrous In his "Autobiogra-
ply" Reynolds tells us he remembered
seeing Spranger Barry play Othello in
q full suit of gold laced scarlet. a small
cooked hat, knee breeches and silk
stockings.
Garrick was but a poor Othello ex-
cept in the scene where Iago first i'm
plants the suspicion of Desdemona, and
Quin was very little superior But
Garrick did, at any rate. adopt Moor
ish costume, a startling innovation,
which led one writer to say that he
was unmeaningly dressed On the first
night Quin was in the pit and when
Garrick entered exclaimed in allusiOn
to Hogarth's black boy: Here's Pom
pey. by -, Where's the lamp and
the teakettle?"
John Philip Kemble also did much to
improve the public ideas on the fitness
skirted coat breaches, waistcoat. black
face, white. full bOttomed wig and
three cooked hat which tradition pre-
scribed for Othello despite Garrick's
1audable endeavor was swept away
after Kemble's time He himself
played Iago much better than Othello.
and Byron said of the performance
that it was perfection.
Another very excellent Iago 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 a 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 Othello, I'm the fercer scenes
he was indispensable. 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 HaZlitt calls him.
subsequently Kean played Othello
to the Iago of Young. 1t had been ar
ranged that they should alternate the
parts, but after the first performance
Kean preferred to leave Iago to Young
Il tiatter myself" he said to Whit
bread, who was then manager Of Dru-
~ Lane, he could not act Othello as
]. yet what chance should l have in
1ago after him with his musical voice ?"
Kean's last appearance on the stage.
on March %. 1885, was in "Othello,"
with his son Charles as Iago. Kean
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: Il am dying
Speak to them for me-
Charles Young was excellent as Iago.
but when he tried Othello later to the
lAgo of Macready he failed altogether.
Hazlitt said of the performance:
Young in Othello was like a great
humming top. and Macready in Iagc
lilo a miscellaneous how UhiDninr him