The Washington times., 1911-02-08
TANNING Of SHREH"
SHOWN AT BELASCO
One of Brightest of Shakes.
pearean Comedies Follows
Grim Macbeth" J"

ITO teach her tricks, eleven and
twenty long; to tame a shrew and still
her chatty tongue" E. H. Sothern and
Julia Marlowe, co~stars, stepped into
the brightest of Shakespearean comedy
last night from the somber, tragic
scenes of Macbeth" with which they
opened their brief six nights at the Be
lasco.
Washington audiences seem never to
tire of Tanning Of the Shrew," the
bright, farcical dramatic progenitor of
the modern problem play, nor of the
manner in which Petrucio blusteringly
disposes Of the shrewishness of the
adorab!y vixenish Kate.
And the arrangement of the Sothern
and Marlowe production has all Of the
satire, movement. and brilliancy of a
modern light comedy.
By Comparison.
The versatile art of Miss Marlowe and
of Mr.. Sothern was all the more ap-
parent in the performance last night
by reason of the awe-inspiring charac-
terization which, on Monday night, they
gave Macbeth" and his lady, victims
of relentless conscience.
Although there are some chronology
cally precisely historians, who will deny
it. Petrucio's Kate was conceived by
Shakespeare for Miss Marlowe alone.
For who could have made a winsome
Kate. a viXenish Kate, a raging, spite
fuh inconsistent Kate; sweet-voiced,
charming, momentarily repellant Kate,
beneath the whimsical and adorable
Kate who she really was all the time,
but Miss Marlowe? The case is proven.
The comedy was written for her
while Mr. SOfherO'S reading of the
tragic parts of Shakespeare's plays has
won for his art the highest praise, there
is perhaps no character in his wide
repertoire which so aptly rests upon
him as does that of the clustering, bel
lowing, tanner of shrewss Petrucio.
Sothern's Work.
From the time that the young gentle
man of Verona enters the courtyard in
Baptasta's house to find Kate's tutors
amid the ruins of their lutes through
the stormy homecoming to his home,
where he literally drags Kate a captive
10 his swashbuckling bluster, until the
time she stands before her fathers
guests TO teach the duty Of a wife TO
her sisters, Mr.. Sothern's work was de-
lightful. Never a torrential storm of
abuse was heaped upon the head of the
lucklesS Kate but what the audience
saw the Twinkle OF hunlOr III MT. SOln-
ern's eyes. No line was spoken by him
unaccompanied by some trick of hand
or foot, some little mannerism which
revealed the real PetruciO, who, dis
guised. was seeking for the real Kate.
All the rest of the company took the
ample opportunity afforded them in
their parts, and France Bendsten as
Grem1o, Thomas Coleman as Hortensio,
Royland Blackstone as Gremie, Petru-
clos lackey; Malcolm Bradley and
Frederick Rowland as the tailor and
haberdasher, all gave Petrucio the best
cid in sweeping the frown OF, the vixen
from fair Katherine's brow.
Character Work.
Of the character work in the cast,
France Bendsten as Gremio had per-
haps the best opportunity and made
the best of the portrayal of the aged
beau, crack-voiced, spindling and
merry. who sought the hand of Blanca,
a part well taken by Miss Nora Lam
iSon.
The subcomedy of the farce-the
wooing of Bianca-by Lucencio. in
which part Frederick Lewis appeared.
was excellently done.