Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-02
pY sHIRLEY oLYMPIUs


ITO go from Louis XXI to Macbeth is
to go from huddled, disease
- tortured senility to broad chest
ed, big-framed 80 or 40. Yet so easily
and so completely did Robert Mantell
make the journey last night at the
Mason opera house that it opened
ones eyes in wonderment at the gem
ius of the player. Monday night we
saw him as the cruel, crafty, scoffing,
superstitious monarch Of France. Last
night we saw him as the ambition
mad, woman-swayed Scot. If he was
great as Louis he was none the less
as Macbeth.
1t was the antithesis of the two
characters which struck me as de-
noting Mr. Mantells mastery of his
art. In the place Of the croaking voice
of Louis there sounded out the forte
tones OF the warrior. He did not rant.
He did not below. But he carried
to ones mind the intelligence of big
ness by the very pitch of his voice.
One secretly pitied the weakness
caused by the lust of power when one
heard that great voice ring out, once
in refusal to do a dastardly deed, and
then again in self-execration when
the deed was done.
Shakespeare's Macbeth is not ex-
actly the Macbeth of history, and
Booths Macbeth is not that of Shakes
peare. 1t is the Edwin Booth version
of the Shakespeare tragedy Mr.. Man
tell uses. Shakespeare invests Mac
beth with a character more legendary
than historical. 1t is we'll that this
is so, for the Macbeth of history was
human monster, athirst for blood
more than for power. Shakespeare
makes ambition-vaultng ambition
which must end in ignominy--the rul-
ing passion Of his Macbeth. From the
bard's text Edwin Booth elided the
scenes in England and the English
characters. However, these omissions
are not essential to the dramatic worth
of the tragedy, so nothing of value is
lost.
TO Miss Marie Booth Russell must
be given a laurel wreath for her Lady
Macbeth. She invests the role with all
the subtle sorcery of Cleopatra and
the crafty cruelty of Borgia. Her
madness is thing TO make one shud-
der for it is the portrait of mind
warped by remorse and tortured by
the fixed idea of consciousness of
crime. Her Lady Macbeth Is tre-
mendous thing-hugely impressive for
its greatness, its vividness and its
worth. 1t will make those words,
"Out, damned spot!' ring in the mem
o,y of all who had the good fortune to
be present at the Mason last night.
AS for the other members of the
cast, l can only say they did not meas
ure up to standard. / shall cite no
personal instances.
Tonight Hamlet" Mr.. Mantelrs
best characterization, because of its
clarity and disregard of some of the
Inaccuracies woven around the char
acter, win be the bill.
Oliver Mordsco and Frederic Belasco
yesterday sent a joint telegram to
David Belasco in New York city asking
for terms for the use of "Sweet Kitty
Bellairs" on the road, In coast terri
| tory only In case suitable terms are
! secured a company will be organized
here to present the play and the big
! production made for the Burbank and
which is being used at that theater
| this week will be taken on the road in
| tact, for use in all towns which have
theaters with big enough stages to han
die 1t.
Los Angeles is due to. be all "shot
up next week when s'the Red Mill
chorus bunch arrives in town for theil
/ engagement at the Majestic, theater
| There are exactly Twenty-Five kodak
fiends in the crowd and the "You press
the button we do the rest" contingent
has been working over time ever since
they arrived in coast territory
! Manager Blackwood of the Belasco
theater yesterday closed record
breaking deal for plays when he Sc
cured the entire list of Shubert success
ses for the use of Lewis S. Stone and
the Belasco company. The plays Sc
cured include such well known hits
as "The Wolf" "The Blue Mouse,
"The Great John Canton" "Goine