The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-02-02
By Walter Anthony

yesterday afternoon. He VIII be an
absentee from the revolving chair. the
Folltop desk and the obsequious Office
boy for at least four weeks The capt
talist clubman and millionaire was
Cardinal Richelieu at Ye Liberty play
house in "unfortified" Oakland. and
will be for the rest of the week. If
he goes 10 the prOsaic duties of office
work at all for month it will be
merely to sign a bundle of checks or
20. K" some payrolls. Then he viii
hasten back TO Oakland in time for
rehearsal.
Next week. he VIII be Brutus and
Cassius by turns in Julius Caesar;
after that he viii be Count Eugen.
Richard 'Mansheld's famous character
role in The First Violin" and then
he viii finish this years fiier into
theatricals by assuming his first
comedy role-Bottom the weaver, in
Midsummer Nights Dream"
MERELY TAKING VACATION
Hotaling is merely taking his vaca-
ton As Sothern says, It's mighty fine
when millionaire shows such interest
in modern drama" Incidentally Ho-
falling is helping to keep alive a respect
for that noble Institution. the English
language. by presenting himself in
Lord 4.ytton's heroic drama, Richie
lieu"
The imposition OF the personal note
In this review is not to be avoided
by you or me. Hotaling has been
much in the print of late: He drew
some fine fire from Henry Miller by a
most unwarranted roast" on ''The
Servant in the House," and he dreiv
some smoldering Goals from Sothern's
art furnace by criticism of Sothern's
quite inapproachs bic Hamlet That
Hotaling incidentally roasted the critics
who approved what he disapproved
might be logically expected, because.
when he is not a businessman. he is
an actor, and both classes hate critics
PLAY PROVES GOOD
So, I say the injection of the writ
er's own personality in a review of
Hotaling's Richelieu is not to be
avoided. I should like to complain
about it and say it was not good. but
1 can not 1t was good: emphatically
good; only an actor like Hotaling could
have sat in front of it, as he did of
SOthern's Hamlet, and not be moved
1t was professional and not amateur;
instinct with apparent feeling and full
of real dignity.
I found the same fault, however.
with Hotaling's Richelieu that was
found with Sothern's. Neither was
sinister enough. Sothern emphasizes
I
Of the minister of France; HotaTing
emphasizes the humorous. Neither
caught the craftiness of the foxike
Armand Richelieu; neither made sin
lister cardinal.
I do not mean to be satirical when
say that Sothern's Richelieu was tender
and lovable mainly and that Hotaling's
was funny. / mean merely that Hotal-
ing was most effective in the humorous
slaps De Mauprat on the back and asks
him whether after all it takes the
courage of a lion to marry, or as when
he reads with sweet egotism the lines
from his great play to poor Brother
Joseph who writes bad verses himself
NOT DEVOID OF FORCE
In spite of the ease with which
Hotaling encompassed his comedy cen
tiers. he was by no means devoid of
force in the scenes requiring that ele-
ment. as in the episode where he con-
POUNDS De Mauprat, who has been duped
10 the point of trying to kill his bene
factor. and again in the memorable
scene where he draws the invisible line
about jules gown and defies the ennis
sary Of the king TO step on ground that
would Quake with the curse of Rome.
At the conclusion of this scene a
large audience applauded while ushers
bore the actor wreaths of laurel and
floral offerings. His Richelieu grew in
stature from scene to scene and from
act to act At the final curtain it was
a large and commanding cardinal
Adrian de Mauprat will be more eff
fective tonight, no doubt, when he gets
more agitation and deeper stimulation of
emotion in the scene with Baradas
when, with his bride abducted and his
faith in his friend the cardinal shat
tered, he should be, but was not last
night, at the wits end of desperation.
otherwise George Friends portrayal of
the role of Adrian was a fine drawing
z. L. Bennison as Baradas was another
effective picture and Isabelle Fletcher
as Julie de Mortemar, ward of the car
dinal, was a pretty and a poetic bit.
though a tri1e heavy sometimes and
lacking in spirit.
The production was most praise
worthy, and many of the sets" were
given applause for their tastefulness
and elegance.
Hotaling's successful endeavor to
bring the cardinal to life is praise.
worthy achievement, before which a
reviewer may only say that though
the player is a bad critic he is a good
actor. thus reversing the sentiment of
actors who thing poorly of critics.