The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-11
NEW PLAYS AND OLD ONES.
Nv AMERICAN CHARh CTER DRAMA
nv "yHE CORNCRACKER"

rhs,tre OF Arts and Letters was the one n
.c,ed at the Fourteenth Street Theatre last
.ycrinr. 1t was so bad. so curiously and Pc
,rItnrIy bad, that its badness amused tho au-
iionta Tho piece which gained this distinc-
,,o, was tho new work Of Joseph Arthur. lie
nod been known as the author OF THE
s,II Alarm" and Blue jeans" both
rorthy successes with tho multitudes
tho like materialistio dramas: and so
tbers had arisen I'm expectation that
THE Corncracker" would contain good
matter Of the kind that had beon the making
~ the earlier plays The material was there
n I, true. and in abundance. but It was all In
an ineomrrehensible tumble OF preposterous
language, Intellectual situations. and inco-
herent characters II Mr.. Arthur had spent
. year or two In jotting down ideas
m sepaiate slips OF papor. and had
then pasted them together haphazard.
,bo proceas would not have yielded
much worse or different result. He had
meant to depict lie and character in Indiana
ansr the manner of " Blue Jeans" but his per-
.on,ees behaved like lunatics escaped from
an asylum. Their acts were irrational. and
their motives crazy. still q close observer
.oud discern. once In wnie what the author
had intended to do.
For example. one OF his scenes represented
, prohibition meeting In bibulous neighbor-
hood, with fierce hand-to hand tight between
the reverend orator and q disturber OF the OK
ercises The clergyman. reused from meek
ness to bellgerency. whipped the other man.
and tho episode might have been made to
climax an act triumphantly. but 1t went for
nauGht and was lost in ridicue.
The feebla coarseness OF Mr.. Arthur's
humor, tho mawklshness Of his sent!me nt. and
tho BON hast OF his heroics were astounding as
the com position OF the playwright who had
produced Blue Jeans" Almost the only thing
that prosrered at all against the general ad-
varsity which befell Tho Corncracker." and
which was seriously applauded. was the use
made OF passenger elevator In a city building.
The ear was shown as It rose from story
10 story. with incidental fun derived from
those who rode In 1t and those who laboriously
climbed the stairways. Then it became We
hicle Of tragedy, for one OF the HEROES and ono
Of the villains fought in It. and were precip-
itated down the shaft. from which flames
burst and Panic OF guests and mployees en-
sued. But the potency Of even that device Of
excitement was fooled away by inexpert man.
agement. In short. the drama was an unex-
peced and amazing failure.
by the time that the first American per-
Torrance OF Tho Second Mrs. Tanqueray"
was ended at the Star. on Monday which was
not until almost midnight--it was clear to
close observers that Arthur W. Pinero had
been influenced by the Ibsen examples OF un-
finchlng naturalness in dramatic com position.
His study and exposition Of the character Of
the harlot. with her good and bad sides fight
ding done before By Pinero: The work is
s In Wo s dD Shoss Sanon s
Is Of ITSELF ordinary and commonplace in
avery respect, He carries her along to suicide
Of her acts and their motives is not satisfac-
q. partial failure Of elset is due t. ths actress
ia. Yesterdays Sun: The coarse creature
hS not
her. There was no allurement OF mind or per-
son to account for his infatuation. Justice de-
during the last hour OF the play Mrs. Kendall
ct nearer to an ADEQUATE expression OF
bnsro 1s me- meanings: because they related to
for decency. her piteous grief upon finding
herself ineligible to congena! companionshlp
With her pure granddaughter. her remorse over
Erueion. Mrs. Kendall 10 sufieient within
could have held an audience sreilbound with
. Mrs 1an2us,an. Not one Of the leading nc-
van. Viola Allen. Ada Rehan. or Julia Arthur
would be able to greatly excel Mrs kendal In
the the :, esIeessdinEly difficult nndertakinG The
Syoung and beautiful woman. Is needed for
Fneros heroine.
Home" aplay by Hermann Sudermnnn.
the young Berlin disciple OF Ibsen. was pro-
dueed at the Irving Place on Monday. 1t 10
hard to say whether the audience liked It or
not Some people do like solemn things. and
Home" is tremendously solemn. Like Ib-
sens Dolls House." 1t all takes plare in sin
glo room Herr Am berg used to produce some
but Herr Conried seems to be mn to him. The
pot OF this Sudermann play is that girl. who
ran ran away from home twelve years before,
Gus Sus persons Herr Conried presents a visible
nome which IA an entire excuse Tor the act of
me eirl In running away. but which 10 far
Ilom being an explanation OF her motive in |
coming back She says herself n one Of her long
s ~ sa int part .: her motive was spte and
besides besides love Of the furniture. She was little |
likely to lie wooed by her fathers collection OF
pines, or the two gloomy religious pictures
done IN br!ght, yellow and with a most unac-
tSo oI smlrk to 1t; or the chairs In horse
,tnsk or the glaSs-covered box Of butterflies
p !an ior these. even supposins she cherished
some tender mem cries OF the Avenue A table |
e Soy and the Nottingham curtains. starched
an as boards. But Sudermann. like Ihsen. Ia |
spiaSWrigh' who Is concerned with the text, |
and 1t ,,I is ,rI not likely that he would
SSssssorss though he nigh, condescend 70
" surprised by them. The speeches in |
nome are long. sonorouR. didactic: and |
.ne sentiment OF them. we reg ct to say. tends |
occasionally to be esb1rgerlch, OF. In our |
snorter English phrase. cheap. Everybody |
~ nhaIs 70 know what the girl has been doing in |
mhe,twelvs years OF her absence. 1t is known |
s sGl she has become rich and famous opera |
tsEtn singer but the folks want to know more than |
W. Her stepmother's maiden sister wants |
t ~ Know and her father wants to know. and |
, .n Of the family are filed with the same |
sIeelal curiosity. A rather youthful pastor. |
, Sho once wanted to marry her. has solemn |
@ S.s with her which, we are sure. would meas:
o Ms yards IN tho printed text, In the course OF
S SaS OF ms talks 1t 10 made clear that her
amer retired lieutenant- OIL onellof the army |
VINO ought, to afford better furniture. |
wy wy should think. Herr Conried willing |
S% parey,tc stroke when the girl ran away |
s Smcn leit him with a tremulous right hand |
IN IN a. easily excitable brain. "A good deal OF
as ny pay; II should be said. Is taken M with
ssspOsuthiling for things: with narrative. OK |
S,SSna..qn. and "Reminiscences rather than |
S III ate representationl At length the poor
~ ~ y pulled into admitting an indiscretion.
s sra her father tries to shoot her, and gets |
ssiSther stroke and dies while he 10 trying ia |
tha ~.