The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-01-23

New York, Jan. a.-After seeing THE
School for Scandal at the New Theater
IN the afternoon went to a spiritualstic
seance in the evening The boss Of the
spook show invited me to call for any
dead one whom l wished 10 take control
OF the medium. Richard Brinsley Sheri-
dan" said l.
The spirit Of Sheridan is here" said
the medium; question him"
Sheridan 1 asked. very respectfully,
do you approve the stage representation
Of your great work that I saw to-day?"
For a moment the medium was thought
fully silent; then she replied: Gen.
Sheridan says that II you refer to the
dramatization Of 'Sheridan's Ride in the
play called Shenandoah, il would hard
ly be modest for him to express an Opin-
ion"
Baff1ed thus in a quest Of authoritative
judgment, I can at least tell you easily
how Annie Russell enacts Lady Teazle.
which is precisely as she did Elaine and
Esmeralda thirty years ago 49, gently,
evenly. winsomely. Her banter with Sir
Peter is quizzical. tantalizing. but never
NtAAA6AAtSAg MoopiSlls As ~ III acc NICDIEc.
the other Lady Teazle. did you see her
in "Divorce?" She is Ike that in THE
School for Scandal'-crisper and brisker
than Miss Russell, with touches of saucy
impudence. but with no likeness to the
Teazle bride we have known.
Sheridan created Lady Teazle in the
image Of a tall and portly actress OF his
time, and that first personation fixed the
physical form of her ladyship for a cen
tury and third. No matter which Of
the embOdiments he encounters in his
ghostly visits 10 our dramatic art temple,
gentle Annie or sweet Grace. he doesn't
see the buxom lass described by Sir
Peter as Jogging heavily to market on
the back OF old horse Dobbin, but a slim
woman OF young girlish shape pHd car
rtage. He discerns in the Mrs. Cand0ur.
though, a Lady Teazle Of the corporeal
type that has been so long the standard.
for 1 suppose he used TO haunt Wal
lacks, where for many years Rose Cogh-
Ian posed for the only accepted American
portrait. With her beauty not damaged
unreasonably and her melli1uous voice
still strong. Rose stands aside and sees
radical change wrought by two ac-
tresses whom Walack would have cast
for Maria, but for the hectorlng lady
never, never.
Some Comparisons.
Sheridan has been prepared for the al
teration Of his heroine by a seventeen
year-old Marie Lohr playing her with
BeerbOhm Tree in London. I saw the
Tree production last summer and / think
Sheridan agrees that, while in all other
respects 1t was perfection. the too young
girl did nothing whatever with the role,
good, bad, or mIddling
1t is not like that with Miss George
and Miss Russell They are distinct and
certain in making Lady TeazIe a teezer
of Sir Peter, pesterer, too. but not for
enc moment a vixen. OF course, they
couldn't do anything like Rose Coghlan
used 10. They are very charmingly weak,
COO-VOiced, and calm-mannered, and the
directory at the New Theater knew be-
forehand-wanted H. toO-exactly what
they got in an innovatory Lady TeazIe.
But does Sheridan Ike it? I guess SO.
STILL he may be d stickler for tradition
Beerbohm Tree doesn't make Sir Peter
old or testy. but a rather good-tempered
man of fifty, and so does Charles Calvert
here; but If he were old John Gilbert.
with his old comedy ebullitions Of furious
rage Annie and Grace would be scared
TO submission before the play was half
over.
Miss George has gone of touring and
Miss Russell is announced officially as
the New Theater's Lady Teaze while the
play is kept in the repertoire. 7 have
been in matinee audiences for both that
were considerably Juvenile Many Of the
subscribers boxes were occupied by par
ties of children. The growing sons and
daughters of New York wealth. there
fore are getting a new conception Of
Sheridan's quareling couple. They are
seeing the play mounted more artfuIIy
than ever I have before. Moreover, they
are hearing it spoken word for word as
written, although some of the unexpur-
gated language of the ladies' and gentle
men at the drawing-room scandal school
would be tabooed now in even smart
set" parlors.
The Arcadians Naive
It isn't likely that any one Of the five
London makers of The Arcadians'' cal
culated the value Of the two competitions
that it engenderg IN New York. Did
Charles Frohman count on It? wouldn't
say so. Yet the plays instant boom OF
success is helped much by the vim and
verve Of PercivaI Knight English. YER
sus Frank MOulan. American, and OF
Ethel Cadman and Julia Sanderson, SINH 1
larly foreign and domestic Nearly equal
advantages are given TO those pairs. yet
Moulan and Cadman start in a beautiful
Arcadia. where she is a lovely native
and he a comic visitor in an airship.
while Knight and Sanderson are not seen
until the action is transported to Lon
don. The first act is ideally Arcadian,
with shepherd boys and girls SO pure
that they don't know what's a lie and so
graceful in their gambols that they
make moving pictures Of surprising love-
liness
So naive are the Arcadians, so far
away and fantastic, that it takes
bravo roUnder to invite one OF those
sylphides TO a supper after the show. An
hour Of beauty in Arcadia is enough, !
though. and a total change comes with
race course near London. Frank Moulan |
and Ethel Cadman are under headwav
already as English aerOnaut and an Ar
cadian girl who undertake to introduce
primitive truth and simplicity into Eng
land. They encounter Percy Knight, &
horse jockey, and Julia Sanderson. a
devotee of the turf. Knight is a drou
chap with permanent frog in his throat
ma he Of