AEN BEELZ
Mrs. Fiske Misses
the Child Spirit
0
of" Hannele
S
8
G
—
EVEHARLES DARNTON.
FHIILE ang one who has che best interests öf the stage at heart must
W ermpathize with the earnest, and usually brilliant, efforts of Mrs. Fiske,
the regrettable fact romains thät Hauptmann’s“Hannele“ could not make
ber a child again Just for hast night.
A frankly disappelnted andience was left to grope its way through the
so-çalled "dream poem' at the Dyceum Theatre not only because the stage man¬
agement failed to lend a helping hand at times hut because Mrs. Fiské did not
bring out the shining spirit of the child and the Manhattan company generally
secmed to be cömpletely in thie dark.
The performance was fairly shroüded
in Patmosphere' that began wüth a pre¬
lude by the orchestra which was car¬
ried to such lengths that the audience
lost its patience and its manners before
the musie had run its course.
The pity that the play nwakens as
you read it was not felt wihen Hannele
was carried into ’the almshouse and
placed on her deathbed last night. In
her first half-frightened utterances Mrs.
Fiske, turning on her pillow, might
have been a child for all one could see
or hear, but her erles of terror atthe
apparition of the brutal stepfather were
the cries of a woman. Still the physieal
obstacle was not the real stümbling
block in Mrs. Fieke’s way. It was the
Spirituhl Side of the role thät she was
unable to reallze. This was all the
more sürprising for the reason that she
probaßly Chosé che play out of Aym¬
pathy with its protest against cruelty
to children qulte as much as för its
poetry.
Wliether dreams and vistons ean be
shown on the stage witholt sacriflcing
much of tlié poetry and even mnore öf
Oacs aurse
the elusive quality is a question thüt
rematned in the balance läst night.
Mrg. Fleke as Hannele.
This sordid, pitiful tale of the poor,
stürvod beggar child that tries to com¬
mit suleide vo escapé the brutallty öf
a drunken stepfather is so tinged with the superhuman that it is difficult t6
mäke it objectivé. Thé play shows Hauptinenn böth as a realist and a symbolist,
and the delirious visions of the dying child, thé confused metltey in which her
dréams of her dead mother and the héaven t0 which she is longing to go are
mingled with terror witen she lmagines she seés or hears her stepfather, make
tlé nsting, as well as the stage mähagemont, an undsually diffichlt task.
It was imposslblé, of course, for Mrs. Fiske to look or speak like a child
of fourteen. Miss Mäbel Tallaferro Is
thé ane wolran on dur ftage Wwilo Is
physically Suftéd to the role. The note
of quivering fear was missing in Mrs.
Fiske's first cry,“ am nfraid!“ and.
whllé the later feverish exclamations
wèrs dausht with miore trüthfulness.
slio never réally touched thetheart. Oue
merely felt cold when Hannele was
placed inher erystal coffin after the
coming of the Angal öf Death. The
angels of light made thé shining stair¬
way to heaven a beaütlful picture and
Elled us witli a spirit of forgiveness for
the sins of some of the actors.
The almshouse crew was not only
artifleial, Sut almost unintelligibie. As
Sister Martha, however, Miss Allee John
gave à besutikul performance. Hol¬
prook Blinn, as the schoolmaster who
becomes merged into The Stranger, was
dlsappoluting. Hé wüs neither as awe¬
nepiring nor as gentle and tender as
#t##e character requires,
InThe Green Cockatoo,“ however,
Nr. Blinn appeared to müch better ad¬
vantage ds Dié chlef actor in a Pürls
cabarêt who fold à yarn about killing
CAS S
his bride's lover with such dramatie
effect that the proprtetor belleved 1t
and dssured him that he had made n5
Allee John as Sister Martha.
mistake in finishing the Duc de Cädig¬
Holbrook Blinn as Gottwald.
nan. So when the Duke dropped in
edter the fall of the Bästile the sur¬
prised actor müde short work of him: This “gretesquerle“ by Arthur Saltzler
proved a Stirring, lively little dffair, of no serions value, but elever and “sketchr.“
It brought out tke fact that Miss John, wllo played the unhappy bride, is a verz
pretty woman. Shé was capltal in her amfable indifference at, tne beginning, but
elie fell down“ completely when she threw-herseif upon the dead body of her
löver. The acting generally was very good, especially that of Henry Stephenson
as the proprietor of the place, and Edward Mackay as the Duke.
It’s a plty the good work wasn't kept up in“ Hannele.“
Mrs. Fiske Misses
the Child Spirit
0
of" Hannele
S
8
G
—
EVEHARLES DARNTON.
FHIILE ang one who has che best interests öf the stage at heart must
W ermpathize with the earnest, and usually brilliant, efforts of Mrs. Fiske,
the regrettable fact romains thät Hauptmann’s“Hannele“ could not make
ber a child again Just for hast night.
A frankly disappelnted andience was left to grope its way through the
so-çalled "dream poem' at the Dyceum Theatre not only because the stage man¬
agement failed to lend a helping hand at times hut because Mrs. Fiské did not
bring out the shining spirit of the child and the Manhattan company generally
secmed to be cömpletely in thie dark.
The performance was fairly shroüded
in Patmosphere' that began wüth a pre¬
lude by the orchestra which was car¬
ried to such lengths that the audience
lost its patience and its manners before
the musie had run its course.
The pity that the play nwakens as
you read it was not felt wihen Hannele
was carried into ’the almshouse and
placed on her deathbed last night. In
her first half-frightened utterances Mrs.
Fiske, turning on her pillow, might
have been a child for all one could see
or hear, but her erles of terror atthe
apparition of the brutal stepfather were
the cries of a woman. Still the physieal
obstacle was not the real stümbling
block in Mrs. Fieke’s way. It was the
Spirituhl Side of the role thät she was
unable to reallze. This was all the
more sürprising for the reason that she
probaßly Chosé che play out of Aym¬
pathy with its protest against cruelty
to children qulte as much as för its
poetry.
Wliether dreams and vistons ean be
shown on the stage witholt sacriflcing
much of tlié poetry and even mnore öf
Oacs aurse
the elusive quality is a question thüt
rematned in the balance läst night.
Mrg. Fleke as Hannele.
This sordid, pitiful tale of the poor,
stürvod beggar child that tries to com¬
mit suleide vo escapé the brutallty öf
a drunken stepfather is so tinged with the superhuman that it is difficult t6
mäke it objectivé. Thé play shows Hauptinenn böth as a realist and a symbolist,
and the delirious visions of the dying child, thé confused metltey in which her
dréams of her dead mother and the héaven t0 which she is longing to go are
mingled with terror witen she lmagines she seés or hears her stepfather, make
tlé nsting, as well as the stage mähagemont, an undsually diffichlt task.
It was imposslblé, of course, for Mrs. Fiske to look or speak like a child
of fourteen. Miss Mäbel Tallaferro Is
thé ane wolran on dur ftage Wwilo Is
physically Suftéd to the role. The note
of quivering fear was missing in Mrs.
Fiske's first cry,“ am nfraid!“ and.
whllé the later feverish exclamations
wèrs dausht with miore trüthfulness.
slio never réally touched thetheart. Oue
merely felt cold when Hannele was
placed inher erystal coffin after the
coming of the Angal öf Death. The
angels of light made thé shining stair¬
way to heaven a beaütlful picture and
Elled us witli a spirit of forgiveness for
the sins of some of the actors.
The almshouse crew was not only
artifleial, Sut almost unintelligibie. As
Sister Martha, however, Miss Allee John
gave à besutikul performance. Hol¬
prook Blinn, as the schoolmaster who
becomes merged into The Stranger, was
dlsappoluting. Hé wüs neither as awe¬
nepiring nor as gentle and tender as
#t##e character requires,
InThe Green Cockatoo,“ however,
Nr. Blinn appeared to müch better ad¬
vantage ds Dié chlef actor in a Pürls
cabarêt who fold à yarn about killing
CAS S
his bride's lover with such dramatie
effect that the proprtetor belleved 1t
and dssured him that he had made n5
Allee John as Sister Martha.
mistake in finishing the Duc de Cädig¬
Holbrook Blinn as Gottwald.
nan. So when the Duke dropped in
edter the fall of the Bästile the sur¬
prised actor müde short work of him: This “gretesquerle“ by Arthur Saltzler
proved a Stirring, lively little dffair, of no serions value, but elever and “sketchr.“
It brought out tke fact that Miss John, wllo played the unhappy bride, is a verz
pretty woman. Shé was capltal in her amfable indifference at, tne beginning, but
elie fell down“ completely when she threw-herseif upon the dead body of her
löver. The acting generally was very good, especially that of Henry Stephenson
as the proprietor of the place, and Edward Mackay as the Duke.
It’s a plty the good work wasn't kept up in“ Hannele.“