Life — December 3, 1896 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

~*~ LIFE: A PLAY BY WILLIAM SHAKSPERE. FTER the palling trash of the con- temporary dramatist—if he exists— to hear once more the thought-crowded speech of Shakspere well-delivered : is grateful indeed. Of course we can't live on Shakspere. We must have contempora- neous drama, We must have the gentlemen who write sen- sstional plays for the Bowery, just as we must have other gentlemen who write stage stuff for the various sections of Mr. Charles Frohman’s constituency. But after all, when we get through with the Bowery dramatists, and the rising-star dramatists, and the matinee-girl dramatists, and the social-problem dramatists, we all, whether we live in the Bowery, Fifth Avenue, or Jerusalem, come back to good old William Shakspere and his well-rounded lines, pregnant with thought, to be all stirred and all refreshed by the real literature of the stage. In these days of jaded palates, our dramatic food, like all other, must be highly spiced. Shakspere, notwithstanding his merit and his wholesomeness, must be served up with every gar- nishment, and even then to many appetites he is dull and heavy. But, to carry further the gastronomic metaphor, he is the roast- beef of the English-speaking stage, and we come back to him after goulash and ragouts and sauer-kraut and buckwheat-cakes, and find that he is the real thing after all. Mr. Augustin Daly's production of “As You Like It” is familiar to theatre-goers of any experience, and Miss Rehan's Rosalind is a portrayal that has been written of and pictured to the point of satiety. But to-day both bring a sense of refresh- ment that must arise largely from the feeling of weariness that comes from the increasing triviality of the contemporary stage. In both are founda sincerity and earnestness foreign to the catch- penny style of stage-work to which we are accustomed. People who make their living by providing stage entertainment for the public can't be blamed much for doing the things the public wants, and doing them in the way the public likes, but at Mr. Daly's Theatre there is a noble recklessness in paying some regard to stage art which is as commendable as it is rare. The notable changes in the cast are the Or/ando and the Duke. The former is an excellent rendering, forceful, sincere, and manly. Mr, Richman’s personality lends itself better to the part in the more serious passages, but nowhere does he offend, and his delivery of the lines isa real joy in this day of affectation and mannerisms. Mr. Stevens's seriousness has always been a detri- ment to him as a comedian, but fits in’with the character of the Duke, and makes his portrayal more than an adequate one. Miss Maud Hoffman is a new Cefva, and lacks the personal beauty which alone gives color to the part. Shakspere is a dangerous luxury for the manager of a theatre in New York in these days. Mr. Daly alone of American managers deserves to reap the reward if a revived interest should come, be- cause he alone has dared to produce the works of the master in the face of almost certain loss, . 8 @ MOST suitable souvenir, if such it could be called in view of the abuse of the word, was given away at the first night of the production of “As You Like It.” It is a compilation of the accom- plishments of Mr. Daly’s management, by Mr. E. A. Dithmar, and is an interesting history of an eventful career. Metcalfe. 6 Yi Uh Ui, a Hily 51 vernon AS SHE WOULD HAVE APPEARED TO-DAY.