The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-04-07
HMUsFm KNrs
Bus,dina Play. In tho Air.

expreesion of passion.
Taken thus together We have tho two poles Of
onc battery curiouely doing each others work
tho positive giving out n negative. AMI the neg
atvc n positive stream OF what. by stretch Of
language. mny b. called comedy electricity.
However. tho circuit IL closed, M the clcctri-
clans eay. and tho Wallack audiences enjoy the
shock. ~ they have an undoubted right to do,
for Diplomacy" In n clever and n brilliant
play, and. taken ma whole. IA admirably acted.
AZ am not Wallack audience shall take
Tho liberty OF crticising the drama after my
own method. and say at once that clever and
brilliant no It is. 1t belongs to the unnatural
school, and ite defocts, IA work Of art are con
eptcuous and irremodiablo.
In the first place. 1t Ia ono OF those creations
that are not evolved. but are piled up. incident
on incident. parsonage on personagc-like 30
many bricks-with a French denoucment for q
zinc mansard. on top Of all.
object TO this, because am stubbornly set in
my notion that all artilcers. whether they build
corn cribs or comedies, must initiate not alone
the motions OF nature but the method
Not long ago play Of the lurid. native order
was produced Mt Niblo's Garden. II bore the
title II l remember It correctly. OF THE
Serpent and the Dove" In this play n
hero was. as is customary. bcset by fiend.
Al sHiit VI Oh l1t nero
the hclsh villain got him in his tolls by prompt
ly availing himself Of the vast resources OF the
property room. lie pinned tho innocent man
against his own chamber wall with bowie
knives. He fastened loaded rifle I'm front Of
him with string TO the trigger and weight to
the string. He then attached fuse TO n candle
IN such manner that in fifteen minutes the
burning taper as its flame descended would
reach the fuse. The burning fuse would then
separate the cord. the weight would fall. and
the loaded gun would be discharged into the
face of the pinoncd man. This is what is
known as situation II also has the advantage
OF being suspense" When the methodcal
fend has arranged his machinery he vanished
leaving his properties to do their diabocal
work. Presently there enters upon the scene
the timid angel whom the pinloncd man loves.
The candle has burned down very near to the
fLse. In another second an awful explosion
will take place. The tmid girl is amazed at the
number and position Of the bowie knives. Her
soul sinks in dsmay at the novel predcamcnt
of her lover.
But he is cool and brave. Ho tells her to keep
her wits about her and to do rs he bids her.
She then. under his direction. proceeds slowly
and with extreme circumspection to withdraw
the bowie knives and lberate the arms OF the
prisoner. and all the while the breathless audi
ence knows that the gun Is on the point OF
going of.
ask your particular attention to this scheme.
because II illustrates what have to say about
Diplomacy"
You feel. do you not. that there is something
wrong in the situation?
Your feeling. let me assure you. is healthy
one. and is participated in by the audience.
The thing that ofiends your natural instincts
Is tho domination Of dramatic ingenuity over
good sense
The roman ought To hare b'orn the candle out
al once. and thus eided tie suspense.
But az the object OF the drama is suspense
and not the exhibition OF good sense-that is not
possible.
1t is generally true Of all French dramas that
She refuses to blow the candle out.
II Is especially true OF Diplomacy" in which
clever and brilliant production we perceive that
French dramatic art consists in going as far
round a thing MS possible in order to get at IT,
Four clever and brilliant acts are necessary to
weave into suspense what may be stated in four
lines.
jealous woman steals an important docu-
ment 10 be revcnged on the man she loves and
fastens for while the guilt on that mans wife!
This Is the nodus OF the play. 1t takes the
cynicsm Of Wallaek. the sentiment OF Monta-
que. the obduracy Of Coghlan. the expansive
Elasticity Of Robinson. and the geld beauty of
Granger three hours to unravel IT,
We give our admiration TO their efforts. We
know perfectly well that the knot will not hold.
but we " make believe" that 1t will SO as 10 feel
as much interest rs possible
When / say that to be in harmony with the
nature Of things Montague ought 10 blow out
the candle in the third act. / am saying in col
loquial AnslO-SaXon what the German critics
have been saying for years in far-felched
phrases. viz that every play must be grounded
In ethicai knowledge and limited and rounded
up 10y human nature.
But the Sardou school OF playwrlghts is more
careful about the intrigue than the integrity of
The drama.
Its members nre master fashioners: marvel
lous modistes. who are content to cut and stitch
circumstances without much regard for charac-
ter.
l saw small Sardou on n street corner the
other day. He had crowd Of men and boys
around him. and he was eX'emporizing little
French comedy with a pocket handkerchief.
Now, then" said this vouble master OF arts.
Z" tie a double knot in the middle thus You
can see make 1t as hard as possible-there is
no deception-feel 1t. Now put another square
knot on top Of IT, now there are two. Then l
take the corners Of the handkerchief in my
fingers. blow my breath thus. and presto. the
knots vanish"
Never before had seen n French play so sum-
married. There wasn't n small boy In the crowd
that did not know perfectly well that the knots
were an Illusion. but every small boy was Just
us much amazed as If they were real.
To make such play rs Diplomacy" you
must first make n bad woman. She need not DO
bad according to the established canons Of in
EQUITY, but she must be bad according to the re-
Qurements Of the situation.
In this case she loves a man who has married
another womtn and as he has Just been APP
pointed Secretary OF Legation to Vienna, she. at
the nstigation Of Russian agent. steals an i'm
lortant Government document from his box.
encloses it in letter Of the secretarys wife, and
sends it 10 the Russian agent, the Baron Stein.
The facility with which this knot is tied In the
handkerchief is beautiful. Everything takes
place, up to n certain crisis Just M she plans IT,
The secret documents of the English Govern
ment almost Jump into her hands The hus-
band instantly suspects. with much weeping and
wailing and gnashinR Of teeth that his dearly
beloved wife is thief and a Russian SPY And
The wife is too proud and innocent to say she
isn't. Two whole acts are therefore given to