Life — December 1, 1898 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

Mr. Daly’s “The Merchant of Venice. ° UGUSTIN DALY himself,* sooner than anyone else, would resent a measuring of one of his fe Shakespearian productions by any but the high- + est standard, His staging of “The Merchant of * Venice.” if we exclude Sir Henry Irv ranks easily first among those ever seen he: in point of magnificence and completencss of mounting. The costumes, furnishings and scenery, if put on an Amer- fcan stage before Irving had visited this country, would have created a vast amount of comment and interest, and would have insured a long and profitable run, It is adequate in every particular. It must be admitted, though, that in the Irving production there was a certain atmosphere, difficult if not impossible to describe, that, more completely than Mr. Daly’s, realized one's ideals of the Venice of that time. Tt was probably in the proportioning and toning of the scenery, so that it gave a greater impression of space and of architectural age and solidity. The interest of the production centred in Miss Ada Rehan’s first appearance as Portia. Here again came the idea of com- parison, Miss Ellen Terry’s great impersonation being still so vivid in the memory. Such a comparison would be uofair to Miss Rehan, because, as we saw Miss Terry's Portia, it bad been long played by her. and had a finish certainly not to be expected in a first performance by anyone, Taken by itself, Miss Rehan’s rendering of the part is charming in the lighter passayes, but lacks force and dignity in the more serious ones. In the casket scene she was attractive in personality, and her reading of the lines showed thorough comprehension. As the young but learned doctor of the law, she was apparently too young and too little learned. She rattled off the ** quality of mercy ” speech ina trivial way which would have made each individual bair of the lamented author stand on end like quills upon the fretful porcupine. There have been amateurs who have played Shylock as weil as Mr. Herbert did. He knew the lines, and spoke them intel- ligently. But the action and the word did not fit, and the result was that this particular S4ylock fell very far short of being impressive. Mr. Richman’s Basernio was picturesque and sufficient. It is not a difficult part for a young man of attractive appearance, and the costume was becoming. Mr. Daly’s ‘*Merchant of Venice” is an excellent produc- tion. Those who have seen Irving's will be glad to see this one for purposes of comparison and those who have not, will find their Shakespeare put ioto most attractive guise. * * * OTICE of Miss Arthur's Parthenia and of ‘‘ Trelawney of the Wells,” at the Lyccum, is necessarily deferred until next week, “a novcu mper." HE Castle Square Opera Company, at the Amcrican Theatre, continues to demon- strate the success of the experiment of giving really artistic and meritorious performances at reasonable prices, The weckly change in the attraction offered makes it impossible for Lire to notice the different operas in detail, but it may be stated as a general proposition that the management kecps its faith with the public. ‘This is a condition so rarely encountered by New York theatre-goers that it is worthy of recognition and reward. HE Theatrical Trust, not being able to cajole or coerce Mr. Daly, is about to produce a ‘72a revised version of ‘* The Merchant of Venice.” All of the anti-Semitic lines will be expurgated by Mr. Charles Frohman, the morning Sun's able critic. Metcalfe. THE FIRST ARRIVAL. Grandma (finishing the story): AND 80, POOR, DEAR LITTLE ABEL, WENT TO HEAVE$, AND NAUGHTY CAIN WAS SENT TO HELL The Listener (afer a pause): CAIN—ME MUST HAVE HAD A HOT OLD TIME ALL ALONE IN HELL WITH THE DEVIL. comicbooks.com