The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-14
BY FRANKLIN FYLEs

New York. Nov l2-(SpeclaL) )-The Inspiring splendor of the New Theatre and the rare beauty of the dedicatory prodnction. Antony and Cleopatra, have already been widely ceiebrated. Yet these large facts must not be lost sight of in glancing at the smaller de- fects observable al the Invitation dress rehearsal, and again at the brilliant opening night. Brilliant the occasion was--so fabulously so that the specta- tors outshone the spectacle. The handsome attire of the people disgorg- cd from the double lines of carriages and motor cars that drove into the covered entrances suggested opera night" The difference was that as they took their places in the boxes and strolIed or intermissions In the corri- dors, they moved in a setting far hand somer than any to be found In this country, or. Indeed. in any country. And the Audience brought opera GUS toms with them--arriving and depart ing with small respect to the perform ance on the stage; the men visiting from box to box in the intermissions and sitting out" whole acts in the snokinx room. and the women chat ting more bridge than Shakespeare. while sitting radiant in their boxes or waiting wrapped in fur-lined evening cloaks In the crush about the carriage call.
 1t is fiippant Of me to dwell on trtv- fal details in the face of rich and scholarly Shakespearian produc- ton; of an exceptional company led by Julia Marlowe and E. H. Sothern of the dignified inauguration of a great enterprise? Well, If it seems so, | lay the fault at the door of the New Theatre itself. The two "openihs nights revealed one serious failure vel one that may wreck the entire un' dertaking. The auditorium, simply. Is so vast that only small percentage or the sea sof spectators could ether sce or hear the drama adequately. As TOT the former. there is no fault oi inter fering posts. nor could better lines have been devised for a clear view or the stage from the furthest point m the house. The theatre would make a splendid opera house or hippodrome. Rut If a spectacular Shakespearian tragedy was lost" in 1t. what will De the fate of a modern domestic drama! It would be hardly more extravagant to say that because Candida IS He- srature Harvard should produce It Tn the Stadium.
 H. Granville Barker. who has done 50 much for the modern drama Tn London, was the first choice of the mit- lionaire directorate to manage the New Theatre. He came to this country, studied the blue prints" and sailed away. The gorgeous premiere yindi- cated him. TO all but comparative. Iy few of the auditors in the front rows the actors. might as well have been a troupe of pygmies. All value Of facial expression was lost-ana only students of the. stage can appre- ciate how infinite a part 1t plays m conseouential acting. Furthermore, or the whole admirable company, only two players secured any real effect from pose and gestures. And that Miss Marlowe and Jessie Busiey did so. was simply because realizing the auditoriums they played to-. they er1- pioyed the sweeping. heroic methods or a Schumann-Heink or Terntna as Brunhiide. As for Mir. Sothern--at best too short of statue and too small Of fnatifod---there were times ope feit he might be quite forgotten and mis- laid. and trampled under foot. like Guiiiver- by the giant.
 Efforts are being made to improve the unfortunate acoustics of the the- atre but, at best 1t will always be dfflcuIt to find actors who enunciate clearly enough to be understood by the more remote majority. Rowland Buck stone beloved, but to no avail; and to people familiar with Sothern's admir- able Hamlet, the inadequacy of his ell ocution, when so severely tested. was startling. The four women spoke more clearly than most of the men. Among them A. E. Ahson and Jacob Wendell Jr., were notable, showing the value of clear. correct speech. That MT. An sons performance stood admirably forth from the many is not necessarily surprising; but Mir. Wendell Is now appearing for the first time on the pro- fessionaI stage. He was an amateur actor in that fashionable New York company from which Mrs. Brown Pot ter, Elsie de Wolfe and the late Clara Bloodgood were graduated.
 have spoken of the faults exposed on the first night of Antony and Cleo patra" rather than reiterated the mer- it's of the production. The scenery was massive, imaginative and beautiful. yet always kept in proper subordination to the drama The costuming was beautiful fin coloring and generally ef-