Evening star., 1907-11-17

~ r "Ben-ITur'' it has been needful
4 to say hut little. Season after
season il has -old its owE story,
and Will so on relating 1t for
seasons to come. II is one OF
rfe few instances IN which drama be
comes wider In fits appeal to the public
than the printed pages from which It was
derived Fine in its origin. It has not lost
dignity nor affrouted taste in the transfer
from book TO stage and It has done much
more perhaps than any other produc-
tlon-to couuteract the prejudice against
the theater so indUstriously fostered by
performances whose humor consisted in
coarse suggestion or whose pathos de
pended on sympathy with questionable
hero.nes Il IS another Of the broad,
wholesome productions to winch the public
turns with unanimous satisfaction: re-
irirdcr that the demand for the morbid
IS not the real demand. and that while
the people have often shown themselves
strangely stout of digestion, their appe-
tltes are still normal.
II is the old story which delights the
1ro-altzer, the story Of sincerity that
wins For there has been no sighting Of
any detail that might bring this produc-
t.nn to surcess and maintain it there. The
lapse Of years and the assurance that
crowds awaited its advent have not caused
a relaxation Of the vigilant determination
to hold the performance to its first stand
ard The utmost arttce Of the stage has
been employed 20 carry out the designs of
is authors and promoters, and this very
fact has efaced the impression of art!-
fee. It IS convincingIy done because 1t IS
presented with thorough fidelity to prac-
teal detail.
There have been other great religious
plays Quo Vadis?' was one. Its early
production promised n career as enduring
as that Of its predecessor. The Sign of
the Cross" Both plays were allowed TO
deterorate in the manner of their pres
entation. QUO Vad!s?" with surprising
rapidity. Its first season was a revelation
and triumph. After that It became only
an echo.
The most recent presentation of similar
purport was THE Christian Pilgrim"
which after its respectful hearing in
Washington was received in New York
scribe, struck by the elaborate character
Of It's scenery. referred TO i as another
triumph for the transfer companies
The Christian Pilgrim lacked the great
essential of a theatrical performance
which Ben Hur'' possesses in potent
abundance. plot And. strangely enough,
this lack Of vigorous narrative in
terest was accompanied by a certain
rugged direCtness OF treatment which in
the final and crucial scene became posi-
tive crudity. MeIodramatiC. spectacular
even mechanical as "BenHur'' is,
where the situations call for the teChni-
cal resources alike OF play builder and
stage carpenter. It is subtle to the utmost
fneness where the thought suggested sur
passes the resources of ffnita expression.
It IS content to leave the Unknowable
reverently unknown The closing scene
of THE Christian Pilgrim supposed to
portray regions of future bliss. was SO
ralpably architectural in its s-eatment
that ii invited comparisons utterly at
variance with its solemn significance
"Ben-Hur'' has spread much temptation
among managers to utilize religious his
tory IN the drama. but the combination
OF artistic sincerity with biblical interest
in most cases has been wanting. A re-
ligious play is one OF the things that
should be done surprisingly well. or not
attempted.
The play "Quo Vadis' was made ty
Stanislaus Strange from the novel ard
constituted perhaps his greatest achieve
ment as a dranlatist Mr.. STANCES Pc
gasus has been most varied in his PAGES,
treading not only the majestic heights OF
Scriptural romance. but adjusting itself
to the ripping measures of satiric rhyme
Mr.. STANCE IS the author of The Girls
OF Holland" which was given, with music
by Mr.. de koven. at the Be!asco Theater
last week. The hero Of the play was a
snowman. supposed to carry a frosty at
mosphere wherever he went He did
The week of rerertory played by Nat
c. Goodwin afforded pleasure 10 many
loyal admirers of this talented actor Yet
greater interest attached to the rehearsals s
Ct a new play which have been in prog
ress. 1t may be that the company sup
porting Mr.. Goodwin was especially en-
gagged for this new piece. and that its
members viii be more congenauy cast
when It is produced in Chicago than they
were in any of the performances here.
Vaudeville has succeeded in having IT
self taken very seriously indeed At first
eminent players went over 10 il In num-
bers that effectually killed the tradition
that a legitimate actor terminated his ca
reer as such when he appeared IN a pro-
gram with trained ponies and horizontal
bar artists. But even Shakespearean
players went into vaudeville and out
again at their own sweet wills. 1t has
been no uncommon thing TO hear an ac-
tor remark. on the occasion of a first
production, that the failure of the play
meant no great disaster 10 him. as he had
a sketch IN his trunk and could 20 into
vaudeville. But it was not until the man
gers Of that class of entertainment tech
wade tie realms OF vaudeville that the
form Of entertainment became recognized
IN all its Importance II was field IN
which the pioneers had long reaped the
harvest. OF late competition has come.
No less a firm than kIaw & Erlanger,
the same under whose direction the pro-
duCt.on OF "Beu-Hur' was made and the
one that bore the brunt of the antagonism
toward theatrical trust when the syndi-
cate idea was still unique entered the
CsLS with advanced vaudeville" Wash
,i-stoE has heard only the din of battle