Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-11-20

spectator is not at the play house to look
for 20 fine a point as this lie or she is
there often for much the same reason as
the Tired Business Man of theater page
fame-to be amused. His or her critical ana
analytical faculties, il such the average
spectator has, are in abeyances He left |
EN-. on the piano at nome or checked them |
In the, cloak room.
Furthermore the average and regular
spectator has become pretty Well ac-
fduaiutel with, the faces of the actors n
trent OF him When he looks at the people
on the stage he tends TO see them, not 60
1 see the characters they are creating. II
the actor or actress is playing pronounced
character part in which much makeup and
false hair or the like has been used, he is
stll even striving to see the real person
beneath. Such is the attitude or tendency,
4 So when an actress like Miss Lang Is
nearly all the time. engaged in playing
! straight parts with no adventitous aid OF
! makeup and artificial feature, tho average
I spectator lncKnes TO see just Miss Lang.
True. an actress as good as Miss Lang soon
/ has the spectator IN her grip OF illusion
and IS quickly convincing her whole aud
fence; but even so the audience is seeing
a physical woman identlcauy like the ply
steal woman whom they have seen often
before and there is a failure to observe how
different Jacqueline is from Cyprienne and
the rich wife of the Buchanan play from
Anne OF Herzogovinia. That Miss Lang
does differentlate all these like characters
lis an unquestioned fact, and the skepte
has only TO pay particular attention to this
point apd he. too, viii be convinced that
Miss Lahg's Jaequeline is one girl, her Cy-
} prenne another.
It is commonly asserted that Miss lang
: plays such a part better than any other.
The assertion Is at least open to question
A All OF us take sides in q theater for OF
: against a character. Characters like these
, charming young girls or young wives We
are ali for" just as we are all against
the villain person and the adventures
/, consequently when a character is pre-
G scented Of the kind we naturally ike best
n when such a character Is as charmingy
; presented as by Miss Lang, we are apt &c
. think that this Is her best work because
4 we approve most highly Of the finished
!, product. In so thinking we are not decd
l., ing by absolute standards at an, bu
q merely voting our personal liking Il Is
/, not much more than an individual whim
:, because It is not critical judgment baseC
o. on analysis OF referred to aesthetic prn
: ciples Most popular verdicts with respec
=, to plays and acting are in the same cate
/, CORY. Judging Miss Lang's society girl
= and women By deeper measures, the pop
a ular verdict is to be re-echoed so far as i
(, praises her playing such characters, bu
when the popular verdict says she is thel
= at her best or in any way then reaching
4 her limit. the facts Of the case should b
scrutinised,
Passing by the two farces which at
I sd "A her M Iaa az aa
I, actors much, FOR that matter. one ma
consider Miss Langs exposition OF types o
more lowly life. Take, for instance, th
peasant girl in "Old Heidelberg" tn
!" Salomy Jane sort OF part IN the colder
!. West play, and, TO go back a season. I
= her acting OF the title part OF 'Merel
May Anne" which Is one Of the bes
4, things Miss Lang has ever done.
In these and other depictions OF girls q
humble class Miss Lang has hit the bulls
eye as accurately as when playing daugh
: ters of the well-eo-do. for In these char
acterH, as in all others she plays she col
lF ceives the character not only with fideHt
Y to the facts, but she conceives IT syn
- psthetioally. and by sympathetically on
10 means not with compassion, but IN N
2 literal sense Of fhe word which near
10 feeling with" Miss Lang. IN other word
understands the feelings and emotions
IN the character and then portrays then
"a Temperament" as the word Is sometime
rs used, Is just a synonym for sympathy ]
en- this original usage Of the word.
IN 4 good many other aspects OF Miss Lang
nd acting suggest themselves. one migl
comment on her technique, vocal. facial ,
at Eesticulatory. This Is more commonly al
er preciated by her spectators and thus neeC
n less 20 be expounded. With reference
Sc the kinds Of characters played by the lea,