The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-12
AT LOCAL THEATERS
Richard Mansfield Presents
"Peer Gynt" at National.
A RICH SCENIC PRODUCTION
James II. Powers In "The Blue Moon"
at the BeIascO and Lawranee
D,Orsay I'm "The Embassy BaIIs At
the Columbia Entertain Large Au-
dfencex on Opening Night.

An audience that filed every part Cf
the house witnessed Mr.. Richard Mans
fields sumptuOus scenic production of
Ibsens strange dramatic poem OF Peer
Gynt." at the National Theater last
night. IL was a notable occasion in many
ways. 1t was Mr.. Mansfeld's first APP
pearance here in two years. The work
in which he was seen on his return
had been a great popular success in the
Western cities whose theatergoers had
1 been given the opportunity to witness II.
| The verdict Of the people had been
warmly. even enthusiastically, Endorsed
/ bv the reviewers Hence it was only
/ 10 be expected that in Washington,
which is one of the first cities to give
/ generous and discriminating recognition
/ 10 Mr.. Mansfields exceptional abilities
MANY years ago. his return after an
/ absence Of a season in a pretentious
dramatic and scenic offering should be
marked by a gathering Of the best peo-
pie of the Capital to give him a fresh
welcome.
! The reports that preceded the coming Of
/ Mr.. Mansfield in peer Gynt" were not
misleading. The PRODUCTION Of the Ibsen
/ phantasnagoria, as re distinguished
actor himself has called IL, is assuredly
/ the most lavish and imposing in the way
/ of stage setting and intricate and strik-
/ ing fleets OF his career. Each of the
/ fourteen sets is fine and satisfying in its
way. The dream or fairy scenes. with the
troll kings daughter and following In the
troll kings cave in the mountains, are
beautiful examples of scene building and
painting, and the light effects were artisti-
/ cally managed. The succeeding scene.
when Peer Is striving to come 10 himself
while the voice Of Boyg Is laundering IN
the gloom. was imposing, if not awe
/ inspiring The oasis IN the Moroccan
desert. with two pyramids IN the dis
lance. and the dancing girls in their
/ graceful ballet in the foreground bathed
/ Ia moonlight made a charming picture.
/ The effect could have been heightened,
however. il other monuments supposed 70
b peculiar to Egypt the Sphinx and the
gloomy temple OF Luxor, for example, had
been introduced by a further stretch OF
the same poetic license which afforded the
pyramids. Another scene Of rare stage
/ Illusion was the shipwTeck in the second
scene Of the list act, when Peer is re-
turning to his home and TO the waiting
Solveig an old, ruined. ana disillusiOned
man.
| Peer Gynt is a pretentiOus complex
almost confused allegorical dramatic
poem. which the author probably had lit
tie expectation would ever be presented
on the stage Like al allegoTies, it is apt
TO be a little tiresOIae TO either reader or
spectator before the. end is reached. 1t is
the lavish wealth OF scenic adornment
and the vitality and versatility Of Mans
nelds work that sustain the interest Of
the spectator 20 the fall of the curtain
Only by the employment Of the great re-
sources OF modern stagecraft-the illu-
slons Of light and shadow. the countless
little tricks OF the clever mechanician and
scene bUiider-aud the pTOdigal use Of
. rarely beautiful scenic sets as a suggest
i've and stimulating background Is 80
possible TO make a work Of the character
OF Peer Gynt" a feasible production.
/ Without the resources Of the up-tO-date
producer of plays. it would be as unact-
able As most OF ByTon's dramas. Great
as the Intelligence. histTiOnic ability, and
/ artistic resource Of Mr. Mansfield may be,
IL would prove a task beyond his powers
10 vitalize this allegory, 70 make Of il d
satisfying evenings entertainment with
out the finest scenic investiture that mas
tiers Of stagecraft were able to provide for
him.
Ibsen wrote this poem before he had
reached his intellectual and philosophical
majority Probably I'm his maturer years.
when he had found his forte in micro
scopic soul-analysis, in dissecting the all
Ing social body with a ruthless scalpel,
he regarded il lightly as a confusion OF
his wasted youth II marked the be-
ginning Of his search In the vague and
shifting vapors of bis soul after adequate
4 artistic expression OF his conception Of
the weakness, the foolishness. the way
Wardness of humanity. He took as his
hero a young Scandinavian barbarian
whose soul was made of vapOrs, but who
had q strong and handsome body. He
sought to show how this youth. sur
rounded by the vulgar and sordid con-
ditions of the northern mountains. q
drunkard and a loafer, struggled TO con
dense the vapoTs of his soul into action
that would silence the sneers of his
neghbors, stop the termagant mouth OF
his foolish mother, and make him great
and respected, or at least feared. As a
result of the sneers and deep drinking
Peer in q moment Of wild anger, carries
away a bride from her lover and bears
her 20 the mountains.
First. however. the germ Of a real love
for Solvelg has entered his soul Then
after he sends the stolen girl away. has
Joined the trolls and had an adventure
with the troll kings daughter. SOlveig
comes to him. now an outlaw in the
mountains. He has again a vision OF
happiness in pure love. but back comes
the vision of the troll kings daughter
with her brat-his brat-to haunt him, tn,
remorse for his drunkenness and de-
bauchery. He leaves Solveig and goes
forth in search of greatness and wealth
In a larger world. after returning tC
his home to close his mothers eyes IL
death lie finds great wealth. and the
fourth act shows him. thirty years later
an ole and cynical man. with an oddly
assorted company Of supposed friends OF
the shores OF Morocco. He has come
there In his yacht which his friends
attempt to steal But the yacht blows
up as they leave shore. Then Peer u,
supposed TO ride into the desert on
white horse that mysteriously appears
to visit the oasis. where he finds Anitrs
and her dancing maidens. In this scene
Peer does not appear. In the fifth ac
he returns home, but is shipwrecked IT
the North Sea. The strange phantasma.
goria ends with his reunion with tht
faithful Solveig. where he finds peace a
last For purposes of production Mr.
) Mansfield has been obliged to make lib
eral cuts in Ibsen's work so that audi
tors who have not familiarized them
selves in advance with the fantasti,
story will have difficulty in understand
ing 1t
The greatest source of weakness in the
dramatic interest of the production is tht
Iminging of the real with the alegoricaI
of the actual with dreams This forbids
IL don Of i..tarast or, IN. 49, q.