The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1919-04-06
ENGLISH CONCEPTION
OF AN AMERICAN HERO
t.rooi, p,., S,ir. All Iaussop to Sur
prtsing Doercr Of Eu'h''-'-
astic APPROVAL.
STAGE REMARKABLY CRUDE
Dvtnhvaicr's DrnmacEntiom of the
Great tmnn,tpaior HaS frfty
Speaking Parts and sis Nsrcn"s
STAGE REMARKABLY CRUDE

nv btDk'ff ' " r..
LONDON. April b America need
feel no especial JOY over IN" produc
lion OF John Drinkwnier's nov
ayam. Abraham Lincoln" first
shown In Birmingham and then
brought TO the Hamm-r~nith Lyric
theatsr Of London by the Hlr1nlp
ham Reportorv company, Tho al.
thor has handled his subject hA "
Abraham Lincoln wei~ hE'T" of
such surpassing EreaT~s that f~ he
longs To the world not Ia America
alone IN the same spirit ala
shakespeare eNtol the lif" oc Julius
Caesar Of Rome.
Hut America cnn eralt ~pecMllS
and deeply In the reception OF lhe
drama by London audieHcrs that
hans on every word thrill vNihly AZ
every atuation. and rise To cheer
hoarseiy and reverently u! the drop
NJ the final curtain Nothing less
than q feeling OF tinship coalld NOV"
a London audience to such an oNa.
ton. I am sure that the departed
great Of no other nation, rere~cnted
In n drama Of tho time, could pso STIR
these people
Is An Inspiration.
Abraham Lincoln" viii lsst. II iaf
an AcnifNe"fNl W iHHF"'u A"''''
shin rather than In acting Tfr cast
Ca good for u repcrtory company, very
good. but many better ones could he
selected No effectiveness IN ntded
nv tho staging. Inadequate In caoh of
IN. ain scenes. The hare necesss ties
chairs and tRbies-were what dis
tlnsuished the scenic properueh
Rooms IN the white house. cabinet
rooms had the snmn plain cheap
walls a. 'IAncoin's home In Spring
field, 1850" and "a farmhouse near
AppomAtos. April. 1888"
In other words, the author. who y
also the producer and general mf|
ager ofs-lhe Birmingham ~psp~rtrrv
company, did not have In mind "a
lavish production for lavish profits
Hts lack Of tho eanny commercial
ism OF ordinary modern drama,ists In
shown In his cast of more than DO
important speaking parts. Having
this artistic freedom from H,Ssiners
considerations he allowed his irHpirs-
ton to 40 an oldish thing. % old that
II y new. lie provides first chron-
icler' and second chronicler' who
appear before scenes and alternately
recite sta mas OF heroic verse that
seek TO invest each development In
an well AZ to serve the utilitarian pur-
pose OF marking the flight OF time In
the action.
This shakespearean Innovation
was not received kindly by many OF
the dramatic critics and I am not
sure that the audience was not hit
bothered. But the Intention II good
and perhAps better "chroniclerr'
than the two ladies from BirminE-
ham would give the very difficult
roles thstr needed significance.
Save for 4 patent irish brogse the
Lincoln OF william J. Rea was a
notable performance, Save for, that
Celtic thickness and harshness. only
occasionally Irritating the great
emancipator In the drama was ~ !
and many other Americans, would
have him In fancy. His dignity In
awkwardncss. force In Eentleness,
balance Of humor In traKedy--these
points OF his character were ideally
represented.
In the first scene Of his homo we
- him receiving the republican
deiesaticn from Chicago come to OF.
fer him the presidential nomination,
q definite Invitation to the presidency
since the democrats had split In two
with him 10 get a new hat
year later In Secretary Stewards
room In Washington we find Seward
trying to wheedle a compromise from
the president who In adamatit and
viii not evacuate Sumter hecaus~ Il
would he q tacit recognitiop4 OF the
confederacy.
Two years later, with the dreadful
war going on. Lincoln has tea at the
white house with his wife and two
Washington ladies' one the mother
Of soldier Just killed. the other the
wife OF y war -contracto< anxious TO
see the fighting continue
Bcfarc the Cabinet.
The cabinet room IN Washing
ton" about the same time, seer the
president appear before his ministers
when they are tenSely concerned with
the war situation. Some OF them are
sisspsted when he, instead OF getting
fmnediately to business. suggests
that they ease their nerves by listen
ing to Artemus Ward, whose amusing
account of experiences In Utica I.in-
coin reads Then he announces Il ls
time to issue his deferred emancipa
ton proclamation. which splits his
cabinet. hut he signs II Just the same
In Ia farmhouse near AppomatoN
1863 he has a conference with
Grant few hours before | Ires sur
render and spendH the night sleen nins
In a chair during which time Gra nj
'ip-toes in to blow out the candles
lAncoln leaNPs early In the morning
before Lee arrives to hear the mag
nanimous terms OF surrender