The San Francisco call., 1913-09-08

Saint Saen's "The Swan" which was
purity itself 1t was pleasant to OBJ
serve that her audience knew mis-
tress of music was sitting in the
frame of the spotlight, for 1t Demon
strated a pet. theory that real art an :
nounces itself plainly, even, thougn
like conscience, It is still. small
voice that utters the message.
/ am not sure that the monkey IN
Buckley's circus will repeat MS pest
trick, but yesterday he thrice mlstooh
a tree on the back drop for his an
cestral arbor. and made Intellectual
leaps against the painted limbs, fail-
ing ignominiously to the stage. This
act wasn't on his program OF stunts,
and he picked himself up ruefully'
and, then pensively climbing back on
his metal perch, regarded the bogus
branches with undisgulsed amaze
ment. The regular acts In the circus
consist of skating stunts by dogs.
bears and monkeys, and the routine
of tricks known to such simlan
canine and other performers tnat
work over the Orpheum circuit TO
please us children.
The Olympia girls have a dancing
act of the usual London Palace hall
variety-if they come from the Pal
ace or IL they don't, makes no differ
ence Manning, Moore and Armstrong
sing some trios in regulation cafe
manner, but without distinction, and
Miss Walsh remains another week in
her dramatic sketch, THE Countess
Nadine.
Though late, ] know that nobody
who was at the Greek theater last
Saturday night will begrudge mo the
satisfaction of adding my humble
need OF praise to the columns al
ready printed about Margaret Anglin
and her superb presentation OF Elec-
ira"
She realized the ancient beauty of
the original by rendering 1t modern
Instead OF the opening scenes being
set In the dawn they were placed In
the shadows of night Bronze torch
bearers of Ethiopia held their lights
aloft. Wherever possible Miss Anglin
bent her presentation to the environs
of her own century and the locale of
the play-the great Greek 'theater in
Berkeley. The night itself was no
more serene than her contemplative
passages in the beginning of the
play. and the night itself was no more
profound than the impression she Gre
herself to the frenzy of tortured
soul.
Fuller Meliish brought spontaneous
applause by his recitation of the story
of the imaginary chariot race and
earned the recognition to the last
hand clap; but when Margaret Anglin
played nobody applauded. Even at the
close. after her torrential outbreak of
mingled misery and triumph. the
audience was silent-hushed Into
stiffness more eloquent than thunders
of applause. These, however, broke
loose a minute later, when the crowd
that filled the theater recovered itself
enough to know that a magnificent
vision was over; and standing to Its
feet made the Berkeley hills Resonant
with acclamations-
In it's staging 1t seemed to me
that Mr.. Platt, or whoever IT was
that grouped the chorus, was AMI
mated by plastic rather than a
dramatic instinct. for certain I'M
mobility OF gesture, such as that OF
the two young women, who seemed
to have stepped from frieze, sug-
gested a. sense OF discomfort to the
beholder after the girls had stood
IN truth they had been carved and
colored for .. 400 years. The pic
torial sense of the producer, however,
was mainly an element of Impressive
beauty in the work, and nobody who
witnessed 1t will ever forget Miss
Anglin's portrayal OF Electra It will
be hung in the memory framed In
somber black right on the line and
next to her Antigone. Perhaps some
day she will add another to the gall
lerv wherein no other artist that I
4,o11
her pictures. ] hope some time that
she may give us a glimpse OF tenn
pestuous, tragic Medea.
An exceedingly interesting sketch at
the Empires bids for leading honors