The times., 1899-12-17

And while in the humor for story
telling, a writer might find excuse for the
relation of a second narrative-a new mar
ratiVe-in connection with Lavinia Fl. Van
Westervelt Dempsey's The Open Door -
which. until last night, was the attraction
al the Lafayette. This yarn describes an
artistic visitor who was standing in front
Of the Monument here when he was ap-
preached By another stranger. whose ig-
norance was manifest even before he
spoke Dofiug his hat politely and point
ing to the great pile, the uniformed indi-
vidual asked: why was that obelisk
built?"
Give it up" replied the artistic gazer,
with calm disgust. Maybe someone gave
them the stone
The application Of which is this:
Unless someone gave her the costumes
and scenery, there seems to have been not
the slightest reason for Miss Dempsey's
producing THE Open Door" The piece is
quite as wretched a specimen of dramatic
architecture as has been brought forward
in Washington during many years. a plot
that might be considered possible but GER
tainly is not probable, dialogue that is end
less and stilted. climaXes that wayer like
the records of a pulsc-reading machine and
absolute lack of congruity are among the
many factors that constitute the utter mer-
itIessness of the play. The average the
atregoer who saw The Open Door" last
week can have been surprised but once
when a quartette of revolutionary soldiers
stepped to the footlights in order to render
that simple colonial ballad. Nah Hannah
Lady" Absence of regard to detail made
many OF the otherwise tOIerable incidents
Of the work altogether laughable. The en-
tire affair could have had only single
excuse and that excuse in the allusion
printed above.
1t is to be hoped that, in the future, the
Queen OF the Holland Danes will be so
employed in receiving the homage Of that
body that she Will have no time for dab
bling with the art of Shakespeare.
simultaneously with the announcement
that Israel Zangwin is dramatizing The
Mantle of Elijah for the Liebler Company
comes the information that his Children
Of the Ghetto" has failed as fatty in Lon
don as it did in Washington and New York
Indeed, the audience of the British metro
polls is said not to have waited for the YER
dict OF the critics before expressing an
opinion, its ideas being voiced in loud
hootings when that lion-maned gentleman
stepped before the curtain with the inten-
tion of making a speech This discourte-
Sy probably was undeseryed-may even
have been prompted by rivals. Such in
terTuptlOnS are coming 10 be the disgrace
Of English theatres. But, coupled with the
following reviews of the piece, it assuredIy
goes to show that Children OF the
Ghetto" has not proven the unqualified trl-
umph which its promoters anticipated after
they had made up their minds that Clement
Scott and William Winter had been bribed
to condemn their offering.
This regrettable business-it IS altogether
regrettable-does not render foolish the
faith which the LiebIers are displaying in
Mr. Zangwill Children OF the Ghet-
to" was by no means a worthless work. In
its latter half il was a work OF exceptional
strength and beauty. The piece failed be-
cause its author either was grossly iguor-
ant Of stage technique or because he chose
TO violate all its traditions
As The Times said after the night of the
local premiere, a conventional play is not
always q bad play, and an unconventional
play is not always a good play. "Arizo-
IA" the most unoTiginal OF efforts. estab-
lished itself in favor everywhere, while
Children of the Ghetto" the fidelity to
nature in which might have accomplished
mueh-needed reform had the vehicle