New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-25

brief, not more than a fraction Of their
length I'm the printed edition. Many
excellent actors and actresses appear
in them, but in the general hugencss
OF the production one is not particu-
larly conscious Of their presence.
Since these scenes pass ut point
furthcst removed from the audience. IL
was not 20 be expected that they would
be heard, so in this respect there was
no disappointment.
After the prologue. and again after
the first and second acts. arc the in
terludes Il is these, naturally, that
are the most ineligible parts Of the
masque, since they are dependent
largely upon the eye. At the same
line IL was quite evident that much Of
their significance escaped the audience.
just as did a majority Of the spoken
lines. There were programmes. TO be
sure, but the audience could not con
suit them in the darkness. Thus Helen
Of Troy appeared to DR.. Faustus; Fran
els ! and Henry VIII celebrated their
peace pact on the Field Of the Cloth Of
Gold; stalwart Greek lads pretended
20 be throwing the discus and il all
meant little or nothing TO an audience
that had not devoted itself 10 the sub
jcct beforehand. IL would seem, If com
munity Mosques are 20 be feature Of
our life. that the first one should have
been designed along simpler lines.
The first interlude, dealing with an
tiquity. was divided into three parts
Egyptian. Grecian and Roman. The
most picturesque and the most readily
understandable Of these was the Ro-
man. supposed to pass i'm the time Of
Caligula. On the improvscd stage.
rugged 20 represent a Roman theatre,
comedians made merry In an endeavor
60 please the decidedly decadcnt taste
Of the Emperor. The Egyptian ritual
WAS concerned with the resurrection of
the god Osiris and the Grecian with
rehearsal of Sophocles's "Antigone."
The second interlude was also di-
vided into three parts Germanlc.
French English and Standardization.
The most effective OF these was the
second, although the tournaments fell
rather short Of what one was led 20
expect Neither a French rider nor an
English was spectacularly endorsed,
as promised, and the lances were used
by the riders 10 spur on their horses.
not TO decapitate one another. The
final interlude at the end Of the second
act, was devoted entirely 10 the games
Of Elizabethan England the Merrie
England Of history.
All of these interludes were played
upon the Yellow Sands. which were
really not yellow at all, but red. BY
playing "a yellow light upon them. how
ever, Mr. Urban obtained the desired
effect. The promised blue-upOn-yel-
low. which was 10 result in wOndrOus
green upon the figure of Setebos. one
awaited in vain. The Urban blue, fire.
quently cast upon the main stage, was
rather a disappointment. but brilliant
results were obtained with deep yell
low. IL was in this yellow glare that
8 majority Of the Masque was enacted
While there can be no accurate esti-
mate Of acting ability IN an undertake
ing of the stupendousness Of this one,
the Caliban of Lionel Braham was
quite obviously splendid creation. Mr.
Braham. the ever-tO- be-rcmembe red
Ferovius of "AndrOcles and the Lion
brought great power and particularly
vocal power-to the role of the de-
formed slave In a performance Of this
sort it is natural to award first honors
TO the performer with the greatest lung
power. out Of sheer gratefulneSs for
having been able 10 hear some Of his
words
Howard Kyle brought unexpected
voice 90 the role Of PrOsperO. Unless
the distance was deceptive. he was a
beardless Prospero probably the first
in the many wears that The Tempest
has been played Edith Wynne Matthi-
son was a pleasant Miranda and
chaming as she stood alone on the
platform In the prologue. her hair and
costume waving In the wind. Gareth
Hughes was the Ariel, and John Drew
stepped before the audience briefly in
the epilogue in the guise Of Shakes
peare.
II is impossible in the space 10 give
credit TO the countless organizations
and individuals who have contributed
their services to this experiment IN the
"new drama"-or. rather, revival of the
old. "Caliban by the yellow Sands" is
an interesting. even wonderful, example
of what a great city can do, but one
must be pardoned for not sharing the
authors optimism concerning the fut-
ure Of this branch of the drama.
a list Of the important characters is
appended: