New-York tribune., 1909-05-04
THE DRAMA
Mr.. MANTEL AT THE ACADEMY.
The Classic RepertorY.


~. Afantelrs engagement at -he Academy con
-. and is prosperous. Last night he acted King
- ON Thursday he viii repeat his performance
. O+bello and On Friday he can be seen IN the
..-octer OF King Louis NJ. The presence OF that
=,i-ahIe actor whose repertory comprises some OF
.Le greatest plays in OR language, has greatly
,irttenad the aspect Of = rather melancholy the
.+ricaI season. Specific examination Of each of MI
,on.eIrs fine representations has been given here
nd yepetiton OF 1t. at this time is not essential;
r,t reference TO mis- extraordinary and well de-
.e-ved success seems especially appropriate. The
,r,rr,,u1tv has often been assured that shake
sneare spells ruin ana that the classic plays Of
o,r literature have become archaic" terrible
v-ordD and ought to be allowed TO lapse into in
nocuous desuetude.' To what extent and in what
pav Shakespeare spells ruin" for an actor who
can act, Nj. Mantes experience VIII testify About
the middle of August. 1905. Robert Manten closed
season OF forty-six successive weeks in the course
of which he acted only the plays OF Shakespeare
diversified with occasional representations of Richie
lel' and The Lady OF Lyons After brief resi-
MI Mantem resumed acting in those dramas of
ruin" and he mas been continuously and prosper
ously acting in them ever since On March \. ms
year he began engagement at the New Anster-
dam Theatre. IN a revival Of King John and he
gave such performance of .he complex central
character Of that play as proved him Onad he done
nothing else) 10 be a great actor There were
blenishes IN the auXiar acting; the cast was
often incompetent; but the grand result was mag
nifcent. Immediately. however. and strangely, an
explanation was provided of OF the causes that
DO, time time, defeat the success of Shake
spearian productions The tragedy of King john
absolutely a novelty TO the present generation
was produced on Monday night and on Tuesday
afternoon the announcements were sent TO the
press that ! would be withdrawn the following
Saturday. Within two days,-notwithstanding that
singular instance Of managerial saEacity and stay
Ing power."-the business had increased to the
average standard. king John might have been
kept the stage for at least a month, and the
n,1xiar acting would. in some cases. have grown
better night after night During the succeeding
four weeks Mr. NanteU presented "OtheIlo,' Mac
beth King Lear The Merchant of Venice"
Romeo and Juliet" Hamlet" and Richard III
and likewise he effected revivaIs Of ''Richeeu'
and Louis XI.'-doing a good business. all the
time, although the period that of Lent, and
although in certain quarters. there was active op
position. such IS incidental popularity of
vulgar dramas and musical trash. on April il Mr..
Nantel removed TO the Academy of Music and
began his current engagement there. acting Brutus.
81 a revival Of Julius Csesar.' The increase Of
attendance at theatres which usually follows Eas-
ter has not been so large, this year, it gener-
ally is, but the Academy, Notwithstanding low
price scale, Mr.. Nfantes business is said 10 have
increased more than one thousand dollars a week
over even the satisfactory receipts at The New Am
sterdam. Julius Cesar Macbeth The Mer-
chant Of Tenice,' "Roneo and Juliet. Hamlet"
and king Lear have been presented. in rapid
succession Next week Nfr. AIanteU will act Rich
ard. Richelieu and Claude Melnotte.-the last
IN q revival of THE Lady of Lyons The merely
adequate illustration Of such q repertory involves
enormous expenditure Of physical energy and ner-
force, and Mr.. MantelTs acting, in every one
Of those parts, rises far above the level Of con-
ventional suficiency. Such burdens as he is car
ryfns would be heavy enough to satisfy most
actors. but evidently Nr ManteH holds. with
Ulysses, that
Perseverance. dear my lord,
Keeps honor bright: TO have done, IS to hang
quite out Of fashion. like rusty nail
In monumental rnockery'':
for ne takes instant way win laureis.
On May Il he syfl revive the old drama Of The
Marble Heart" once a favorIte on the New York
stage. but long absent from it. Mr. Nanten viii
act the dual part. the sculptor Phidias and the
artist Raphael The first performance Of that play
N this country occurred many years ago. in san
Francisco, and Raphael was acted by Edwin Booth,
Catherine Sinclair (1irs- FOrresO playing Marco,
and Henry Sedley appearing a Voltage. On the
New York stage the finest representation eyer seen
Of Marco was that Of Laura Keene. The play
illustrates a subject that seems TO interest many
persons-namely. heartless cruelty of woman
contrasted with idolatroEs devotion OF man. 1t is
old story. Much diversity Of opinion has al
ways existed with regard TO il, and therein lies
one Of the most reliable auguries Of its success
Sculpture generally represents the angel in the
artist has had the hardihood 10 make an angel in
the form Of man; and. Of course. there are sew
erai male angels in the Paradise Lost; perhaps
the supply was exhausted then Mr. ManteIl, how
ever, viii doubt do justice the good old play.
and with that and other features OF his splendid
classic repertory he will bring his engagement 10
q brilliant close.