Life — January 28, 1904 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

4 HAKESPEARE; His Rise and i may f an il- his- It must in our prac =} Decline im volume by inating an of the dr B ve admitied that to- country h stat tical eclipse. He is studied to extent in the colleges and in the clos scholars, but as a spoken dra on the stage he has to be bolstered up with isin f spec- y in the extraneous attractions in the way Je in the presentation or notori cast. xtent familiar with his plots, so there is not much of nov- elty in that wise to draw or hold the int est as do the stories of more modern plays. fo the unreflecting mind thought and beauty of diction do not ap- peal, and speeches abounding in the genius akespeare only bore and put to sleep. Then, too, the general standard of acting is so low that artists competent to make his meanings felt are not to be had in ordinary presentations to make anything like a per- t. Our public is to some American of fect e: But far be it from Lire to insist on 4 steady diet of Shakespeare for any or even for the New Yorkers who need it most What people don’t want it is pretty hard to make them take, as a good many well- meaning artists and managers who have produced Shakespearean plays in New York have found to their cost. er, there is locally a glimmer of hope hakespeare a 1 ersbrothered to It may not have 1 the point where Shakespeare is a Just now, how- even for There is evident! {discontent o medied the public, Ithas be and I the point of nausea. musica rea popular possibility, but it seems as the it might be, when the Syndicate is ma! arrangements to give plays. For this purpose it has engaged two popularstars, at salaries which mak dent Roosevelt look like Of course, if the Syndic Presi- n goes into selling it must be—or seem to be—a 88 prop, If the venture ably get the same surfeit of inartistic productions of the works of the ave had of every other ki of attraction which has looked profitable. a PA REHAN’S greeting when she re- = turned to New York after her | absence must have gladdened her heart. a ch akespe pod busin ition. s, we shall p Sard that we ADA REMAN. those who witnessed the first per of “The Taming of the Shre casion, so far as the audience was concerned seemed a little like the old first nights at Daly's. ‘That is to sa nt 1 cultivated gathei attracted by contemporary mal the oe- , it was an intellig has is rarely The g of the piece was not up to the luxurious Daly standard, but it was quit adequate tly not intended to with the spectacular productions of the d The performance was a wost ereci ng su shows.” mount evid ble although with some barren spots in the minor Kal ast an is easily the best herine of our less marked t other parts. It is personation, and the new gi 1 of Shakespearean f there is such a thiag—cannot ing it. Mr. Skinner's Petruchio is not so pre-eminently great. He brings to it a nd commanding personality e and very in- telligent re He had, if anything, too much fe and the cl lacking in ight and sI a level of strenuousness modulation, a little ave been in students—| afford to miss s ndsome @ resonant ve aracterization was jlow—too much on A little more re lightness of touch, one conce' and this Petruchio would have been better fitted tohis Katherine, Mr. E who is one of the best, if not the best Shakespearean old man on our stage, was thoroughly sufficient as Baptista, It was a joy to see the old comedy again, and to see it done very far from badly. More power to the elbows of Ada Rehan and Otis Skinner. win Varrey, é ° . TT HERE is planning a monster benefit for actors and actresses thrown out of employment by the hard and the closings caused by the Chicago fire. number of needy iaries is large. this is a case where pl can be combined to the adv: eal sure and charit comicbooks.com