The Washington herald., 1907-05-05
rrsslgpdenco Of Tine Washington Herald

! Correspondence Of The Washington Herald
New York, May 4-It is matter Of
some surprise and no little qualification
that London apparently has accepted
sothern and Marowe in a serious spirit
and with some enthusiasm. instead Of the
naughty reserve which the English critics
have been so ready 20 meet out to Amer
/ icaa artists in the past
( It Is unfortunately true that the artists
we have sent them in the majority Of
/ cases nave held only a questionable posi-
ton IN dramatic affairs here. and their in
vasion of London has been in measure
Ian act of presumption but. compared
with the indulgence which the public in
( America has shown 10 the numerous mu-
F steal abortions which have come over from
/ England. the treatment Of some Of our
larlisls even Of the class. better in Eng
/ land, has been distinguished by a remark
able tendency, apparently, wilifully to
Imisunderstand their artistic mission.
/ The experience OF Mansfield. Goodwin,
Airs. Carter. Louis Mann. and others sup
+ ports this indictment. and the exceptions
tAA-At ~ a AAf iAtttttR titAr Nstt
/ lett and John Drew II was generally ex-
Ipected that Sothern and Marlowe would
fan victims 10 this jnsular view and pass
through a costly experience, with their
wings severely singed. The apathetic re-
ception Of these artists In The Sunken
Beli' confirmed this belief. and in view
of what the sapient Londoners had TO say
Of chat beautiful exotic one could not
hcip wondering what they would have
thCaght OF ShakesDeare's Midsummer
Nignt's Dream" if it had sustained its
initial performance in April, 1907, instead
Iof three centuries ago.
The most remarkable phase Of il is the
{ Icomplaceney with which Mr.. Sothern's
Hamlet was received on Wednesday night.
Of which the Times said that it was worth
seeing and the paper even advised its
readers 60 see his performance should il
be repeated. SOtherns Hamlet has been
getting harder and harder with time. in
stead OF mellower and more translucent
and intelligible, and it was in this part
that many Of US expected him to come
"a cropper If in anything
But it was a stroke of artistic policy
TO prepare the way for an indulgent ver-
Diet on this performance by preceding it
with mis- undoubtedly clever personifica-
ton OF Malv0H0. lie could thus exact
some consideration for his more serious
most seri0us-Work as Hamlet. on the
score o. versatility and proteanism. a la
N0yelH. We can forgive the sh0rtcom-
ings of an actor for not attaining the
very highest reaches of tragedy in par
ticulsr part if he can convince us of his
art Ia general terms. AS BeHedeck and
Malvoilo SOthern can safely challenge
comparisons. even il his Hamlet and
Romeo are lacking in convincing philoso-
phy and poetic abandon, and ] shall be
disappointed if the English critics 90 not
reverse the verdict Of their New York
confreres On his ShyIock, by declaring it
excellent.
Regarding Miss Marl0we. the feeling
here was less apprehensive, as she was
trained IN the formal school which the
English admire IN classic roles, and her
personality is OF the sort that is almost
sure 70 prove attractive TO London.
Arnold Daily is aggresslyely artistic IN
whatever he undertakes. and those who
delight TO refer TO his earlier. experience
rs proof that he has no authority for uu-
dertaking the part of a pathfinder. and
characterize his success in making George
Bernard Shaw a popular figure on the
Enslish-speakiBg stage, as no better
than q fuke. have a strong incentive 10
ruminafe upon his latest departure.
Opinion is somewhat divided as 70 the
exact merit Of the three different and dis /
unct representations which he gave last
Tuesday afternoon in as many playlets.
but the fact that ne was able 10 command
the attention Of the critics. who wrote as
much as a column apiece concerning his
work in theee three plays. is proof posi-
tive that he is no commonplace actor,
but has some warrant for his eccentrici- I
ties i'm acClaiming himself one Of the an.
nuinted of Meipomene
They were three powerful short plays.
The Flag Station" by Charles A. Ken
yon, The Lemonade Boy by Gladys
jnger, and The Monkeys Paw" by
Louis \. Parker from ". ". Jaconb's
fantastic story Of that name
II our mala ayers could only be Induced
90 present more of these graphic 0ne-act
pieces, instead of exhibiting their stars
season after season ia the same old play (
it would, at least. do much to diversity
interest in the theater as we'll as in the
actor. Every piaygoer recalls with de-
light the little tragedies of Madam 4
Butterfly. Little Italy" ."On o. Me /
Thumb. Carrots. "The Light of St /
Agnes, and others. just as they do .
Lend ne Five Shillings and BOX and 1
Cox IN the way Qf old-fashioned com
edy. And who has forgotten-who that !
attended the theaters twenty years ago, / {
mean-th0se delightful 0ne-act pieces. like /
he Circus Rider in which Miss Ros-
ina Nokes appeared for several seasons? /
Mr. Daily scored an unequivocal hit in /
The Flag Station" not only because the /
piece holds YOU in d tense thran of inter
est. but because he played with convinc-
ing force the overwOrked. weary-eyed tel
egraph operator ar the flag station. who.
through a general depletion OF physical
powers. makes "a mistake IN signaling two
approaching trains and foresees their GER
tain destruction. He depicted with force
ful and graphic dramatic energy the men
tai strain of the critical situation brought
about through his error. and the audi
ence was effectively keyed up &c the ex-
pectancy of the tragic denouement which
seems inevitable. but which is averted at
the last moment by the lateness Of one
Of the trains. The piece viii serve as q
striking object lesson Of what the con-
ditions are that frequently operate behind
the scenes TO account for great railway
disasters, namely. the overw0ri,ed condi-
tion of the men in charge of small way
stations, upon whose intelligence and
vigilance SO much depends.
In The Lemonda Boy he played a /
small English boy in coster dilleet. Il is
> IaNa sLnr.- ~ . .-a-.. nm, IN. L. tEo !