The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-26
AT THE THEATRES



stamp of approval that was given the play
at the Columbia Theatre last night by
large audience was. of necessity. rather
| tardy, it was none the less hearty or gen
uine. In his latest play, Mr. James a
Herne has given the native stage another
effort that will rank with his "Sbort
! Acres" and one in which the acting far
( surPasses that in its predecessor, prob
ably because it is more complex.
/ The people who will enjoy this admir-
ably told story of life in a small Ions
Island village will find much to deligh
them in its cleanliness, its grateful per
| iods Of calm. its natural glimpses of Low.
! able and amusing types, of which in thu
| discovery and utilization for stage pur
! poses no contemporary dramatist can ranl
| with Mr.. Herne: its romance, which i!
| none the less romance for being allowed
to dilute into plaintive hymn. and in il.
| general recognition of the vast amount o.
! goodness that exists in the world. n
short, MIR. Herne's Sag Harbor' is sweet
/ with the sweetness of simple folk anC
! their lives. II is a positive relief from
| the current successes" of the stage
| the romantic plays, name rattletraT
| comedies and other theatrical perform
I
! true reflex of art, as it is understood by
/ the average theatrical manager and pro-
Queer of plays. To The intelligent theatre
! goer. Sag HarboT" IS ';OTth more thar
| all the popular" plays that have so fai
| come to Washington this season, and is
as welcome and as~yratefully comforting
as the first spring sorg of the robin.
! The critical will endeavor to point out
that Sag Harbor" is not play at all,
| that it is nothing more than an episode
| and not concentratedly episode at that
| that the central figure of the piece, the
| thing which interests. is too much in the
| background; that there is a superabund-
| ance of realism, or veritism. or literary
or dramaturgic photography in proper
| tiOn to the quantity of real drama. But
| in the present instance, Mr.. Herne is out
| of reach of the critical experts. He can
not be measured by the standards that
| apply to other playwrights, because in
| everything he does he follows no set rule,
| Knows no precedent a1d is totally obli-
| vious to the canons of the drama He is
steadfastly and pluckly engaged in
| founding a new school of dramatists-a
| school of realism, where everyday life
furnishes the plots, a school that knows
no theatric tricks or ingenious devices
for the gaining of effects The prophet
that would predict that the dramatists of
a generation hence will model their work
after that of Mr.. Herne and that no other
stage writer of the present day will be
then heard of, would not be very far from
the truth.
In Sag Harbor," Mr.. Herne has gone
back to his earlier Hearts of Oak for
his central story. That drama was found
ed upon strained situation and the same
incident Is once more prominent in this
latest Herne drama. The heroine mar
ries. principally out of gratitude, man
whom she loves only as she might an
older brother, and sacrifices her young
loycT-the other brother in this case-to
her sense of duty. The dramatist has
worked out this idea with a much finer
and maturer art than he evidenced in his
earlier piece. He also shows a deeper
knowledge of human nature, too. in this
story of the good people of Long Island.
and just as his audience looks for the
almost inevitable tragedy, he ayerts il
by the introduction of a baby.
There is an abundance of local atmos-
phere' in Sag Harbor." and the scenic
portion of the production is especially
good. The first act shows a shipyard. the
second the workshop of the shpyard. and
the third and fourth represent an old
fashioned sitting room.
Mr.. Herne's Capt. Dan Marble may be
truthfully said to be merely Mr.. Herne.
just as Nat Berry was Mr. Herne. The
chief character in Sag Harbor" is but a
variation of the principal parsonage in
Shore Acres" He has been generous in
writing his own part and some nf his
lines are full of frank beauty.
Miss Julie \. Hernes acting has the
advantage of always being sincere. She
is practically inexperienced. so far as
years go, but in her crucial scenes she
showed strength not often displayed by
maturer and supposedly more capable
actresses. Another member of the Herne
family. Miss Chrystal Herne. was cast In
a part that was a cross between an in
genue and lovelcrn lass, and she was
not given the opportunities that her sister
had. Marion Abbott has part that she
handles with particular cleverness. 1t is
that OF an old maid who oyercomes her
fears OF matrimony. II is a difficult role
in that II runs the entire gamut from rus
tic humor TO pathos. The role of the hus-
band and older Turner brother was ad-
mirably portrayed by Forrest Robinson.
The other brother was played very we'll by
J. Wooster Dean. From a comedy stand
point the hit of the evening was scored
by John d. Garrick as the house. sign. and
sign painter. The other mem
bers of the company were in every way
capable.