New-York tribune., 1916-05-09

Sir Herbert Iree-were ne OF IO!hi
es,a,e ne would probably go down TO
,os,erity as Herbert the lndefatigable
last night added another stone TO the
monument that he Is erecting TO Will
am Shakespeare by giving THE Mer-
eb,nt Of Venice businesslike pro-
sr,tior A. the New Amsterdam Theatre.
yven New York, in which accomplish
nent Is taken for granted and only the
sbsence OF il is cause for comment, may
we'll marvel at the energy and the am
bitions Of Sir Herbert. Huge as was
he labor entsiled upon his productions
Of King Henry VIII" and "The Mer-
chant" II has been by no means repre-
sentative Of the full scope Of his sctivi-
ties during his sojourn in America. His
accomplishments since his arrival pre-
clude the possibility Of wasted min
ute. and one and all have had as their
ultimate aims the proper celebration Of
the bard's anniversary and the fitting
presentation Of good show
These matters are mentioned be-
cause It will be principally as good
Snowman that New York is likely to
remember Sir Herbert Il is no indict-
ment OF his histrionic powers 10 say
that they must rank second 10 his
ability as d theatrical business man. Il
is his cardinal rule in the theatre that
the audience must not be bored To
this end he has never scrupled TO set
ssunder what Shakespeare had joined
together, or. as in the case Of The
Merchant" 10 join together what
Shakespeare had expressly intended TO
be asunder His Henry VIII" was a
theatrical pageant, with Shakespeare
consistently subordinated 10 stage ef-
fects. He has pursued somewhat
similar course with "The Merchant"
although he has not attempted TO
carry matters so far.
Whereas Henry VIII" is play
which loses not at all-and even profits
By such treatment, it cannot be said
that "The Merchant of Venice thfives
uron II. Technically a comedy, the
sitter nevertheless contains number
~ scenes which in the unfolding
should be moving and dramatic. and
these require . human touch # they
are 20 be given their full value. For
example. IL was doubtful if any one
in last nights audience was greatly
moved al the moment Of Shylock's dis
eovery Of the fight Of his daughter
rich as was the scene in theatrical
effects So a number OF situations 10
which one should have responded were
played with a calculated theatricalress
IN which they lost their human appeal.
glance az last nights programme
was bound to cause more or less specu-
lstiOn as 90 the sequence of incidents.
In Sir Herbert Trees hands the five
acts Of the play become three. and the
twenty scenes emerge as eight. In these
circumstances, of course, II is neces-
sary for many scenes 10 run together
including some that do not belong
together Thus the third scene OF the
first act follows fast upon the heels OF
the first, and Bassanio has found Shy
lock and stated his case IN an incred-
ibly short period OF time. il may have
been that the parading OF d file Of sol
diers across the stage was intended 10
mark lapse Of time or that the kindly
Offices Of Tubal may have been used to
hasten the deal Tubal, strangely
enough, was present during this first
scene, fswning upon Shylock as though
he were a dependent, instead OF lei
low money lender.
Similarly, the first scene al Belmont
led into a number Of others. and the
Prince Of Morocco and the Prince OF
ArragOn went TO their fates IN the frst
act. As against these facts II is 10 be
recorded that Trees manner of presen-
iatlon gives the play certain quality
of entertainment that would ordinarily
be lacking. The staging is picturesque,
music abounds. gayly dressed groups
rush on and of Matters we're so ar
ranged, incidentally. that Sir Herbert
was generally the centre OF one OF
these groups while delivering has
speeches. Sir Herbert's dislike for the
centre Of the stage has not increased
pereeptibly since his previous produc-
ton.
TO last nights audience the event
Of principal interest was the appear
ance OF Elsie Ferguson in her first
classical role. Miss Ferguson's vel
come outdid even that accorded SIR
herbert, and there was no mistakine
me fact that she stood high in the
hearts Of her audience. Not even this
Indly feeling, however, could conceal
ne fact that in undertaking Portia
Mss Ferguson was venturing beyond
her present depth. Although evidently
carefully schooled in the externals OF
me role. she never penetrated far into
me character Of the real Portis. In