The Washington times., 1910-01-04
Efforts of Sothern and Mar
lowe Appreciated by Wash
ington Audience.
MODERN RENDITION
OF CLASSIC DRAMA
Remainder Of Cast Below Standard
OF Production and Stage
Settings.
BY J. R. HILDEBRAND.

peares plays have been expurEated. but
z H SotheTn was about the first Ameri-
can actor to eXpUrgate, fumiEate, and
revamp their acting
Washington saw Ben Greet present
Shakespeare as Shakespeare did II saw
saw Robert 1Iauteu play Shakespear-
can roles acc rding 10 the best tradi-
tons Of great actors since Shakespeare's
time
SotheTn shoUJdered the burden OF
shearing these classics from all tradi-
JiOus- not absolutely essential 10 an IN
Outstanding Of the text He set out 10
adapt the best In modern acting 10 the
best in classic drama He is trying to
popuIarfze Shakespeare
His efforts are appreciated The Be
lascO last evening vas filed rom Or
chestra chairs TO the -opmOst rows in the
gallery by a representative Washington
audience This audience hardly came
TO see Romeo and juliet" The play
has been seen here many zines. lIr-
SotHern has been seen as Romeo and
Miss Julia NaTIowe has play ed Juliet to
many Washington audiences But these
players. In their first season Of wholly
classic repertoire might reasonably be
expected 10 work out new ideals and the
expectation was justified
Faces Difficult Task
NIr. Sothern b-aveIy chose the most
UnpromisinE play TO open his attack L
takes devoted admirer Of Shakespeare
10 like Romeo and Juliet as a play
Those who are young enough to be
thrilled by ardent love making and
those old enough TO enjoy its poetic
lines have generally been the patrons
Of that drama The statement would
shock the dear 0Id-uleTs who were
raised on a Shakespeare diet in drama.
hut one can't help admitting that Much
Ado About Nothing" would make a fit
-inE title for Romeo ana Juliet And
me rabid NoutaEues and CapuIeJs as
they fight and die seem excellent ma
t-riaI for a meIodrama -hriller-
To these forbiddius materials Mr.
SotHern and Miss MariOwe brought
methods learned in "A younger school Of
acting and a rIpene6 course IN Shake
speaue-s study
aTr. Sothern woOed- and when he for
got he was Romeo he seemed most Ell
rectfvp- Miss NarIone responded, and
when she shook of the accepted thing
in JuIiers- even TOrSalLluE some OF her
earlier methods in that part she seemed
most natural OF the two MISS Mar
lowe more nearly realized AlT- SCIneTn. s
sIraI She did this partly because her
role offered better opportunities and
aampered by 50 WIDE q knowledge Of
the traditions as Air SOthcru-
An Ideal Juliet.
Pertains bigger factor sJH is that
Mss AIarlovse fts the role Of Juliet
20 perfection. while Sothe-u s. hardly
an ideal Romeo. He had vo go farther
10 adapt himself than did Miss Mar
lowe. For Juliet IS a fair gauge of
Miss AIarIowe's acting The role re-
rrIires that wonderful eIOcu-iouary
ability in which Miss NarIowe IS pre-
eminent, il demands that personal
charm which Is lers alone il affords
a fitting exercise for her grace Of move
ueut- her Sirl-lIze attitudes even her
rnaunerisms- and most of aIl IL requires
only such ability for emotional detinS
rs would he expected of q girl In her
teens which IS all Miss MaTiuWe-s most
ardent admirers r1uCT1f 10 her
heard Miss Map-owe criticised last
evening for being too much che sweet
young thing all through the tragedy
Of the last TWO acts Juliet less flEal
twenty years. could hardly be expected
10 feel and t. show the emotions de-
wauded III Camille in Laza- OF IN
-\drea- Whetler NJ -7iar-oTFe could
PLAY those roles Gccep ably may ~
questioned. but she doesn't have 20 in
Romeo and Juliet
The whole gauge % the acting Of Mss
Nsrlowe and ar S0thern might be
placed 10 the balcony scene That sit
nation strikes the keynote Of the Play
and in II both M S0-hern and Miss
Narlove struck -T1e KEYNOTE Of thei-
cndc1vC-- Here -le lines grow 70 -
modern way IF thinking. most bon
Hsztic- To bring or the -5r-rsr trust
and simple confidence Of Juliet by the
uetspho-ical and Eilded expression
Shakespeare gives her - not q recent
achievement. but last night she did IL
more perfectly than IN pas years
Miss MarIOwe's Handicap.
To realize Just what Miss 1Ia-Fowe
accomplished try 70 convey the i-np0es-
stoned OF an awakened love and dawn
TnE wonanhood by saying:
Ny ears had not yet drunk , hundred
OF Thy tongues urtenng, yet I Know
the sound
OF again.
This bud q love. BY summers ripen-
nay prove a reaueoUs flower when
next we meet
and II is almost as hard, when tras-
edy Stares one in the face, 10 work out
naturally such poetic and undramatic
measures as,
THE sun on the highest hill OF this
days journey"
S0thern Lacks Fire.
r Il Sothern acted Romeo with the
precision ana CeEIEllellt-S ne gives any
role he undertakes. But ne lacked the
fire Of Romeo, and only came to his
own when remorse entered into his i'm
personatiOn- Despite this shortcOming
he was never stiIted- His conception Of
the role was refreshing and clear cut
He has probably read Of all the ira
ditions that tell how here Romeo takes
eleven steps 10 the right and a little
backward or Romeo siaps his thigh.
heavily. on the left side And the best
thing about his portrayal was that ne
forgot all these things. To many who
ltad seen one Shakespearean Interpreter
kick over a chair for the sake Of these
inevitable eleven steps his omissions
we're a relief
The rest OF the cast was not Uniform
y good Miss Alma Kruger. as Lady
CapuieI, old little more than pronounce
hey lines. Friar Laurence did not even
enuuCiate distinctly
Two bright spots were 8Iercutio. acted
by Frederick Lewis and Paris pIaved
by Albert IIOWs1n-
That M Sothern IS cor7fza0r NJ al
the stage traditions Of Sfalzszrnq-e7n
productions that should be retained vvas
evidenced by the settings and Costumes
Both were lavish and in good historical