New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1909-01-24
THE DRAMA
MRS. CARTER AT THE LIBERTY.


/ KaSSa.
Mrs. Carter after long absence made her re-
entrance on the New York stage last night appear
Ing at the Liberty Theatre as the heroine of a TO-
mantle play entitled ''kassa" written by Mr.. John
Luther Long and devised with the apparent purpose
of enabling the actress 10 impersonate. she has
several times done before passionate woman who
resents treachery RACES against injustice. becomes
momentarly terrible in her fury and pathetic in her
anguish. and. last. subsidies into the holy calm
of religious resignation. Kassa Princess. IN
the kingdom of Hungary, destined. for some mys-
terious reason, 70 become denizen of sanctuary;
but. meeting, by chance. with fascinating man. OF
royal birth. named Bella, she became enamoured Of
that youth. listened his siren vows, and was by
him led astray through the expedient Of a
fraudulent marriage. Later. after the birth
of their child, she deserted by her hus-
band-in whose fidelity. however, she con-
tnued. for some time. to trust,-and then she was
assaed by the odious amorous solicitations OF
licentious statesman. named Varsova who con-
trived to involve her in web Of his deceit and
also in great tribulaton. At length she became
convinced of the perfdy OF her husband. and she
was only restrained from killing him by the inter
vention Of their child 1t would be possible for her
to procure his instant. ignoniniods DEATH by a
denunciation of him to emperor OF whom much
is heard but nothing She forbears; she tricks
her enemy. and utterly broken in spirit by her
dreary experience of human wickedness, she ulti-
mately takes refuge In the conventual retreat to
which she was originally destined. Dvested or 1ts
sacerdotaI trappings It's fantastic complex, and
dubious foreign embellishments the story Is literally
commonplace. Two Iibertines covet vestal- One
obtains her by fraud and presently repudi-
ates and deserts her, In an impossible but
duly theatrical manner. The other then seeks
revenge upon his rival and incidentally, to
possess his victim mistress. The woman,
beginning a creature of lamb-like innocence, is
eventually placed in situations that incte her
to frenzy. Mrs Carter it is scarcely necessary TO
remark, is much too mature actress for scenes
of ngenue order: but when the time arrives
for emotional dynamite to declare itself she proves
fully equal to the emergency. The drama Is over
loaded with scenery. and most of the persons con-
cerned in it fit around like firef1ies in a June
meadow The character Of Prince Bella is COM
plete distortion, while that of Varsava is to the
last degree irrational Everything is made sub
servient to situations for the display of Mrs Car
te's special faculty of explosive passion and vehe-
ment vocferatOn. The actress carried the play,
and also she carried the audience, by storm There
less than twenty curtain calls after the
third curtain. The public is glad to see Mrs
Carter again, and her stay at the Liberty Theatre
eau reasonably be expected to last for long time
But there are many old plays that would have
nothing, out of which this enthusiastically
po1erful-could have derived all the dramatic
effect that she created by means of this one, with
out any admlxture of absurdity and rant w W.