New-York tribune., 1910-04-10
THE PtAYGOER
a Review OF The New Theatres
First Season.

ThcnlaSes. II had given a good account OF
ttsef from the end 81 January 10 April "
Before thar the condition was but 50 so.
with Indications of tendency to improve
rnent There was a long spell when hope
hsd but Itself 10 feed on. The die, psileo.
From November tHl wei along toward
spring Doubring Thomas and his family
were as harry - Scsrboro rlsms a.
hieh -i6e They saw the dismallest failure
shead and were rich WITH rumor. But
thew came January 2s and Twelfth
Night" and TIE chant o. melancholy cesses
awhile But NOT because Twelfth Night
vas thing 20 nlsrvel a. There were Ger
fain misfts in fhe cast Apart from these
she play vas capita ly acted. d was besuti-
fully staged. The production, though. vas
more important IN promise than in fulfl-
-neni. u thev could 10 SO well 81 The New
Thestfe with this what could they not do
when they should have hkeler metal end
should use il with skill. Twelfth Night /
uithout an adequate Niois strains too
much the friendliest Imagination. Some of
the parts we're done a. well as ever they
had been done IN New York A scene or
tNo had betier playing and richer Shake
srerian spirit than this comedy has known
anywhere else in our time. Bui Il you have
40, Niols-what then?
with March came Maeieriinck's Sis
ter Beatrice" sno Miss Edith wvnne Mat
thison. IL was the beginning ~ a new or
der of things. although the stodgy fourth
oct ~ Brand" cast its doefUi shadow over
the briglii advent Brand" thank fortune.
did not last long 1t was shelvea SO speed
Sly that the wonder was il ever had been
done al all And then came The Winters
Tale with Miss Matthison 80 tell n. and
y cast. including Miss Rose Coehlan. COM
petent in all uArts 90 aid her. Here
something like resl acting, end she audi
ence felt ar interest which did not have 10
he forced The Doubting Tnomsses. bereft
Of their occupation scattered 10 other fields.
Ead The New Theatre found itself? That
remains 70 be seen. The chances are that
a. will hnd itself The probs bities are that
g. hsd been finding itself al along hut il
had been a. much hazard Of experiment
along the way. Its opening bin vas a
thing 20 forget. II only the gracious powers
Nroulo permit forget tfulness. A msuled yer
sion Of Antony and Cleopatra" lamely
PLAYED. The second programme contained
pleasant but ineffective comedy Of little
rnesning and small interest. The Cottage
sn the Air" Tire New Theatre "a
world too ~-ide for ts shrunk shank" The
third play ~ss Gsisworthy's Strife" re-
rnsnbered chiefly because people we're
puzzled why tho trouble ~ changing ste
scene 20 Ohio. and its currency from pounds
sterling 20 dollars, should have been taken.
The Nigger' was the fourth production q
serv creditsble piece o. vork. Then came
s'The School for Scandal well PLAYED in
some characters. most insdeoustely PLAYED
in others and for the greater part no~here
near the mark which The Ne~ Theatre
had oonscienuousy drawn for ts cvn toe
sne They seemed 20 have an srnszins
capacity for putting square pegs into round
roles. They showed the same error IN
Don As n Mr.. Matheson Lang had
not been heavy enough Charles Surface
they freghted she buoyant irresponsible.
dreamy Don with him. Mr.. Mstheson
Lang is q good actor, hut not in Charles
Surfaces and Dcns We Was as unlike
Resiers Don as Dublin stout is unlike
champagne, and so the play was not fairly
seen. Mr. Lang IL is TO he supposed DID
rot cast himself FOR The part but how any
one with the dimmest notion OF what
Charles Surface is like or what Besier's
Don is like. could have selected him for
either characteristic shall say? Mr
Lang after hapess adventure with the
Duke IN Twelfth Night" returned to Eng
land without tarrying 20 try conclusions
with Deontes. character which he had
been expected 20 play.
The seventh change slipped. not into the
lean and sippered psntaloon." but into q
woebeeone one-sct piece called Liz. the
Mother" by Frederick Fem and Richard
prsce, which was produced with Don
and was swiftly shunted down the back
waters % oblivion Somebody must have
thought during tfye season that 10 be .srtis-
&c" you must have the blues on no
other speculation can such eery dreariness
as LIZ" and The Witch" and the fourth
act OF Brand" be accounted for. The
Witch" came along in the middle Of Feb
rUary from Scandinavia by way OF Salem
Mass, adapted 10 these lstitudes by In
strUctor HsgedOrn. of Harvard. Only IL was
ill adspsed 10 these lstitudes for IL did
not long hold UP its head II will be re
membered chiefly for having introduced
Nine. Bertha Kslich 20 The New Theatre
and 20 the English speaking stage. Nine
Kslich 10 actress OF whom much may be
expected. There is hardly any use in men
tionins A Son of the People" because Al
1houeh played at The New Theatre. II was
not q New Theatre play n uas put on 20
hn up q gap; 81 was performed by outside
sctors, Of whom John Mason was the chief
but II pss g work OF no importance The
subscribers had beer promised q new play
"A Son Of the People" kept that promise
e. least
The season 50 far as IL concerns the
regular compsny OF PLAYERS Is finished st
This house. a special company under the
management of The New Theatre. viii be
seen tomorrow. and for four ~eeks fol-
lowing in Rene Fsuchoiss Beethoven
which vss produced in Paris during March
sss, by NJ Antoine AZ she Odeon and hv
Ssr Herbert Tree at His Ma jestv's, in Lon
don last November.
The list then, shows the folloeins pro-
ouctions:
SHAKESPEARE PLAYS.
NoT. lse ..-....... Antony and Cleopatra
March 90, is-o.........T The winters Tale
OLD COMEDY.
Dec. Is, IsOe...... The School for Scandal
NEW COMEDIES.
Nov. u isys ........-fI'he Cottase in the Air
Dec. -, TT. .--.-.---. Don
DRAMAS
Sov J., 1905. s0e.....-............... ssttife
Dec. ., lsNt- -.sss.ss.ss. lie Nlggef
80, leUs. s....-...-s-.-'LlZ the Mother
ffb. lS, ltlO...s...s.... ...-..-'1he Witch
March s lslO.....T'A Son OF the People
L. IslO........... rssa,,sf sls,ef BeafTlce nc,
4Farst performance on any stage
sF'iret performance IN this country.
-DrOTurSd n anpf her