Identifier: playersplaysofla02strauoft (find matches)
Title: Players and plays of the last quarter century; an historical summary of causes and a critical review of conditions as existing in the American theatre at the close of the nineteenth century
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Strang, Lewis Clinton, 1869-1935
Subjects: Theater -- History Theater -- United States Acting and actors
Publisher: Boston, L.C. Page
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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most anyimpossible thing may happen. There is acardinal in bright red, who, after listening toa murderers confession, permits his ownbrother, convicted on circumstantial evidenceof the identical murder, to advance to the scaf-fold because he, the cardinal, is lip-sealed bythe confessional. Then, at the last instant,and after the last drop of agony has beenextracted from the situation, behold this self-same cardinal save his brother by trapping thereal murderer into a revelation of his crimewithin the hearing of concealed witnesses ! Ofcourse, there is a beautiful woman betrothedto the brother and greatly desired by the mur-derer, complicating the motive, and adding hershare to the suspense and the emotional ten-sion. In fact, there is everything except sin-cerity, truth, and honest art. Of thesepromoters of genuine emotion, there is not avestige, and, consequently, the whole structurefalls flat. QUALITY STREET Back in the days of Waterloo, thoughneither a Wellington nor a Napoleon ap-
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MAUDE ADAMSAs Phoebe in Quality Street Six Representative Plays 95 peared on the stage, J. M. Barrie placed hisodd little play, Quality Street, in whichMaude Adams appeared for the first timein the fall of 1901. The adjective quaint isthe single one distinctly applicable to every-thing about this play. It applies to Mr. Bar-ries theme, his characters, his method ofillustrating customs and manners, his humour,and his idea of how a play should be made.Mr. Barrie knows very well what he wants aplay to be, but, as regards how to reveal hisidea in dramatic form, his notions are — callthem quaint, for that is a comparatively harm-less word. There is enough brilliant material,delicate conceit, rich and characteristic hu-mour, moving sentiment, and pathos inQuality Street to make a comedy of abid-ing literary and dramatic worth. Unfortu-nately, considerable of this splendid materialis wasted, solely because Mr. Barrie lacksthorough understanding of theatrical work-manship. Even with its fai

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