The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson . d yearsago, it is quite evident that the vanity of vaguenessis not a new histrionic development. And here the quality of permanence as allied tothe other arts and not to acting presents itself Ifwe do not at first understand a great picture, a finepiece of music, or a poem, each of these, being tan-gible, still remains; so, should we desire it, we canfamiliarize ourselves with it, and as we grow olderand become more highly cultivated we will under-stand a school of art that was at first obscure. Butthere must be no vagueness in acting. The sug-gestion sh
The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson . d yearsago, it is quite evident that the vanity of vaguenessis not a new histrionic development. And here the quality of permanence as allied tothe other arts and not to acting presents itself Ifwe do not at first understand a great picture, a finepiece of music, or a poem, each of these, being tan-gible, still remains; so, should we desire it, we canfamiliarize ourselves with it, and as we grow olderand become more highly cultivated we will under-stand a school of art that was at first obscure. Butthere must be no vagueness in acting. The sug-gestion should be unmistakable ; it must be leveledat the whole audience, and reach with unerring aimthe boy in the gallery and the statesman in thestalls. A reminiscence of some forty years ago willserve to illustrate the value of careful preparationat rehearsal. The production at Burtons Theater of Dombeyand Son, dramatized by Mr. Brougham, was a curi-ous combination of failure and success. Much wasexpected of Burtons Captam Cuttle, and to the. JOHN MCCULLOUGH AS VIRGINIUS. OF JOSEPH JEFFERSON 437 surprise of the expectant critics and of Burtonhimself he did nothing with it. Brougham wasequally dull as the two Bs, Bunsby and Bagstock ;the hit of the piece, at least on its first production,was made by Oliver Raymond as Toots. Thisgentleman had been previously an obscure actor,but on making a success in a play wherein Burtonhad failed, he came to the front at once and wasthe lion of the hour. Burtons failure as Cuttle was easily accountedfor. He had studied the character carelessly, andnot only was imperfect in the text but had beenabsent from many of the rehearsals, relying toomuch upon his great powers and the spontaneityof his dramatic resources. He was usually able tocommand them, but during the first run of this piecethey played him truant. Dismayed at his ownfailure and mortified at young Raymonds success,the manager took the drama from the bills andsubstituted another programme. N
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectjeffers, bookyear1890
