The Washington herald., 1908-04-19
NEW YORK THEATERs.

the quality of the dramatization Of Ger
vantes' ponderous novel by Paul Kester
leaves something to be desired AR Kes-
ter has probably done as well as could
be expected with q book OF adventures
that possesses no unity of design other
than In the person OF its fantastic hero,
Unfortunately, this is the day when the
phrase The plays the thing, distorted
in meaning. is taken literally. So the
impeFfeetions Of the dramatic treatment
receive more attention than the Derfec-
tions Of the sothern Quixote, which, after
ALL is the thing Yet Mr.. Kester has far
from scored failure. Between the ne
eessity OF depicting a consistent portrait
of the knight Of the rueful countenance
and a dramatic setting that shall in
spire interest Of itself. he has lost no
material prestige as an author The
task was serious one, IN watch numer-
Gus others have failed. lie has simply
taken an episode from the novel and ex-
panded II with the widest possible re-
gard 90 the spirit of the original. He
has thrown the heft Of his skill into the
faAntA VI tttiiG DUotilH ~ kttA 0AGDt hAAf &fSit
Quixote Of Cervantes. framed in the
best setting available. Therein at least
he has succeeded
As soon as the curtain rises on the
yard Of the inn in La Mancha, with its
stables. stone wall, and well we get the
atmosphere. The play begins with the
arrival of the village priest, Pero Perez
in search OF the unfortunate demented
gentleman of La Mancha, who, from
reading many books OF chivalry, has
turned knight errant. and is abroad in
the country 10 suCcOT distressed maidens
and 20 right the wrongs of the oppress-
ed. 'Fhan We hear from the lips Of
shepherds and wayfarers of Don QuiN-
otes adventure with the windmill and
his charge on the Hock Of sheep. And,
by and by, here comes the knight Of the
sorrOwful figure in the full panoply Of
war. with buCkler. lance. and waving
plumes, mounted upon ROZinante and
followed by Sancho Pauza on his ass
Then comes the episode of QuixOte's
knighting by the iinnkeeper. his midnight
vigil over his arrnor on the we'll shed.
the arrival Of the galley slaves, his at
tack on the kings officers, the revolt of
the eonvicts. and their assault on their
liberator with fails and cudgels Inter
woven with these events is the tragic
history Of Dorothea de Clenardo's secret
marriage to Don Fernandez. brother Of
the duke, and her own brothers con-
demnation 10 the gaIleys for having as
saulted Don Fernandez, the deserter Of
his sister and suitor of his sweetheart.
Around this fable chiefly has the play
wright woven the fabric of his plot that
holds together those different episodes
in Don ouixote's career which he has
chosen fer his subjects
For more than two acts the play IS
largely 'rough-house' drama, with cli-
makes that leave the stage resembling
"a smsp battlefield with the debris Of
war scattered everywhere. In the last
act the knight is back in the library.
where death relieves him from the OBJ
session OF his pathetic illusions. This
closes the series of stirring and more or
less cOmical events. which thanks to
Mr.. Sothern's portrayal. leave a haunt
ing. II somewhat melancholy. impression
of sympathetic interest.
Sothern's Don Quixote must be consld-
cred one Of his most carefully defined
portraitures Unlike AR Blackstone as
blance to Cervantes' hero admirably,
4nd harmonizes 10 the last degree his
accepted attributes Of figure. his gro
tesquerie and austere solemnity Of coun-
tenance, and gravity of action. II is as
If he had stepped out Of the pages of
the book. or Gustave Dore had drawn
him afTesh with the touch that gives
him the sailow cheek. the hollow eyes.
the Spanish beard. and the long lean,
eadaverous figure tn the martial trap
pings Of a medieval knight errant. The
actor has seized the concealed humor
amid ae complete pathos OF the weird
character which HeiBe said was the
most gr0tesQue figure, together with
FalstafE. in the whole range of comic
literature.
The spirit Of Cervantes' work was upon
The whole production. II was truly the
Spanish reflected from its teeming pages
in more than mechanical completeness.
Il was denoted perfectly in the scenes
and persons. though not always IN the
acting Whether the better element of
the production will compensate for the
lack Of dramatic unity Of the play suf-
fciently TO insure for them lasting popu-
larity, is a problem that time alone can
solve.
dainty little one-act tragedy Of negro
life. in which the four players. though
whites, appear in the darkened hue of
the African. and which claims the dis
tinction of being the first and only seri-
Gus c0lored drama. was presented by
the Ina Hammer Company az one of
the Keith & Proctor vaudeville houses
up town this week. apparently for trial
1t is entitled His own, and was
written by Evelyn Greenleaf souther-
land It is as dark In its dramatic tex
ture as the skin Of the giant husband.
J0be Duke. a Southern negro after the
war, who rejoices with boyish enthusi-
asm in his newborn freedom and the
possession Of his cabin, his. wife and
son-all his own, as he fondly dreams.
But there is another man in the case,
the boys real father who returns after
eight years Of Imprisonment, and tries
to lure the woman back from her path
Of duty and the side of the husband
who loves her and believes in her devo-
ton He wrings from the woman a re-
luctant consent and she promises TO
elope with him. when the husband. re-
joicing in days labor well performed,
enters the cabin singing
The tragedy is precipitated when he
attempts to chastise the boy for lending
his gun TO a stranger. AS he takes a
harness strap from the wall the mother
interferes. Man and wife quarrel, and
in the crisis of anger and resentment
comes the confession bitterly revealed.
that the son is not his own.
The black man is stunned His illusions
are shattered; the bitter truth has strick-
en- him in a vital spot. After a pause Of
agonizlng grief and suspense he acts
The savage at the bottom Of his nature
is dominant, as he mixes a poisoned
drink and tells her to swallow it in a
tone of irresistible command She begs
for mercy. but he is cruel. Her appeals
are in vain Then, when there Is ap-