Shakespeare's masterpieces interpreted by: John F. Howard

              SHAKESPEARE'S MASTERPIECES 

Figure


INTERPRETED BY JOHN F. HOWARD





The plays are presented from memory—without book or note.




HAMLET.


MACBETH.


OTHELLO.


KING LEAR.


JULIUS CAESAR.


ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.


ROMEO AND JULIET.


A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.


TWELFTH NIGHT.


CYMBELINE.




Mr. Howard also gives evenings from his own writings.  He has been honored with letters from Queen Victoria, King Edward, and Lord Tennyson in recognition of his verse.






SYRACUSE
, N. Y., April 15, 1907.




MR. JOHN F. HOWARD
,




Dear Sir:—I was so deeply impressed the last time I heard you that I feel constrained to write you my thought.  You are a public benefactor to that cultured class who appreciate the great genius of English literature.  By your masterful rendering you gratify the literary taste of your hearers, and stimulate their study, and admiration for the great poet by leading them to a true appreciation of Shakespeare through your charming intellectual interpretation.  You do not rant, but you put your mind into action, and I always saw the distinctive personality of the characters you represented.  That is your power and success, and hence you will always be appreciated.




Yours sincerely,

Jeremiah Zimmerman, D. D., LL. D.



JOHN
 F. 
HOWARD, ESQ.
,




Dear Sir:—It is wonderful to me how you can commit to memory an entire play of Shakespeare, keeping in your mind not only the text—but the names of all the characters—and the division of acts and scenes.  This to me is a marvel.




I must say that your reading gave me great pleasure.  It was natural and artistic.  You brought out the full meaning and gave evidence of thoroughly understanding and appreciating the sublime and subtle thoughts of the great dramatist.




For you I predict success.




Yours truly,

Robert G. Ingersoll.




February 16, 1897.




You showed power to make the hearers understand and feel what Shakespeare meant.




Minot J. Savage.




I wish to express my pleasure in hearing Mr. Howard's rendition of the great Shakespearian drama.




George W. Cable.





I could hardly have believed that a single voice could have depicted such a variety of speeches, and so many scenes as to keep the whole play distinct and the characters unmistakable.  The part of Hamlet himself impressed me as never before.




O. O. Howard, L. L. D.
 Major General




LASELL SEMINARY
.




Perhaps there could be no better proof of his success than the fact that 150 girls sat as if spell-bound for two hours without the least evidence of fatigue or restlessness.




Charles C. Bragdon.
 Principal.




I look with admiration on your work when I think you have done it almost wholly by the light of your own strong, and generally correct understanding.




You seem to me to have remarkable natural aptitude.  I judge you have a singularly sensative and plastic temperament; much delicacy, and clear intelligence; quick and often deeply intuitive judgment, and real histrionic sense.




Henry A. Clapp.
 Leading Dramatic Critic of Boston.




I gladly testify to the pleasure with which I listened to the Shakespeare recital by Mr. John F. Howard.




Sheldon M. Griswold.
 Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.




PURDUE UNIVERSITY, LAFAYETTE, IND
.




Mr. John F. Howard who recently gave a Shakespearian reading at Purdue University pleased his audience with his dignified presentation of Hamlet, and his evident scholarly sympathy and appreciation of his subject.




W. E. Stone.
 President of Purdue University.




AMHERST COLLEGE, AMHERST, MASS.




Dear Mr. Howard:—I greatly enjoyed your reading of Hamlet.  I believe that it has helped me to a truer interpretation of some of the characters of the play.  I thank you.




Sincerely yours,

Anson D. Morse.




My Dear Mr. Howard:—Your presentation of Hamlet last Saturday evening gave me much pleasure.  I could wish all lovers of Shakespeare might hear your excellent rendering of his best plays.




Very truly yours,

H. B. Richardson.




ROCKFORD COLLEGE, ROCKFORD, ILL.




Mr. Howard's skill as a reader of Shakespeare is evidenced by the fact that he nowhere obtrudes his personality or causes the listener to raise the question as to 
how
 he is giving the rendering.  He is the 
interpreter
 throughout.




Julia H. Gulliver,
 President of Rockford College.





SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, SYRACUSE
, N. Y.




I was interested in hearing Mr. Howard read Julius Caesar, because he brought before us Shakespeare's lines intelligently.




C. H. Carter.
 Department of English.




NORWICH UNIVERSITY, NORTHFIELD, VT
.




Those who enjoy a really good thing should not fail to hear Mr. Howard.




Herbert R. Roberts.
 Professor of Languages.




ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, ANNAPOLIS, MD.




MR. JOHN F. HOWARD
.




Dear Sir:—It gives me pleasure to say that your recital last evening of the play of Julius Caesar afforded much enjoyment and satisfaction to all those who were so fortunate as to be present.  Your rendering of the play showed much dramatic power and appreciative study of the subject.  We shall hope to be favored with another such opportunity in the near future, and I am glad to commend your work to others who are seeking high grade entertainment.




Very truly yours,

Thomas Fell,
 President of St. John's College.




RUTGER'S COLLEGE, NEW BRUNSWICK
, N. J.




A representative and cultured audience greeted Mr. Howard upon his first appearance in New Brunswick.  His presentation of Macbeth showed evidence of careful study and good judgment.  His memory is remarkable.  His pronunciation clear and distinct.




He has my very best wishes for the success that his talent and energy deserves.




E. Livingston Barbour.
 Prof. of Elocution and Oratory




WESTERN UNIVERSITY, LONDON, ONTARIO
.




My dear Mr. Howard,—I have much pleasure in saying that your recitals of 
Macbeth
 and 
A Midsummer Night's Dream
 were very enjoyable to me.  I liked your simplicity and reserve.




I thought the rendering of the last scenes in Macbeth and of the great lyrical passages (I know a bank, and the fair vestal throned by the west) and the comic episodes in A Midsummer Night's Dream, particularly fine.  I hope your success continues and increases.




Yours very truly,

W. F. Tamblyn.
 President of Western University,




FARGO COLLEGE, FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA
.




I regard him as a master artist and gladly and heartily endorse his work and recommend it to those who delight in adequate interpretations of the masterpieces of the great dramatist.




P. G. Knowlton.
 Dean of Fargo College.




ST. MARY'S SCHOOL, KNOXVILLE, ILL.




In voice and manner and sympathetic interpretation you gave us an evening that will be long remembered and will make the old play seem all the more interesting and wonderful.




C. W. Liffingwell, D. D.
 President.





UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.




I was fortunate enough to hear a Shakespeare recital by Mr. John F. Howard.  At the very beginning I was relieved to find that he does not belong to the ranting school of reciters; and as he proceeded, I was greatly pleased with his clear conception of the meaning of the text and his naturalness in presenting it.




An evening with him in one of his recitals means an evening of great pleasure and profit.




John F. Downey.




STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, VALLEY CITY, NORTH DAKOTA.




Mr. Howard renders Hamlet sanely and easily and in such manner as to exhibit clearly the meaning of that play in its power, its variety, and its wonderful humanity.




Arland D. Weeks, A. B.
 Department of English.




STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, FARMINGTON, ME.




I am very glad to add my testimony to the excellence of Mr. John F. Howard as a reader of Shakespeare.  His interpretation of some of the characters was to my mind equal to that of any one.




Geo. C. Purrington,
 Principal.




STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, OSWEGO,
 N. Y.




Mr. John F. Howard gave a recital of Macbeth before a large audience in the hall of the Oswego Normal School which was very satisfactory to all parties.  I take pleasure in commending Mr. Howard to any one who may think of patronizing his recitals in other places.




E. A. Sheldon,
 Principal.




STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, BRIDGEWATER, MASS.




It gives me pleasure to say that Mr. John F. Howard, of Boston, gave to our school and citizens of the town two delightful and instructive evenings in the rendering of Shakespeare's plays.




Albert G. Boyden,




EXCERPTS FROM THE PRESS.



Mr. Howard's conception of Hamlet is of the strongest type that has been presented by generations of actors—the intense character assuming the disguise of insanity for his purposes—and it was remarkably well borne.

When we consider the magnitude of the task which Mr. Howard takes upon himself—the memorizing of a great play like this and the presentation of it without the slightest accessory—we must say that it is a remarkable and unexpectedly able performance.  It is rarely that we shall find an effort of this kind so intellectually sustained and so largely pleasurable.—


Springfield Republican, Springfield, Mass.




There could be no better proof of the great and rare talent of Mr. John F. Howard as a reader of Shakespeare than the fact that he transported his audience last night to the scenes of Macbeth's terrible tragedy, as absolutely as if the drama had been presented by a high class company with costly settings.  Shakespeares mighty lines were brought home to the minds and hearts of all present in an interpretation that places Mr. Howard among the best reciters of the masterpieces of the world's greatest poet.—


Evening Journal, Ottawa, Ont.





Mr. Howard, unaided, read the lines of every character Gifted with a marvelous voice, capable of expressing every shade of feeling, Mr. Howard illumed the tragedy as with the brush of a painter.  Scenery he has none.  No orchestra played softly as the villain died.  No strangely attired soldiers clashed tin swords on plated shields.  No tawdry witches made the bard ludicrous.  Attired in evening dress, Mr. Howard by voice and facial expression and gesture made the drama live with new life to the minds of his auditors.

Mr. Howard's interpretation of Shakespeare is sound.  To miss it is to miss an intellectual treat.—


The Free Press, London, Ont.




To state that Mr. Howard is one of the greatest dramatic readers of the age is simply stating a plain truth.  He electrifies his audience with his fire and his artistic climaxes, but still there is nothing overdone.  He unfolded each succeeding action and motion in the great tragedy of Hamlet with dramatic intensity and fascinating power.  He seems to be one of the men of genius especially gifted to interpret and to place before the people in their clearest and best light the thoughts of those who stand highest among human beings.  Mr. Howards interpretation of the characters was to our mind equal to the best we have ever heard.  It was the finest Shakesperian reading ever given in Eau Claire.—


Col. H. M. Atkinson in the Daily Leader, Eau Claire, Wis.




We cannot conceive of a more perfect representation of Macbeth through all the stages of his tragic career.  Mr. Howard rose to high art.  His whole soul was in the play.  When an audience can be swayed like this it takes a spark of genius to do it.—


Albany Evening Journal, Albany, N. Y.




The greatest artist could produce no better effect as a reader, and perhaps not so great as did Mr. Howard.—


Burlington Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa.




John F. Howard's reading of Macbeth at the University of Ohio last evening was one of the most finished productions of its kind ever presented before an Athens audience.—


Daily Messenger, Athens, O.




Mr. Howard is a reader and impersonator of fine ability and culture.—


The Leader, Lexington, Ky.




He rose in strength to the demands of the splendid lines and carried his auditors into all that Shakespeare meant.—


State Journal, Frankfort, Ky.




Mr. Howard brings out the hidden beauties of Shakespeare and silence fell on the audience as he read.—


The Intelligencer, Wheeling, W. Va.




The large audience in Virginia College last evening greatly enjoyed Mr. Howard's intellectual presentation of Julius Caesar.—


The Times, Roanoke, Va.




Mr. Howard is a forceful reader, giving great attention to details both in accent and delivery.—


Illinois State Register, Springfield, Ill.




The sleep walking scene was really wonderful.—


Daily Journal, Lansing, Mich.




A large and appreciative gathering listened to Mr. Howard's able interpretation of Shakespeare's great characters last evening in Brown University.  Mr. Howard was at his best and his rendition of the famous tragedy is remarkable.—


Evening Telegram, Providence, R. I.





Mr. Howard is an interpreter of Shakespeare the like of whom Racine has never heard.—


Daily Times, Racine, Wis.




Mr. Howard is natural and departs from the ponderous declamatory style of rendering tragedy.—


Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, Iowa.




A definite sympathy with the exquisite naturalness of Edwin Booth.

The remembrance of the artistic and singularly versatile performance of Mr. Howard was not of a character to be forgotten.  His extraordinary feat of memory, his refined and strong differencing of character, and his capacity of interpretation are well known.

Mr. Howard's recital was an intellectual delight, and on a superior plane to that which endeavors of this kind are wont to occupy.—


Springfield Republican.
 (
Seventh appearance in Springfield, Mass.
)




One of the most charming recitals ever given in Salem.—


Salem News, Salem, Mass.




Mr. Howard's impersonation of Hamlet would surpass in scholarly grasp and subtle expression most stage productions of the play.—


Worcester Spy, Worcester, Mass.




It is hard to praise uniform excellence.—


Daily Commercial, Bangor, Maine.




To hear Mr. Howard in his admirable reading, is to hear Shakespeare in as favorable a way as your intellectuality can desire.—


Lewiston Journal, Lewiston, Maine.




He made the most of the many opportunities Hamlet affords him for the display of his versatility.—


Evening Standard New Bedford, Mass.




Mr. Howard's conception of Hamlet, while original, closely followed the lines laid down by the eminent Booth.—


The Herald, Northampton, Mass.




There was a positive sense of relief when Macbeth and Macduff had engaged and the terrible tragedy was ended.—


Manchester Union, Manchester, N. H.




Mr. Howard's recitals are distinctly scholarly.  He has thoroughly mastered the spirit and the purpose of what he presents.—


Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine.




Mr. Howard has proved to be the best reciter and impersonator thus far appearing in Malden.—


The Mirror, Malden, Mass.




Really remarkable powers of delineation.—


Binghamton Republican, Binghamton, N. Y.




The modulation of his voice and general tone of harmony surpassed any who have delighted Syracuse andiences.—


Evening Herald, Syracuse, N. Y.




Mr. Howard's art admirably unfolded the beauty and majesty of the play.—


Troy Times, Troy, N. Y.




A treat one does not have every day.—


Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, N. Y.




Mr. Howard has the happy faculty of not overdoing.—


The Observer, Utica, N. Y.




His reading was at times a revelation.—


Morning Advertiser, Elmira, N. Y.