Evening star., 1935-10-06

tragedy, but he bestowed upon us few
tory of the play in England and'
America Since we were both enter
tanned and edited by his discourse,
we pass on to you a portion OF his
findings:
The date of the first performance
Is somewhat clouded in obscurity. as
the jingoists say but it has been fixed
Abetween the years 1891 and 1895.
Richard Burbage was the initial
Romeo and an unknown boy played
Juliet.
Between Betterton's production in
1862 and Charlotte Cushman's in
l845, the true Shakespearean text was
never performed by major company.
Actors rewrote it, cut out whole
scenes and even acts, slapped happy
endings onto the story and otherwise
butchered the most popular work of
q writing gentleman for whom they
apparently had little respect. The
Charlotte Cushman version was ap-
plauded in England, but met with a
firm razzberry ,vhru imported to these
shores.
In Garrick's day, and using the
Garrick version, Spranger Barry ere
ated an eunequaled sensation as
Romeo. Mrs. Cibber was his Juliet
and Henry Woodward the Mercutio.
When a bitter rivalry developed be-
tween Garrick at Drury Lane and
Rich, impresario of Covent Garden,
the latter managed to steal Barry
end Mrs Cibber for his own house,
end the play became the battle-ground
of a fight. Garrick promptly coun-
tered by appearing himself at Drury
Lane as Romeo, with Anne Bellamy
as Juliet. One female observer of the
time remarked that Garrick's acting
in the garden scene was so eager that
had I been Juliet, I would have
thought he would leap up to me-"
while in the same passages Barry
vas so tender and attractive that, had
he been my Romeo, I should have
jumped down to him."
IT IS also said that on one occasion,
when Mrs. Bellamy cried out, "Oh,
Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
q voice in the gallery replied, Be
house!" (Oh, well, history is history.)
There have been sisters who played
Romeo and Juliet to one another (the
Cushmans, Charlotte and SUSAN, a
son who played Romeo to mothers
Juliet, and even one great actor who
q odraittoI he forribIo ho iy,,
mortal hero.
That would be Edwin Booth, who
took the part in his own production
in 1869. In a conversation one day
with E. H. Sothern, that gentleman
remarked, The worst performance
ever seen on any stage was my Ar
nand Duval with Matilda Heron in
Camille
The worst?" cried Booth. "Sir,
did you ever see my Romeo?"
When ErneSto Rossi, the Italian,
acted his own version in 1881, he de-
cided it would be bright idea to
change the tomb scene, SO he had
Romeo pop up after he had killed
himself and announce to Juliet that
he was dead!
AS FOR the Cornell production, Mr..
Henderson says that. besides be-
ing stupendous, colossal, the last word
in true Shakespearean art, and other
inevitable adjectives. it includes the
entire % scenes. Lines have been
deleted here and there, but the entire
action is preserved. The piece is
played with only one intermission and
runs about hours and As minutes.
The settings, designed in the Italian
primitive style after Giotto, are ar
ranged on superimposed stage con-
structed on three levels, so that whole |
sets amounted on wheels) may be
changed back Of the drapes while |
other scenes are being played down |
front, or on the first and second levels |
combined Only few of the scenes
require full stage.