The Washington herald., 1911-09-24
NOTES OF THE STAGE.

The new play of Henry Arthur Jones is
called The Ogre"
Arnold Benefits new play, The
Honeymoon" will be played in a few
weeks at the London Royalty, with Marie
Tempest in the chief female character.
Dion Boucicault will superintend the pro-
\ ductIon.
Messrs. Vedrenne and Eadie are rapidly
increasing their stock of plays for event.
ual presentation at the London Royalty.
The list includes the new play by John
Galsworthy. entitled The Pigeon" The
| Son and Heir" an original piece by Miss
Gladys Unger; another named The Sup
| Planters, by Mr.. H. NJ. Harwood: a
fourth, called The Odd Man Out" by
Mr.. Harold Brighouse; two plays by Miss
Cicely Hamilton, and another by the late
Mr.. ST. John Hankin.
When Ibsen's ''Pretenders'' Is played
at the London Haymarket, Laurence
Irving will assume the part OF the Bishop
Of Osto.
Mary Garden has been singing Mar
grerite in ''Faust'' in Paris.
Baron Trenck" will be produced in
| New York in October.
Anna Held will appear in a new musical
play in New York early next month
Sidney Drew and Lionel Barrymore are
to appear in Philadelphia in Bob Acres"
Hall caine is to. have a play called
The Quality of Mercy" produced in
London.
Emma Trentini will begin her second
tour In Naughty Marietta October 2 in
Brooklyn.
Annette Kellermann. the aquatic star,
will give her new diving spectacle in
October.
Edward S. Abeles has a sketch by q
newspaper man, called The Exclusive
Story"
Donald Brian in THE Siren will prob
ably be one OF the Easter attractions in
London.
The !ong-talked-of revival of Mac
beth by Sir Herbert Tree, at His Ma
jestry's Theater. in London, has been
achieved at last, and probably is very
much what nearly all competent judges
excepted II would be-emasculated
Shakespeare set in lovely pictures. 1t
was Charles Kean who first sought to
conceal the poverty of acting beneath
gorgeousness Of spectacle. His example
has had many imitators and some dis
astrous results. Sir Herbert. by virtue
Of mis- cleverness, his urbanity, and his
liberality. has won a position in which
he can do as he pleases without much
fear of criticism. The London press ex-
patiates Upon the beauty Of his stage
pictures, excuses his maltreatment OF the
Shakespearean text, and only hints at
his deficiencies as a tragic actor. Mr..
Walklsy. in the London Times, furnishes
a delightfully."- humorous appreciation Of
his Macbeth. especially to those capable
of reading between the lines. He writes:
Terror. remorse. blood-thirst. all the
other tragic elements, had to give way
wherever there was a chance for sheer
beauty. And beauty is the thing this re-
vivaI aims at first and last. There is
nothing ugly in the representatiOn-not
even the Witches. We would not, with
| the giddy lady in the Spectator. talk Of
! the dear, charming Witches. But these
Witches had beauty of their own, the
| beauty of the weird and fantastic.
AS to the numbering, that was made
beautiful, too. Oh que c'est beau, un
beau crimer said Jean Jacques Weiss.
un beau crime. The crime is beautiful
in its pre-Raphaelite symmetry-opposits
| flights Of steps leading to Duncan's room
! in the very center, not Of the stage, but
of the vertical lines between stage and
flies That door is, in one sense. the
protagonist here. All eyes are centered
on it. What is happening on the other
side of it? Victor Hugo and Maeterlinck
know the fascination OF the closed door.
with something tremendous happening
on the other side. But Shakespeare
knew it before them. Sir Herbert is
exactly right. then, in making the door
the very center of that scene. Macbeth
and his wife crept through ii, ajar, with
a certain furtive beauty. Or in front Of
it Macbeth had his beautiful thoughts.
expressed in beautiful music rather than
in mere words. about sleep. The group
ing of the afHrighted household was the
beauty of ordered disorder. First and
last, the effects sought-or, at any rate,
the effects attained-were effects OF
beauty.
so it was when you first saw Lady
Macbeth. She was reading the letter
at low window which revealed a sunlit
landscape-brilliant against the sombre
frame of the castle walls. That picture
dwells in the memory as one of the chief
things of the play, a real 'f1nd'-fOr it Is
not in Shakespeare. Then the sleep
walking scene was a scene OF beauty.
Flights of steps zigzagged precipitously
from the base to the very top Of the
scene. Evidently In an incident Of sleep
walking it is appropriate that the sleep
walker should really have some walking
to do. Lady Macbeth went slowly up
and up, always beautifully.
There was beauty again in the BAN
quoting scene. barbaric beauty 0nclud-
ing a fierce dance Of retainers), and even
the Ghost of Banquo was a beautiful
ghost. It had rhythmic movement
gracefully eluding-we had almost said
'dodging' all around the walls.
Lady Macbeths kind goodnight to all
was beautifully said. and they all huddled
out beautifully. Still more beautifully
said was, You lack the season of all
natures, sleep'-accompanied by a beauti-
full action. Lady Macbeth gently re-
moved the crown from Macbeth's head
as from the tired head Of a child"
The same authority says of the per
formance Of Romeo and Juliet" at the
New Theater, in London: I'VE missed
its swiftness, its directness. Without
going so far as to express a preference
for hearing 1t gabbled by Mr.. William
Poel and his Elizabethans, one may re-
fleet that elaborate business long
pauses. and racing displays of passion
at particular moments hinder the move
ment OF a play that Is all passion In
the balcony scene Miss Neilson-Terry
was extremely good; frank. earnest,
young, dfrect-all that Juliet should De.
NN.N- NlrW