The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-29

New York, Sept. 27.-This is a sad
September week for a writer who likes
10 describe Broadway's new stage per-
fOrmances cheerily. Within the last
seven days I have seen "Virginius"
flouted by the dramatic experts, and
1bsen's THE Master Builder" fail to
interest other than Ibsenites, while
Richard Carries latest nonsense in
1.-THE Hurdy Gurdy Girl" is Intellectual
with the FOUNDERS, and Ramsay Morris
Under Suspicion" doesn't excite the
grounding.
Good old '~vfrginius," the once awe
inspiring "Virginius'' of Forrest, and
of that almost-as-g good substitute Tor
Forrest, the robustly ranting McCul-
Tough, the once venerated ''VirsSinius"
is given to apathetic audiences, while
the newspaper critics have, with sew
eral exceptions, denounced it as be-
meath the contempt of 1907. and never
possibly deserving the praise bestowed
on il when it was new in 1920. So
James O'Neilrs is almost surely Amer
ica's final Virginius, and if the noble
Roman father is brought your way by
him, kiss him a fond goodbye, for you
cannot expect to ever see him on the
stage again. Edwin Forrest, al my
last sight of him, was too equity to
tread the boards with satisfaction
strides, but his voice was still a hu-
man lions roar, and so he sat in a
chair to recite portions of "Virginius"
] recall that, there being no scenery,
and one girl for a silent Virginia, in
lieu of a company, Forrest seized an
imaginary knife from the butchers
stall that wasn't there, and slew the
girl so appallingly that l shuddered at
the sight. What is the matter with
O'Neill's acting Of the same scene, that
no one shook in his seat with emotion,
so far as 1 could see, but many wrig-
gled with tired inattentiOn.
What can O'Neill be thinking of 4"
said an old-timer, seeking for a fault
to explain the impotency of the scene,
after the curtain had gone down on it,
Ito wrest a sword from the panderer,
with which to killingly save the maid
from delivery alive TO the tyrant? For
what did the author put a butchers
stall in the scene but to provide a
knife for Virginius to see and seize? If
an actor fools that way with an author
well, he deserves what's coming to
him."
Probably O'Nein saw what actors of
classical roles are ever seeking, a
chance to introduce new business by
grabbing a resisting foes sword in
stead of a casual butchers blade,
which has been good enough for a long
line of tragedians. But that, of course,
has nothing to do with the 'twixt-suc-
-and-failure Of O'Neills revival of
'Virginius." The lessened awesome-
ness Of the loving murder must be
due to the change in audiences with
in eighty-seven years-from Macready
TO O'NeiIl-and not to the use of a
knife instead of a sword. l met the
old-timer again on my way out, after
the play had ended with Virgiuius'
maniacal choking to death of Appius
We'll" I said, whats your explana-
ton why O'Neill didn't reach his audi
enCe in that tragic climax"
Simply that he cut out about half
of the scene," was the reply. Didn't
you miss the material with which Nc
Cullough raved so dreadfulIy?"
''Dreadfully." That word seemed to
have extra meaning as applied to Nc
Cullough's ranting. Next day I hunted
in the penny slot shows until found a
photograph labeled, The RAWLINGS of
John Mccullough" and listened again