The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-04-07
PLAY-NEWS OF NEW YORK
"THE AMBITIOUS MRS. ALCOTT," A NEW WASHINGTON
PLAY-N0VELLF IN "HAMLET' AND "POOP PEOPLE"
HIS ENGAGEMENT AGAIN EXTEEDED-NOTES.

comedy. In spite OF which Mrs. AIcott' 8
Ambition Is well worth seeing and a
father good play on the whole.
Noveili viii remain at the Lyric an
other Matchmaking four weeks in ali
instead Of two, as originally scheduled
and will SAT- direct for Genoa after clos
ing his New York engagement SO no
other American city will have an oppor-
tunlty Of seeing bis notable work until
he returns next year. as is now contem-
plated
His most conspicuous impersonation
since my last letter was that Of Ham
let" though not his most enjoyable He
plays the Prince Of Denmark with all the
technical excellence Of his great art. but
without satisfying the physical require
nents OF the role His strong physlog-
nOmy is out Of keeping with the spiritual
/ refinement OF the ideal Hamlet face.
/ What is an advantage IN such roles az
Geronte, COrradO. Lear, Othello, or Louis
KI Is a positive disadvantage 10 him
/ here. and when 70 that is added the IN
disguisable evidence Of age and the abb
| sence Of the fine rhythm Of the iamblcs,
"+f@-tA 70 ~ ef4fasAa atfaE EHE4 Gu s4a AtAI
| German translation of Schiegel, the IL
/ fusion suffers intrusiyely.
| But II he Is not my ideal Hamlet I can
bear enthusiastic testimony TO his un-
appToachahble excellence in a play called
Poor People, which he presented dur
ing the week II Is a new play by Franco
| Liberat depicting the tragedy Of a peas
ant household presided over By Zakar
Potrovski lNovellD. a coarse peasant,
| fond Of his pOtatiohs. who In a state Of
irresponsible drunkenness has betrayed
the whereabouts Of q band of revolution
airy students, who have been sent TO
prison.
Among them Is his own son By his first
wife and the idol Of his heart The boy
has tuberculosis and is sent home 20 die
The play deals with the suHen remorss
Of the father; and tn this portrayal No
yelli mingles characteristics indescribabiy
and lastfngly impressive His zakar is
one Of the most powerful representations
ever seen.
In the second act he has hardly q dozen
words TO say, although he dominates by
his wonderful mimetic work. and he is
continuously a part Of il. In the last
act. too, he has little TO do. for the old
peasant is pushed aside by every one as
Of little use. His second wife is mains
tanning an amour with a minor official.
his son is slowly passing away Zakar
is little better than a stranger IN his
own home
He has but one passion in life. and
that is love for mis- boy. The youth is
attached 10 a young girl who attends
him. During one of his paroxysms the
old man runs TO give him his medicine.
only to have It rejected and to see him
self anticipated by Varvara his sons
sweetheart. who administers IT, The
boys eyes close YEARLY. and Varvara pill
lows her head beside his on the big chair
ZakaT sees his own love rejected. and IL
Is the reaction of his feelings as mirror
ed dumbly in his seamy face that tells
the story Of the play as much as the ac-
ton
Il is tremendous in graphic naturalness.
in denouement Of blank. unreasOuing
agony, in the expression of despair un-
der a mask Of stupid caIIousness. But
when the death scene comes-when they
stretch tile lifeless boy cut or the bed
without the least heed to the old man-
it Is then that Zakar. as NovelH portrays
him. usuTps all our interest and all our
admiration and all our sympathy. lie
doesn't know what 10 do. He runs
hither and thitber in pitiful heiplessness
and trcmulous excitement He gathers
up an armful Of the hated books. of
which the boy vas so fond, and scat
ters them on the bed: he kisses him with
strange. sharp EXPLANATIONS OF affection
and finally initiates the rude antics Of "a
dancing bear with his arms crossed over
pole as If that might arouse his hoy 20
life; and then. staggering across the
room like a drunken lOut, he falls I'm
lump on the floor as the curtain shuts
out the vision of the touching picture
And in all this there is nothing theatre
cal. nothing forced. nothing that in the
slightest manner makes one conscious
that this is acting. Nor is il brutal real
ism, though it seems so. for the great
actor knows how TO season his realism
with the inspiration Of poetry, however
rude the material
In one particular alone he failed to do
this, and that was in the death scene ~
Hamlet There he introduced the realism
OF the clinic into the atmosphere of lofty
poetry and paid TOO high tribute 70
nature.
The great actor will be seen in another
varied repertoire during the coming week.
including "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles
Amelia Bingham opened her New York
engagement Wednesday evening in The
Lilac Room at the Bijou
Charles A. Stephenson. Mrs. Carriers
former leading man, has Joined forces
with Olga Nethersole, and VIII play the
roles formerly played by hamilton Re
velle
Which reminds me that Revelle. who Is
now playing Don Luis 10 Frances STAIRS
Juanita in The Rose of the Rancho" at
the Belasco Theater, was the recipient of
a warm Easter demonstration Of esteem
from the large contingent Of Spanish
and Italian actors and dancers who take
part in the production. Mr.. RevelIe i
regarded by the Latin members of Be
lascOs company as one OF them. a. he
was born in Madrid-though the event
made little impression on him. But he
speaks Spanish, Italian. and French. as
we'll as English, which latter he speaks
rather we'll. There is distinct racial
line of denarkation between the members
of the Belasco company. and Reveiie
is so popular that he is ia dispute be-
tween both factions. The Spaniards and
Italians claimed him from the moment he
set foot on the stage for rehearsal. and
when Easter came they showed their 10y
atty TO him by making him presents. The
Spaniards gave him a silver cigarette
case inscribed with their names. while
from the Italians he received a gold pen
ell case. Letters In Spanish. Italian, ana
English accompanied the gifts, in which
they Yolced their esteem Tor him As IN