Show OLIVER CROMWELL editor deseret news having dest designed tied the presentation of my play of oliver oliver cromwell in the salt lake theatre to stait it on its tour throughout the united states and great britain I 1 crave your space for an exposition of the preat great bist hist orica subject and character oi of oliver cromwell in the interest of this dramatic home production it has long been the desire of great american actors whose physique suited the part to obtain a play of the puritan protector of england in which to culminate their histrionic fame frequently it was so noted of edwin forrest he is said to have accumulated upwards of twelve different manuscript plays of cromwell from various authors whose pens he be he had bad engaged spending thus many thousand dollars do allaro in his efforts to obtain a play which he be might blight deem suitable at once oace to himself as the colossus of the american stage and to oliver cromwell as the colossus of the to english lish commonwealth of the seventeenth seventeenth seventeen tl century notwithstanding standing however his bia desire in this mattel matte it seems that he be was never antver quite satisfied that he had succeeded in ia obtaining such a playoff play of cromwell that forrest would have suited the cast of oliver more perhaps than any man that ever trod the stage there is no doubt but the character is in its t type e and aist historical orical subject so unique that pt a mere dramatic triumph of actor and author was not sufficient it was the veritable oliver cromwell that was needed and not simply a great dramatic personage in performance with some historical resemblance to the original in the action of that most wonderful and most peculiar period of glands En history forrest might have presented a dramatic character tj earing the name of oliver cromwell as great as richelieu yet not cromwell or a typical puritan with nearly literal text yet lacking the dramatic genius and cast that have made the play of richelieu a splendid success notwithstanding its very marked dissimilarity to the richelieu of strict history but a proper play of oliver cromwell must be really an exposition both of the character of the great protector of england and of that stupendous subject of a nation sitting in judgment upon its king and which hav having ing sent that king to the scaffold reconstructed its commonwealth the american republic itself is 18 very much the offspring of the action of the times and the men who fouin founded ded the american provinces afterwards known as the united states were the veritable brothers of the men who set up the commonwealth of england af the seventeenth century america in fact inherits the genius and work of the state architects their work of the seventeenth century in england was partly demolished by the restoration of the stuarts but in america in the eighteenth century the children of the brothers who came to america during the incubation of the tion of england reset re set up the english commonwealth with new and opportunities from the vast capacities of a new world but they aimed for scarcely anything more or different and they did their work in the very same spirit manifested by the statesmen oi of the commonwealth of england T n fland carlyle arlyle abe michael angelo of english biographical literature in his typing of the Cromwel llan subject and action styles the great drama as th the Cromwel Cromwell llad iad which signifies that 1 was an epic action herfor performed med alps tp modern giua no exposition was wa ever made sq apt and intelligible to the poet and critic of thi the drama as af pf arly ab loat is a yeal real apic bac aad ora one n noto t an p U up t timm J W h hut I 1 ap pp wy or 0 04 1 MU oil wal an lip tor ft s W times by the grandsire grandsires grand sirs sires of the tha very men w who h 0 sit la in the british house of commons today to day and also by the grandsires grand sires alres of themen the men who represent the american families that founded the anglo american republic such is the significance of carlyle Car tyle in his peculiar typical style the Cromwell iad 11 but of the man oliver and his Cromwell iad the michael angelo of modern thinkers very ery aptly expounds thus I 1 the like age of of the Is not extinct only and gone away from us but it is as if fallen beyond the capabilities bili ties of memory herself it is grown unintelligible what we may call incredible its earnest purport awakens now no resonance in our frivolous hearts we understand not even in imagination ot of a thousand of us what it ever could have meant it seems delirious delusive the sound of it has become tedious is as a tale of past stupidities not the body of heroic puritanism only which was bound to die but the soul of it alsot also which was and should have been and yet shall be immortal has for the present passed away As harrison said of his banner Basner and the lion of the tribe of judah who shall rouse him up of the man oliver carlyle further explains but the thing we had to say and repeat was this that puritanism is not nineteenth century but of the Seventeen tIA that the grand for us lies there the grand unintelligibility of oliver cromwell now it is lust just in this peculiar type of the drama this grand ol of the th eearnest purport of which awak exis ena now no resonance in our frivolous hearts that made it 11 such a task for edwin forrest to obtain a play of oliver cromwell for the modern stage at onee once acceptable to himself and the public and the failure was most likely e y quite u te as much in n orrest forrest an and the he public bublic as in the various authors who choatte attempted apted to reproduce inan anaa acting i g drama dra a for the modern stage cromwell and hit bis times previous to thomas carlyles bold earnest effort to expound the man oliver as he styles him to the frivolous hea hearts arts of the men of the nineteenth century oliver cromwell unintelligible both in his bis character and his action to nearly all of this generation stand ing that the present liberties of england and the american republic itself grew out oat of the grand earnest action and purport of the times and their r puritan heroic action major general harrison Harr isoo ner was the lion of the tribe of judah with the inscription iD who shall rouse him blip up understood this cromwell so did the divine john milton Mil tori 11 indeed milton almost sang praises to the great protector of england to him h in the man oliver was the lords lion ot of the seventeenth century and milton called oliver so in very unmistakable language but butto to the dutch oliver was the devil when he died the good people eople lof of holland said the avil devil was dead dutch mothers could no longer frighten naughty urchins t to 0 silence by the bugbear of his name but van tromp lound found the opportunity to frighten the english with the thunder of bis is guns in ia the mouth of the thames this pavli of the dutch made england greater than she ever was during the reign of odthe the plan 1 tage nets and Tudora exen excepting elizabeth izabeth Bl but bit I 1 oliver was the man of sin for all that no sooner was the restoration effected than he be was anat hung on a gibbet on tyburn hill and there gibbeted in the memory of england tae man oliver remained until carlysle in his hero worship took him down and explained the lords llon of the seventeenth century to the understanding of the nineteenth and now ithe ragland of carlyle john bright an dHenry vincent would not exchange her lion of the lord for a hundred generations of stuarts and Plantage nets and the application of this exposition mr editor is that this utah author anthor of the play of oliver cromwell is do tor for the english and american stage a work similar to that which thomas cariole successfully wrought for the Cromwell iad in E english A aish historical literature respectfully EDW W |