The Washington herald., 1911-02-07
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has left its indelible impression, and the
somber pail is never lifted until We
| stumble up the aisle after the final cur
tain and greet the familiar faces OF our
workaday world
From Mr. Sothern's scholarly interpre-
tation of the Scottish hero-tyrant We
| gain a new conception of Macbeth's S
character. Theatrical tradition pictures
him as a physically brave but weak man
led into bloody excesses by his over
reaching ambition but only upon the in
ceSSant crafty inStigatiOn of a ferOciouS,
AmaZonian spouse. Were Mr.. Sothern to
attempt such a delineation of the role
Miss Marlowe would be confronted with
a characterization of which. by her very
| wondrous womanliness and tempera-
mental beauty, she would be incapable.
Mr.. Sothern. therefore, presents US a
| less heroic Macbeth with an innate ca
pacity for murder and treachery, and one
| who needs but slight encouragement to
| commit the bloodiest of deeds.
| We see him bent on mischief from the
| moment the weird siSterS-symbolical OF
his own evil ambitions-propnesy his acces-
sion to the throne. At that moment he
plots the murder of Duncan and immedi-
ately dispatches letter to his wife. tell
| ing of the meeting with the witches and
+; limiting at his murderous designs. From
then on we see the Macbeth Of MIR. Soth-
ern taking upon his own shoulders the
burden of his crimes. True, he waverS
and flinches when he faces the ac-
tual murder Of Duncan, but instead of
| through the scornful hectoring OF a fero-
| cious tiger-woman he is nerved to the
crime by nothing more bloodthirSty than
| the artful pleading of a beautiful, de-
voted. but Inscriptions wife.
In tempering the traditional, cold
| blooded ferocity of Lady Macbeth to meet
the demands of Miss Marlowe's inefface-
able feminine sweetness, Mr.. Sothern
has submerged the negative virtues of
Macbeth and so emphasized the evil side
of the character as to picture him in all
the positive villainy of a Richard Ill.
In SO doing he has reserved to himself
the task of giving histrionic expression
| TO the plays most tragic elements, while
to Miss Marlowe is allotted role that
never attempts to break the bonds of her
personality. This solution of the difficult
ties that faced these eminent players
when they undertook the presentation Of
this terrific tragedy results most salts
faCtorily
1t is easy to reconcile ones previously
conceived ideas of Lady Macbeth's char
acter to Miss Marlowe's Interpretation
when one considers the times in which
she lived. BY the women of the Macbeth
period the mere acts of bloodlettinE and
assassination We're lightly considered. In
| those parlouS times the women Crooned
over cradles to lullaby of steel on steel
To the Eentlcst of them the dagger S
death stroke-save when it laid low lord
or scion of the household-brought no
ShudderinS terrors. How easy, then. for
such a woman Spurred on by wifely
ambition for the fulfillmeit Of a proph
esied kingly glory for her lord and
master, to smother Scruple and instigate
murder. She need be no grim-visaged
harpy. There is nothing in Shakespeares 3
text that pictures Lady Macbeth in such
a guiSe. On the contrary. there is much
that shows the existence of the tenderest
relations between this tragic pair and
every indication that, after the regicide.
Lady Macbeth had nothing to do with
Macbeth's continued crimes, but sank
slowly under the crushing weight of re-
morse until her pitiful figure is blotted
from the page by considerate Death.
1t is in the sleep-walking scene that
Miss Marlowe discloseS most strikingly
her wisdom in not attempting the eXpoSi-
ton of frightful tragedy. A more pitt
fully pathetic figure than this blood
stained beauty We have never seem AS
picture of a tortured. guilty soul. and
in its purely elocutiOnary aspect, this
scene could not be surpassed.
Miss Marlowe's entire Interpretation
strikingly demonstrates what an artist
of her noble caliber can do in the way of
tailoring role to fit physical and tenn
peramental limitations. When confronted
with the task of studying this prodigious
part Miss MarIowe must have felt the
choking coils of tradition settling about
her shoulders. procession of bloody
souled, hardfsted, masculine creatures
led back into the dimmest history of the
play. Gazing down this long line of CORY
Lady Macbeths. Miss Marlowe must
have realized the hopelessness Of at
tempting a traditional Interpretation of
the role.
a glance into her mirror might well
have shown her the impOssibility of cloak
ing her loveliness in the guiSe of a grim
tragedy queen. Perhaps. before her glass.
she let her mobile countenance run the
gamut of facial expression in vain search
Of one which limned an horrid convuson
of feminine nature. All else she might
have found-beauty enamored en-
ragged: beauty joyous or distraught: beau
ty pert or pathetic-always beauty, but
never the semblance of misshapen soul.
Again might she have sought in the
Olympian music of her voice some
harshly narrowing note through which to
convey the workings of an innate maIev- |
olence. Here. too, the quest would have |
been fruitless. Her direst, most discord- |
ant tones WOULD De Dut as the Deatlng OF |
a golden hammer against gong Of |
crystal.
Thus happily hampered. these twin art |
lists have put their hearts and heads to- |
yether in the production of a signally |
and satisfying dramatic study, |
with great richness and en-
nobled by fidelity to all true tradition and |
nature.
The cast of players surrounding the
central figures contains a number who
deserve particular commendation. The
Macduff of Frederick Lewis is dignified |
and convincing. His reception of the
idings that his wife and children have
been foully murdered is particularly
ine hit of acting. Sydney Mather, as
3anquo, is impressive: Albert S. How
'on. Malcolm Bradley, and Miss Lenore
as the three witches. are
capital: Thomas Colemans bit as the
sergeant is theatrically effective,
md Rowland Blackstone gives one of his
Usual excellent studies of Shakespearean
comedy characters as the porter. Seen
rally. the horror-hung walls and cham
'ers Of Twynham and Dunsinane castles
nd the apparition scene in the witches
avern are the most impressive. /
f RICHARD SCHAYER.