New-York tribune., 1914-11-24
Rr HECTOR TURNBULL.

Rv HECTOR tt kNBJLL.
rren Terry's niece, Miss Phyllis
v,lson.Terry. is a very beautiful lady
..a..s and comes 20 US from England
,,,,laed by the learned reviewers of
=, London 6ailes as showing every
sris.pse Of thc talents possessed by
-, famous aunt" Il is therefore rath
"a pity that her first appearance IN
,h;s country with her repertory com
80 in that fine ole comedy Twelfth
Vight" should have aroused no great
Enthusiasm shan 70 stirred from the
s..;Sni audience last night at the Lib
- Theatre. Every recognized acces-
.o,v 20 first rate Shakes pearian per
sormsnce had been supplied By her
rsnsgers. A cast Of players whose
@s,utstionS are wen known was Sc
iSf,ed 10 play the principal roles in
.gonort of the English star. Joseph
rrhsn. whose fame IS scenic artist
;s Great indeed. prepared the many
,.sSe settings and designed the cos
.rres. and the incidental music was
10 same as used oy Sir Beerbohm
T-se in his London production. Moth
;,c apparently had been left undone
Ast could be done. For all of this.
loveyer. there appeared 20 be some
hing decidedly lacking last night that
vss ever present az the performance
a the same play given by Margaret
Ipglin last March, Some (those
Sgsd-in-the-woo. lovers of the
sstbor) will call it "the Shakes
stsrian spirit" Others will simply
s,snp IL as q lack Of the snap and
issb that is the result of team work
,mone the players and without which
Shakespeare might as well be played
bT amateurs amid any sort Of hap
.szard setting
Miss Neilson-Terry is, TO be sure,
sgidently "a cifted player, but one
rould hardly be prepared 70 set her ln
Inc for the revered theatrical shoes Of
isr aunt after seeing her but once. and
hat once as Viola, with the support
de received last night. One great
qualification Tor the role she possesses
besides beauty. and that Is q glorious
soaking voice. Most Of the beauty of
Shakespeare IS in his splendid words,
r5 when they are mouthed and mum
Het Il is little short of criminal. Miss
yrlson-Terry. however. gave great
s.asure with the skilful use of her
r,ss. and this made up for much. Her
ig.ie and bearing. too, made her
sirming.y soft and wistful character,
b, there was some slight evidence OF
ls;k Of variety % her show OF bOylsh
i-n and gayety.
Eben Plymp.0r shone as Sir Toby
'-ong the cast as one Of the most de-
ightful Characterization seen IN
lrc time. His wine bubbling. hearty
amor was as modern as If il were
r-i.ten for him to-day. and his even
a-formarce throughout was bright
,9ot in the production. Henry L. DiXey
2ye an able and intelligent picture OF
he ia.uOus N4.valiO. The spirit
and poise be- put into his playing were
.o,h needed and Welcome in the com
iy scenes iu which he was a part. Sir
andrew AruccrccE was given some
loyelty and no little humOr by Walter
Creighton. and Cecil Cameron did we'll
s. The clown. A. Orsino, Lawson Butt
presented "a digniGed. if towering, fig
ure Of melancholy but his lines might
b better enunc.ated. Jessie Busley
worked awfully hard 20 bring the spirit
Of fun into her comedy scenes. but
mostly by gigCles and an eXtravagant
essting about of legs and arms. This,
q course. may have been due TO her
ick Of assistance boz the fun OF her
scenes for Miss Busley is too capable
q player 90 grossly Overact. Edith
Campbell Walker looked effective as
Olvis, and Sebastian and the Sea Cap
lam were Hel PLAYED by Reginald
1oode and James Berry. The comedy
Genes, as whole. suffered from
sIogness. and If there are any scenes
10 this play that require a spontaneous
nap and 20 FOO playing, il is the com
cay scenes, else the fun is utterly fiat
snd without Infection.
Nr Urbau's treatment Of the scenery
Is most interesting. This master OF
laImony IN color has CHOSEN 20 depend
sisstly for his effects upon a comb.na-
non Of color and design in both con-
tntonal scenery and drops rather
uah any marked elimination Of solid
,@leeis, which the manner Of Rhein-
.afd'. Upon 'hc~e beautiful colOrs and
lungs he plays am elaborate system
varied lights. and the eject upon the
" is wholly pleasing.
IH one Or two OF the scenes last night,
'oNeycr. such a- Or-iuo's Palace and the
Wltiyard. the cOlOrs appeared trlfe
.afl'h and not 100 the key of the rest Of
We scenes. His scacOast settings were
,,u'fely captivating and left nothing 10
oesifed The costumes of the players
se admirably chosen TO harmonic
'.h ihe various settings. and by an
.a'oh use of lights i'm the different
e'nes some striking pictures, often
taluiul, We're suddenly shown, only
oe Withdrawn from view or rapidly
.tied. in the costumiug and decora-
0n o. the interiors the present pro-
S"on loses somewhat compared TO
t ,eOects ir Che same details gained
Z livingston Platt in the Anglin pro-
.-'.'Vh. ln this a curious Tightening OF
~ ana sharpness Of scene were
.l-t'ed by bizarre touches Of bright
oi' stuck here and there and any
ere on tho furnishings or the play
,s costumes. By Mr.. Urban's method
,,,L 'imony OF color and dignity of line
~ successive scene takes on a sort
s~te beauty that succeeds i'm sup
suS am opposite if not sedativc. at
aEhefe suggcs ting rcposc and quiet.
rsWi a general speeding up Of the
wy production has been made and
,,,uuot u0uot mat viii be taken i'm hand at
~. ana after some one has prevailed
- we orchestra leader 70 deal gently
,he ncldcl tal music (which gains
y. Sny distinction by having been used
or beerbohm Tree), there should
Nh, marked Improvement upon Miss
rsn r'oh- Ierry's Twelfth Night" which, F.
go u was played last night, is in
'''''hg for many Of its featu es.