The evening world., 1893-11-01
"SHoRE ACRES

1t Is not James a. Herne's u"nconVen-
tionality. as many people suppose, that
attracts so much attention In his offer
ings to the stage. 1t is his truth, the
unerring brush with which he paints
familiar colors, and his peculiar gift Of
being able to detect the humorous and
the pathetic amid the sometime squalid
realities of lowly life. Most playwr!ghts
present Il series OF episodes that are
truthful In spots only. They are afraid
to he too natural. in the dread OF becom-
ing commonplace, so they call in the aid
of theatrical devic ,s-the villain, the
wronged woman the climax before each
curtain. and the pairing of the lovers at
the end OF the play. No wonder that
the perpetual theatre-goer grows weary.
He has the same di It every night. The
incessant watcr-drop will wear out a
store.
Mr.. Herne Is not afraid to be natural.
and he certainly is never commonplace.
In Shore Acres which had It's second
performance at the Fifth Avenue The
atre last night, he has written a play
so absolutely satisfying to truth that
one marvels at the d!rectness of some
OF the touches. that are apparently
aimed carelessly. There are beautiful
episodes in this pla~y-epiSodes that cause
the eyes to moisten and the straps of
convention that bend a man rigldly into
his mundane shell. to loosen their hold.
Such n play m, st be educational and
Der eflcial In its infuen &c. / would take
Grim inals in n body to see 1t. and rely
mere upon its effects than on all the
ermons hat coldlv inundate those un-
~foitunates. The ermon at any rate.
could come afterwards. To those who
are not ~criminals-to you and to me
who have nothing more hopeless than n
toughened epidermis-"Shore Acres" Is
a sweet ard fragrant zephyr. blowing us
Into a sort OF dulCet appreciation of
neglected buties.
We saw at this same theatre the
CRIME and the nature of Mr.. Thomas's
I'm MizZoura," and we can now COM
pare the effects of Mr.. Herne's play with
the clap-trap naturalness and the the
atrical pathos Of Thomas's effort.
Herne looks at the sky; Thomas at the
flies and wings. Herne touches the
qu'vering eye; Thomas the opera-glass
that you can obtain by putting a quarter
in the slot. The CRIME of I'm Mizzoura"
N''it NC tOpyl lbllttu. lne nature or
"Shore Acres" belongs to all who can
discover It.
Yet Shore Acres while pregnant
with realism, is also tempered with
idealism. Herne's kitchen is true to
life. but 1t Is beautifed before it is pre-
sented. and at the silver wedding din
ner the guests who put their knives in
their mouths refrain from other and
more offensive acts that such folks
would in all probability commit. Mr..
Herne is not a lola. He is real, but
he Is also ideal. The character of Ma
thaniel Berry is robbed of its angles.
The story of "Shore Acres is sim
plicity itself. Into the delightful little
homestead near Bar Harbor creeps a
serpent In the shape of a land boomer.
He sows the seeds Of discomfort in the
breast Of Martin Berry, whose property
he covets for building lots" The
seeds have taken root in the second
act, and he harmony of the home is
ruined. In the third act misery has
claimed Martin, his daughter. her lover,
old Nat n the household. In the
fourth act content is pathetically re.
stored. and the final curtain falls upon
Wv va Npilbtiil anu dDlltBd tlOI
of Nat, as he ~retires. after the happy set.
Element Of all difficulties. leaving the
stage silent and solitary, and the audi.
ence wondering why they are so moved
by a wordless, non-theatrical scene.
The beauty OF the play Is marred
somewhat by the introduction OF the in
cident dealing with the unnecessary
theft OF which Nell's lover Is accused.
This seems to be a trifle cheap. and It
strikes one as being dragged in. The
lighthouse scene. in which Martin tries
to prevent Nat from displaying the
light that will save his clipping daughter
from certain death gives quite enough
of the popular" element to the play. II
seems libellous to doubt the popularity
of shore Acres" There must be some.
thing radically wrong with the man OF
woman who cannot enjoy 1t. / heard a
dude-a representative dude-out in the
lobby say ITS very nice. but / want
something lively" He went away, prob,
ably to see the Daisy Queen of Spain
across the street. That would he his
idea of fiveliness. But we all know tina.
there Is something radically wrong witt
a dude.
shore Acres is splendidly acted, no
only by Mr.. Herne-who is a most un
aggressive and unobtrusive star-but by
Katherine Grey, who is exquisite al
Nell; Charles G. Craig, Grace Gayle
Clark. whose quaint repetition OF tn,
ends OF her phrases is most amusing
Franklin Garland, David NJ. Murra,
and Charles b.. Hamlin. Go and Sc,
"Shore Acres" and mind that you don
call II "A play. Remember that TIL
Corncracker' Is a play-or people sup
pose 1t to be one. ALAN DALE.