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Show THE WAY FYLES FEELS. There is. a hullabaloo over good old Grandma Bernhardt, arrived at the age of 60-something, yet still the greatest of living actresses, writes Franklin Frank-lin Fyles. Yet why the public wildly tumbles over itself to get at her in 1905, after having calmly staid away "from her in 1900, is a puz " to the showmen. Then she was accompanied by the famed Coquelin, while now her stage comrade is De Max, of Parisian note, but unknown here. Only two plays in her fortnight round of ten are additions to her familiar repertory. The readiest sales of seats were for the old "Camille" and "La Tosca," except for her opening with "The Sorceress." My own idea is that the deaths of Irving and Jefferson convinced us that this might be actually Bernhardt's last farewell tour. Sarah Bernhardt's start with "The Sorceress" gave a chance to measure her art by the standard of Mrs. Patrick Campbell. Of course, the contrast con-trast is belittleing Mrs. Campbell, whose performance perform-ance looks small when recollected in connection with Bernhardt's great one. There is a mellifluous voice under the French woman's tricky elocution, a sirenical personality behind her theatrical devices, de-vices, a born genius behind her acquired skill, all of which naturegave to her and not to the Englishwoman. Eng-lishwoman. However, some of the rhapsodic idiocy in the New York journals made me feel, after having read such sane praise as the Chicago reviews gave to the same Bernhardt's same achievement, like pitching into her. Of course, that would not do. But I may venture to object to tlje berating of Victorien Sardou which accompanied accom-panied some of the adulation of Bernhardt. In my opinion, though I may be biased favorably by an inartistic liking of melodrama, Sardou's plays written for Bernhardt have been an important import-ant if not essential factor in her success. Critical Paris has never accepted her without reserve in classical roles, like Phedre, nor cared particularly for her in modern emotionalism, like that of Camille Ca-mille a character, by the way, which she plays seldom except in America; but has made her famous fa-mous by admiration of such Sardou heroines of outbreaking violence as Fedora, La Tosca, Theodora, Theo-dora, Cleopatra and Gismonda. Yet there are critics crit-ics in New York who recognize the making of Mrs. Carter by David Belasco, yet hold that Sardou's Sar-dou's grea'er work of the "same general kind for the greater Bernhardt has been a hindrance to her. I think that idea is fudge. |