TREE'S WOLSEY A TRIUMPH

The first Boston performance of Sir Herbert Tree's production of "Henry VIII" will be held in the Hollis Street Theatre tonight. In commenting on the success which the celebrated English actor has made in the play, Dr. F. W. C. Hersey '99, of the English Department, says:

"No one should miss seeing the superb production of 'Henry VIII,' which Sir Herbert Tree, the leading actor-manager of the English stage, is bringing to the Hollis Street Theatre tonight for a limited engagement. It is fortunate that all members of the University can now witness the pageant-play which was one of Sir Herbert's notable successes at his Majesty's Theatre, London, and which he brought to America last spring as part of his contribution to the celebration of the Shakespeare Tercentenary. Not for twenty years has this play been given in Boston, not since the performance of Sir Henry Irving.

"The pomp and brilliance of Tudor England sweep past us in this sumptuous production. Majestic history lives again as 'full-blown Wolsey' (in Dr. Johnson's phrase), burly King Henry, and the nobly pathetic Queen Katharine tread the stage. It is a play of great figures clashing in great scenes. The death of Buckingham, the meeting of Henry and Anne Bollen at the ball, the trial of Queen Katharine, the fall of Wolsey, the coronation of Anne--these scenes show forth the spirit of that turbulent age.

"Vitality is the essence of the performance. The Wolsey of Sir Herbert Tree, the King Henry of Mr. Lyn Harding, the Queen Katharine of Miss Edith Wynne Matthison seem to have stepped from the canvasses of Holbein at Hampton Court, so veracious are they in posture and costume. But they do more than fill the eye. The vigor and pulse of their reality and the magnetism of their life touch our emotions and make us understand the human qualities of these princely beings.

"Sir Herbert Tree has not played in Boston for nineteen years. During this period he has made His Majesty's Theatre in London a great national institution devoted to the arts of the theatre and has brought into his service the finest actors of the time and distinguished artists, musicians and scholars. He has kept Shakespeare on the stage. From 1897 to the present time he has made each year a magnificent production of one of Shakespeare's plays: 'The Merry Wives of Windsor,' 'Hamlet.' 'Julius Caesar,' 'King John,' 'A. Midsummer Night's Dream,' 'Twelfth Night,' 'King Richard III,' 'The Tempest,' 'Much Ado About Nothing,' 'The Winter's Tale,' 'Antony and Cleopatra,' 'The Merchant of Venice,' 'King Henry VIII,' 'Macbeth,' 'Othello,' and since 1905 has given an annual Shakespeare Festival, including many of these plays. We are glad to welcome to Boston this famous actor-manager and his admirable company. As Sir Walter Raleigh said, 'Now for King Henry VIII.'"