The morning journal-courier., 1908-11-17
Music in His Production Needs Rehearsing and Acting Is
 Long Drawn Out.
VERY LIVELY PUCK
Large and Representative Audience Gathers at Hyperion for Mid
 summer Nights Dream
Dramatic Criticism,

tNfIlllB iD NlLlltS0 hll V N'' fh'N''''' W. formanco of "Ben-Grcet-cd' Shakes pcarc, The production was "A Mid" summer Nights Dream and 1t was exceptional, In the urst place, in that 1t called forth what was undoubtedly the most representative and probably thn largest audience which has gath errd thus far this season; and, n Che second place, in that the cast had a great number of supernumer- aries and was augmented in It's efforts by the Russian symphony orchestra, which played Mendclssohn's music Tho production as whole dragged ldmentably in spots noticoably during most of the dances. With the eXcep- tun of a very few those who took thc speaking parts were far from guintilatlng,
 Mir. Greet himself took the part of Bottom, tho Weaver,thc huffoonish fel- low, 1t will be remembered, who is changed Into an ass at the hands of Puck. Mr. Groct made as silly an ass, both in and out of the mask, as ever Shakespeare imagined Ills "husi- ness" was varied and produc- ing. Often times he did not hesitate to out Shakespeare Shakespeare and to fit in lines or eXclamatlons at his oNn convenience to heighter tho fun ard. although it seemed to border on tha saCrt3rious 10 attempt such a thing, he was generally justified in tho results which Inc obtained.
 What Mir Greet as the rheumatic weaver. lacked in agility was more than made up by Puck, which role was essayed by George Vivian with some show of skill Mr Vlvan's Puck was a lively fellow, ever on the go, dressed in . rcd devils costume and followed constantly hy a vivid red spotlight, which never lost him. Ills grimaces and inartlculate chncklmgs did not seem to Al in with our long standing ideas of the character, how ever Puck, as we have known him before this, both on th6 stage and
 in tho hook, has been 'harmlcss sort of fell5 and with little or noth- ing of the devil about him--a fellow in truth moro on the type of Peter Pan.
 of the rest of tho cast little nced ! he said. Those others of tho Athen inn workmen who took part in tho l pyramus and Thshe funmaking werc all of them good especially those who took the lion and the moon Their scene in the palace in Athens where they presented their little play was | most Imaginable and ridiculous hut | exceedingly long drawn out. Hero l MT Grcct's acting was unquestionabyl i funny but II savored most strongly ] of the kind of slap-stick fun ono | would expect most in vaudeville.
 l. was evident that some efforts had | been expended on the dances These ] had their clements of great worth not because of the people on the stage. | however but because of the men in i the orchestra pit The company had i brought with it number of children easily twenty altogether. Among these there was one very cute little girl who seemed very much hewider-
 cd by the whlrling dancers about her
 and her efforts to keep mp her end | of the dance were innocentlv childish but rtdirnlously iaughable. She look ed as if she had been asleep in the
 wings and had been awakened sud- denly to take her part on the stage f when drowsy and listless. Because i (: her ytumhlings, she became not a ' pleasing incident of tho dances, but
 rather the center Of all eyes to the
 exclusion of all else,
 The Ben Greet production was in
 one act from the time the curtain raised Perhaps Il was the fact that
 there was no cessation at all that ac-
 counted for the long drawn out effect
 For the palace scene the back drop
 was partially drawn aside at the cen-
 ter to disclose a bit of n wall and
 the mounds of tho woods were tenn
 porarily covered with silks. "A Mid
 summer Nights Dream will he re-
 peated this afternoon and evening.