The San Francisco call., 1910-05-15
By WALTER ANTHONY

session of the audience of 1000 souls
yesterday morning within few mo-
ments after the chorus of Thebans
marched on the stage at the Greek the
ater in Berkeley. AT first only interest
was manifest. There was a curiosity
to see role enacted which once was
played by Polus. the mighty tragedian
and favorite of the poet.
There was curiosity to witness this
play, "Oedipus, and the king, Oedipus,
who, though he could solve the Sphinx
ultimate middle of life, could not fathom
the horrid secrets of his own existence.
But when the chorus of elders was fol-
lowed by Oedipus and Creon and beau
tiful Jocasta; when the fateful story,
black with unspeakable horror, began
to unfold in noble English periods and
the nets that fate and the gods wove
began to wrap around the woeful fig
ures of the self-accursed king and his
queen, then curiosity in the drama van
ished with the wells hung by 2S CEN
turtles and We sat face to face, under
clear blue sky with our neighbors of
Thebes. Even the anachronical NOV
ing picture machines which buzzed i'm
pertinently in the sunshine could not
defect the direction of our emotions
and sympathies which flew backward
at the beck of Sophocles.
AN ATHENIAN FETE
Thus the golden jubilee of the Uni
versity of California, of which celebra-
tion the production of Sophocles' trag-
edy, "Oedipus," is an incident, became
Grecian holiday an Athenian fete.
- yAfr w. ~ -.
sat before the stage watching the play
and adding with their costumes to the
Illusion that the drama invited
We watched, almost breathlessly, as
consciousness of his awful crime, done
| innocently, dawned the king; we
were stirred at his, humanity and real
ity. How he fought to escape the
knowledge that his own virtue sought:
how the dawning truth that he was
murderer of his father and son to his
wife broke in upon him; how the fate
that the oracles saw descending com
passed him steadily, immutably and
certainly! We shuddered at the blank
fatalism of the story, its hopelessness,
its inevitableness and its truth. If IL
did not conform to modern playwrights'
rules; If it visited upon the innocent
punishment for nameleSs sins commit
ted unwittingly it more than made up
for an ethical difference in it's trend
to the thought that centered it.
THE WRETCHED OEDIPUs
After broken, wretched Oedipus, who
once was king and won his kingship by
his virtue. pierces his eyes with
clasp from the garment of his self-slain
| queen, Creon points the moral:
Behold this oedipus
Who knew the famous riddle and was
nobest.
Whose fortune who saw not with envious
And 10! in what sea of direst trouble
He now is plunged From hence the lesson
To reckon no man happy till We witness
His closing day: until he pass the border
which sewers life from death, unscathed
by sorrow.
| ACTING EXCELLENT
The acting was unusually excellent
throughout the cast, though there were
three who exhibited notable skill.
They were those who appeared in the
roles OF Oedipus. the king; Jocasta. the
queen, and Creon, the queens brother.
The roles were assumed respectively
by Prof. James Turney Allen, Miss
Leigh Stafford and George Manship.
have no idea what course the latter is
fitting himself for; whether he is
studying to be a lawyer. statesman,
doctor, civil engineer, or base
ball player; but if he doesn't look out,
the managers will get him. In that
throng of about $50 players, chorus
and Theban mob, he stood out clearly
and distinctly with a voice of singu-
lar. beauty and resonance; a command
of facial play quite unusual in a coll
lege man when he is on the stage, and
with an abandon and freedom in his
lines seldom observed in an amateur
player. He has a picturesque figure,
graceful gestures and is not embar-
rassed by the possession of a couple of
hands, nor perplexed because he has
the regular use of a couple of feet.
BEAUTIFUL QUEEN
Miss Stafford made beautiful queen,
almost too lovely to fit the years she
must sustain as the mother of Oedipus.
Her portrayal of the queens grief in
the climax of the drama was heroic,
yet touching, and her excellent articu-
lation was borne across the amphithea-
ter In well modulated, resonant tones
Professor Aliens picture of the king
was vivid and his reading of the lines
was oratorically fine. He was chosen
for the role wisely and in view of his
former successful appearances in the
Greek plays given at the university.
In justice to the faithful work done
by all, the entire cast should be men,
toned individuality, a duty forbidden
by space limitations.
A pleasing feature of the production
was the incidental music composed by
John Knowles Paine. BY another
pretty coincidence the music was 10
years old almost to the day. 1t was
written by the professor of music of
Harvard for the production of "Oedipus
Tyrannus" at that university in May,
1881. The orchestra, under Steindorff,
played the introduction in particular
with much depth of expression and
beauty.
In spite of the brazen sun, which
beat down on the Greek theater some
what pitilessly. no one missed the
spell of the great Greek tragedy and
few left until the blind king wandered
off toward Colonus, whittier, let us
hope, the students will also soon invite
US.