The Detroit times., 1913-10-16
THE STAGE

The Hamlet of Robert B. Mantell
Is one of the stage fixtures Of the
times, and not to be on speaking terms
with 1t. Is to acknowledge careless
| regard for things worth while IN the
realm Of stageland. hence, the fact
that the Garrick theater, Tuesday
evening was well-hlled for Mr.. Man
tells performance Of the melancholy
prince bf Denmark, shows that Detroit
harbors, goodly number OF seekers
after Shakespearean and contempor-
aneous theatrical knowledge.
Stage'history records that 1t is over
| 20 years since Mantell first essayed
the part of Hamlet. Undoubtedly in
the yea1s that are gone, this actor.
physically. seemed more suited to the
part, although here one treads on dan
gerous ground in the face Of the al
iways-nt-hand cQntroversx.4o of Shapes
! perean students with regard to Ham
! let's exact age and physical proper
| tons, but it Is safe to record that time
has given Mr.. Mantells reading OF
the lines, and development Of the
character. deeper, ripper and moro
satisfying art. With the Hamlet of u.
il. Sothern we'll known locally and tn,
opportunity to witness the Hamlet OF
tombstone Professionalism near at
hand In the current theatrical season.
Shakesperean students who availed
themselves Of the chance to study the
Mantell Hamlet, were wise. The pres
ent generation of theatergoers will
probably never know three greater
presentations Of the famous character.
The Ophelia Of Genevieve Hamper
was girlishly lovely and delicate. Miss
Hamper, In private life Mrs. Mantell.
has improved hundredfold over her
stage work OF season ago. She gave
evidence OF acquired technique and
smoother training In her assumption
Of the role of the hapless Prince Ar
, thur In king john" Monday evening.
Her acting Of Ophelia showed intelli-
gence and the sure results OF study
and correct direction.
The various characters in the trag-
edy were well-acted. Special praise
must be given to Fritz Leiber, as
Laertes; Frank Peters, as the garrul-
Gus old Polonius; John Burke, as the
king; Walter Gibbs, as the ghost; Guy
Lindsey. as Horatio: Paul Pilkington.
as Rosencrantz, and Frank Clancy,
as Guilderstern. Genevieve Reynolds
as the queen mother and Lillian Fen
ton as the player-Queen were ade-
quately cast.
The scenic investiture was correct
and dignifed and the supernumeraries
well-handled
Wednesday afternoon "Richlieu," is
the offering and Macbeth" will be
played, Wednesday evening. The
weeks engagement includes also
"Othello." Thursday evening; king
Lear" Friday evening: Saturday after
noon. THE Merchant of Venice" and
Saturday evening. King Richard ILL.,
Nearl everyone Of the players in
"Kismet," the oriental fantasy In
which Otis Skinner Is playing. in the
Detroit opera house, this week, SUI
fers. In greater or less degree, from
the discomforts of grease paint. Mr..
Skinner himself. as Hail, the beggar,
wears q coat OF paint covering at least
half Of his anatomy, and some OF the
minor actors fare even worse. But
the greatest sufferer OF all il Rich.
ard Scott, who plays Kafur. the M.
bian sworder OF the wicked Waxir
Mansur. Kafur must actually be
black all over, since his costume con-
sists of little more than belt. Dur
ing the intensely cold weather last
winter, Kafur was permitted to wear
tunic; but, while that served to
protect him from pneumonia. II did
not relieve him greatly in the matter
Of making-up. This process requires
nearly two hours, and another hour
Is employed after the performance. in
restoring the actor to his natural
complexion. The paint is used In
liquid form and Is applied by Mr..
Scott's dresser. with brush. To
obtain the solid ebony color several
applications are required. and the
actor must stand during the entire
! procedure. After the performance
comes a half-pound of cold cream and
hot bath.
When II. III. Frazee announced his
sll-star production of Fine Feath-
ers," over year ago. with a COM
pany that included Robert Edeson.
Wilton Lackaye, Max Figman. Rose
Coghlan, Lolita Robertson and Lydia
J Dicksop, al the New York producers