Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-13

| BelaSco theatef last night TOT
the first time in Los Angeles, is the
dramatization of a great, good nature.
The play is a heart throb. Nothing
sWeeter nor more fragrant than the
character of Anton Won Barwig, con-
cert meister, has been seen uIon the
| local stage.
| The visit of Mr. Warfield in this play
| to the west has been long delayed.
| When he goes he will leave us with an
enriched memory. Gratefully we Will
recall the year that brought us two
such dramas as 1.-THE Servant in the
House" and 1.-THE Music Master' the
| first a dramatization of a sociological
ideal; the other, the dramatization of a
man.
1t is, of course, late to attempt any
| lengthy appreciation of Mr.. Kleins s
work. Though new here. "The Music
| Master" has been much In the public
prints. Magazine reviewers have made
| it's story and the manner of its telling
familiar to US all. We have read much
In praise of the play, and in praise of
Mr.. Warfie1d's acting; and yet / doubt
whether we were fully prepared for
last nights enjoyment of both. There
| is a human quality in the Warfield
| acting, a gripping quality that cannot
be described in print any more than
sunset can be imprisoned upon canvas.
His realization of the German musi-
clan does not excite enthusiasm, and
am glad of 1t. Last night we had to
rouse ourselves from a great under
standing silence before we could ap-
plaud the finale of that second act.
1t is trite to say that player does
not act character; that .-e lives it;
trite to say that his charm rests large
ly upon simple naturalness. But trite-
isms are more often than not truisms,
Stunned only by writer's who regard
originality and a clever phrase as OF
more Importance than accuracy. Per-
haps Mr. Warfield did not himself live
the life of Herr Won Barwig last night,
but certainly he made the man live
and suffer for his audience; and ac-
cording to the several capabilities the
men and women in that audience lived
and suffered with him.
A dissection of the Warfield art
would be Improbable even were 1t
tidy habit of thought that inquiries
too closely into the why's and where
fores of a present joyment. David
Warfield last night played upon our
heart strings and we marveled at the
sympathetic strains that rewarded his
lingering. Perhaps the most appre-
ciative man in the audience was
Hobart Bosworth and yet I doubt
whether Mr.. Bosworth's pleasure in the
performance was as great as yours or
mine. / rather suspect that his ap-
probation of the way thing was
done robbed him in large measure of
appreciation for the thing itself.
Following his usual custom David
Belasco has sent his star to the coast
surrounded by an exceptionally capa-
BILE supporting cast. Miss Marie Bates
is an actress of long experience and
admirable accomplishments. Her pre-
sentation last night of the boarding
house, mistress whose fortunes have
followed the decay of the neighbor-
hood in which her establishment is
located, was delightful. And the triple
alliance, founded upon art, not poll
tics, Signor Taglafico of Milan, Mons.
Pinac of Paris and Herr Poons of
Leipsic; good friends all of them. are
notably we'll played by Agousto Ara
mini, Louis p. Verande and Taylor
Holmes.
AS the Daughter of the es concert
meister Miss Antoniette Perry gave us
a study which, I should imagine, may
oftentimes miss the appreciation that
is it's due. Coming out of the theater.I
last night a young woman who had
seen the play and wept over it un-
ashamed, complained to me that Miss
Perry was "too cold" I do not think
so. Helen Stanton. as she herself ex-
plains, had grown to womanhood with |
out a mothers care and without a |
mothers affection. Her putative |
father had provided her with every |
creature comfort wealth could buy but |
that was all. She had never known !.
affection in her home, and under such |
deprivation the warmest nature must |
assume cloak of reserve that may |
easily be mistaken for something it is |
not Doubtless this is Miss Perrys ,
conception of the character; and If so, |
her expression of it is praiseworthy in |
a high degree.
The audience which greeted Mr.. |
Warfield last night filed every seat |
in the Belasco theater. There were
present many families whose names |
are prominent in the social and busi-
ness life of Los Angeles.
"The Music Master" will continue
through the week and until Friday