New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-21

4
I, ''''''''''''....ia Robertson
| LuGius septinius. '..'........... Percy Rhodes
| WOUNDED soldier. Gerald Henson
A SentlneI ........ ..t............S T. Pearce
A Soldier. ....................R Richard Andean
Apollodorus ..................AleI scott-Gatty
centurion. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Robert Atkins
rHst fof'er ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A. Mann
seconn forter. '''...................E A. Ross
.'e,tnn ''''''''''' ''''.. Eric agency
| Mr.. Shaw's improvements on Shake
speare, as represented by his rarely en-
tertainIng farce, Caesar and Cleopatra"
were offered last evening by Mr. Forbes
Robertson at the shubert Theatre The
play was presented here several years
ago. and the occasion is therefore what
is sometimes called revival" although
just where a piece that has twice the
vitality and ninety times the wit Of most
plays OF the moment needs any "reviv-
ing" is not easy to see.
| Mr.. Shaw's objection TO the popular
idea of the story Of Cleopatra and the
noble Romans was that II took Antony's
nfatuation too seriously. All OF Shake
speare's rhetoric was strained to give
sublimity to what Mr.. Shaw regarded as
I decidedly an inglorious affair. The very
name Cleopatra, he explained. suggests
tragedy Of Gree with the horrible diff
ference that whereas the ancient myth
represents Gree as turning heroes into
hogs modern romantic convention would
represent her as turning hogs into heroes
| so instead OF the usual siren from
cigar box lid, Mr.. Shaw made Cleopatra
charming but rather petulant little
girl OF sixteen, which, according to Mr.
| Shaw or history or somebody. was the
, age of the Egyptian queen when Cesar
came 10 Egypt and Caesar a very calm
urbane. rather witty and highly efficient
elderly gentleman-a sort OF President
Wilson in Roman toga-equal to every oc-
casion and to treating Cleopatra's vaga-
ries with the understanding Of a father.
This quaint Encouragement of conven-
| tional notions is maintained from the
moment IN which the little queen, awak-
ened from her sleep on a bed Of peoples
at the feet OF the Sphinx by Caesars mid
night apostrophe TO it. interrupts his ora
tory with a puzzled "Old gentleman to
the final scene In which Cesar departs
for Rome with the promise that he will
send Antony back as a present.
Through the subsidiary characters Mr..
Shaw INDUCES in his characteristic satire.
There is Brittanus. captured on the island
Mr.. Shaw is 80 fond OF satirizing. us 1t
true" asks Cleopatra, that when Cesar
caught you you were painted all over
| blue?" Blue" responds Brittanus, rs
the color worn by. all Brltons Of good
standing In war we stain our bodies
blue so that though our enemies may
strip us OF our clothes and our lives they
cannot strip US OF our respectabiity.'
Mr.. Shaw is never more amusing than
in his attacks on art and artists. for here
we are getting an insiders point of view
the sarcasm OF man himself an artist,
vet sane and vigorous enough 10 see the
weaknesses OF his kind and TO jump On
them numerically. a characteristic jab
OF this sort is the scene in which Apollo
dorus. "a dashing young man of about
twenty-four dressed with deliberate
Rstheticism I'm the most delicate puppies
and dove-grays." is stopped on his way TO
CLEOPATRA with some beautiful carpets by
the matter-of-fact Roman sentinel:
SENTINEL mot at all impressed. point
ing TO the carpets)-And what Is all
this truck?
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for the fur
nlshing of the queens apartments. |
have picked them from the best car
pets in the world. and the Queen shall
choose the best of my choosing.
SENTINEI-So you are a carpet mer-
chant?
APOLL ODoRUS (hurD-My friend, | am
p Patrician.
SENTINEL-A Patrician, A Patrician
keeping shop. instead Of following
arms!
APOLLODORUS-I do not keep shop
Mine is a temple OF the arts. I am
a worshipper of beauty. My calling Is
to choose beautiful things for beauti-
ful queens My motto is Art for Arts
Sake.
sFNTINEI.-That is not the password.
APOLIODORUs-I is universal pass
word.
SENTINEI-I know nothing about uni
versal passwords Either give me the
password for the day or get back to
your shop.
Part OF the fun OF this comes. OF course
from the surprise OF fnding an ancient
Roman talking like sub-art editor Mt
studio tea, or the sort OF young man
who loves TO help middle-aged society
ladies. whose husbands are busy down
town. arrange the details OF Colonial
halls or pageants at the Plaza. But the
real surprise is to meet this kind OF ga
tire in the theatre at all. Just as Kip
ling once surprised the ordinary man
bv showing that literature belonged to
him with his ships, machinery and day
work. and wasn't monopolized by long
haired gentlemen in velvet coats, so Mr.
Shaw similarly surprises-or did when
his plays first appeared-by showing how
easv IL is to play quite comfortably In the
theatre with ideas generally thought TO
he the property of literary critics or
philosophers.
The urbane humor, authority and gen.
erai distinction which the role OF Cesar
demands are 80 perfectly met In the
personality and acting OF Mr.. Forbes
Robertson that detailed comment on his
performance will scarcely he needed even
by those who did not see him In the
mart several years ago. Similarly fitted
IN the demands of the little queen Is the
cool. sweet gIrlishness OF Miss Gertrude
Elliott Brittanus, a part which any
actor might weep for, now that our pub
lie has been educated up to the point OF
thinking Jokes about British insularity
funny fell to the fortunate lot OF Mr.