The Washington times., 1912-02-13

as a farce" 1.-THE Tanning of the
Shrew" gives opportunity for excellent
acting of almost every variety, particu-
larly the. agile, bounding variety sup
FLIED by the male stars Petruchio. From
the moment he enters, his slim, 1.-THE
figure encased In cream-colored doublet
and hose, a slender waxed mustache and
goatee adjoining his face, rough laugh
In his voice, a twinkle in his eye,
one forgets he is playing PetruGhlo.
one thinks only he is Petruchio. 1t is
hard to pick out any one speech as
ered-his diction at all times Is. ex-
cellent and his enunclation most pleas
ing. Unlike most of the Shakespearean
plays THE Tanning of the Shrew" pos.
sesses no sollloquy, no seven ages OF
man." no quality of mercy"-it just
ripples on, punctuated here and there
with gales of laughter and agitated al
ways by smiles and appreciatlVe
chuckles. 1t is a delight, pure and SIM
pie, and one. notes only afterward the
almost total lack of individual speeches
which llnger in the memory.
So closely aligned with Mr.. Sothern, $
Petruchio that it seems almost part OF
his performance Is Miss Marlowe 8
Eathrine. Through the entire produc-
tiCn from her first appearance as the
scolding, almost brutal, shrew, to the
final curtain. where she wins the wager
for her husband by her obedience, Miss
Marlowe left not the last thing to be
desired. Physically she TITS the part
perfectly: her voice Is by turn harsh or
musical as she wills, and the gradual
change from the termagant who throws
books at her tutors and bangs her music
master over the head with her llte' 10
the gentle creature who admits that II
is tho moon IL you will, or the stars or
whatsoe'e r you say" Is truly artistic
Supporting Company
Is Very Well Balanced.
In addition to the two stars sup
porting company has been gathered
which lend excellent Accomplishments
to the heavier roles. Some OF the
aCtors-Roland Blackstone, Frederick
Lewis, and Malcolm Bradley, for in
stance-have been with the Sothern-
Marlowe combination for years, and
the blank verse of Shakespeare now
Delightfully."- from their tongues. rms,
] regret to say, is not the case Win
the entire company-but perhaps II
is the fault of their being placed In
contrast with the two stars and not
from any inherent lack of talent.
! Taken as whole. however, the
company last evening was one OF
the most evenly balanced. best drilled
| and best appearing, organizations
have ever seen gathered for a Shake
| Spcarean production.
| Realizing the value 'Of adequate
| scenery and Costuming, the stars
who, l am Informed, attend to even
| the SmalleSI uStallS VI 'H'Ii
tons themselves, have provided a
number of exCellently painted scenes
and the cOstuming of the various
| Characters leaves nothing to be de
| sired. The colors are brilliant, but
not Carish. rich, but not obtrusive
and the effect is most pleasing.
| Mr.. Sothern an Miss MarlOwe have
| in the past, many achievements &c
| their credit but. from all appear
ances. this scason-their first as mar
| ried stars--will be tho most success
| full of their careers. If talent, ability
taste. and discretion count. it certain
lily ought to be-and ! think 1t will.
| JULIA MURDOCH
Tomorrow Julia Murdoch will re-
view "The Senator Keeps House,
! now playing at the Columbia.