Life — October 5, 1905 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

The Dawning of Brighter Days. HE emo! the nuisances of the American stage. Born not of art but of artificiality, her methods of bringing feeling into expression were interesting exhi onal actress was, a few years ago, one of ions of feminine control over the tear-ducts and vocal chords, She came into being with the prevalence, in the last third of the nineteenth century, of a school of plays imported mostly from France and dealing with domestic situations in which a woman of nervous temperamen posed to various harrowing circumstances, By these was ex- she was not only severely harrowed up herself, but her er ability to harrow up her audiences by methods more strenuous than natural, Tears, screams and general incoherenc er favorite implements for this purpose. S\ was too good to last, and only survives now in the persecuted heroines of the thrilling melod: as performed before audiences of strong physiques title to greatness depended upon were bh mas h can be stirred only by of the ordinary. The passing of the emotional actress who emoted so successfully in the early seventies was far from being a misfort the better-class theatres shows that thirty years have brought some That she has disappeared from the stage of improvement in the artistic perceptions of American audiences, M MARGARET ANGLIN has at times inspired fear that she might develop into an actressof this practically extinct school, Her in- dividuality was not very pronounced, and it seemed likely that in the ambition to make an impression, she might turn to. methods more forcible than artistic. Her perform- ance in *Zira" dispels that fear to a large extent, although she is not yet entirely out of the danger of going to the inartistic excesses of which many actresses who passed for “ great" were guilty. She seems destined to achieve a position of MR, WONTHING AND At, tr (kADGE authority in her profession, and this is always dangerous if it is not balanced by the artistic self-restraint which represses freakishness into reason, In the play of * Zira.” the authors, Messrs. Miller and Manners, have skilfully provided for the heroine a suite of scenes which lead up to an admirable double climax, that is, admirable if handled with discretion, It is rather an old-fashioned play, in whose opportunities one of the old-fashioned emotional actresses would have absolutely reveled and would have made the reasonable persons in her audiences writhe with her exhibitions of psycho-physical gymnastics, Miss Anglin, however, evinces the judgment and taste to develop her *LIFE- expressions gradually and not to reach a plane where her final attack must be beyond credibility. By this moderation she makes her final conquest complete ; her auditors have no questionings in their minds to mar their complete conviction, and go with her step by step to the point of being at last carried away by the surge of feeling which animates their breasts as her own, What Miss Anglin does in the third act of *Zira’” is the best piece of emotional acting that has been seen in America for many, many years, M MILLER hasenlisted for the performance of **Zira”a notably good company, selected with excellent and unusual judgment for the parts they portray. Gentleness and breeding pervade every line and action of Mrs. Whiffen's Lady Constance like an old-time perfume. In the surgeon-general of Mr, Titheradge we have a remarkable and agreeable mingling of the soldier, the scientist, and the man of the world with a sense of humor, Both Mr. Frank Worthing and Mr. Jameson Lee Finney are better fitted with their parts than either has been for a long time. Miss Beverly Sitgreaves artistically casts aside the natural desire of her sex to be pleasing, and adds to the perfection of the performance by making Ruth Wilding about as hateful a woman as is to be found outside of some of the women’s organizations for making other people better and unhappy. The minor parts are all in the picture, and the settings, while not magnificent nor elaborate, are quite sufficient, ‘The mechanism of the play itself clanks in places but it is skilfully constructed, and, once we yield to its premises, tells its story nvincing’ * Zira”” is strongly recommended to theatre-goers who have wearied of pifite. EAH KLESCHNA” is with us again for a short season. If there are any admirers of good plays well-acted who failed to see this oasis in last year’s desert, they should not miss the present opportunity R. BELASCO is reserving his novelties for later in the season, His theatres are occupied with Mrs, Carter in her celebrated GLIN IN“ Zina.” comicbooks.com