New-York tribune., 1901-03-22
THE DRAMA.
uELoDRAMA AT THE BROADWAY.
THE PRICE OF PEACE"

-,A rae!odrama called The Price of Peace"
..,.s last night. at the Broadway Theatre for the
&C., time in America, originally produced
es,,srnber 30 1900, at Drury Lane Theatre. Lon
49, where Il with much favor and where IL
hss hsd prosperous career II is of the works
:. gr Cecil Raleigh abraham c. p Rowlandl.
srsmatist Of The Great Ruby" and Of various
o,ber kindred compositions. devised according TO
re artistic plan of D!ckenss Fat Boy. in Pick
sok Il wants 10 make yer flesh creep Persons
.,bo are fond Of highly seasoned fiction. illustrated
b striking theatrical tableaus will find il agree
me 70 their for while the story is incredible.
oroe Of its incidents are marvellous. and some of
:. s,are-picturcs are effective. These pictures in
5,sa a skating rink, room in Carlton House
,-erior of Westminster Abbey, an interior view
=, tbe House OF Commons. Ind a marine wreck on
he misty. lonesome seacoast of Lincolnshire. The
,eleyancy and significance OF the title-"The Price
~ Peace appTeciable from the CHIEF incl
asnt which is the deliberate murder, by the Prime
.,rs,sr Of England Of foreign governments spy.
,-bo has surreptitiouslv obtained possession of
,eleera-n conveying news that would. if promul-
s..ea precipitate war and cause the slaughter of
thousands Of English troops. This incident how
.,,er -preposterous monstrous and utterly absurd.
,s only \ part Of The sub-p,ot; the main tangle
,srp relevant 10 an ordeal of tribulation for pair
~ lovers and a scheme of retributive justice for
.coundre The lovers are temporarily parted by a
foolish lie told under impossible circumstances. &C
oepred-by the lady-with ridiculous credulity, and
ced pon with irrational and vulgar precipitation:
the grl waits till she reaches the altar IN the abbey.
and then dixie Shakespeare's Claudio in the scene
which has always been. some extent, and in
this particular. blot on Much Ado''), refuses
her vow and repudiates her sweetheart. assign
ing no reason and making defence. The
,coundrel has betrayed the trust of friend. who
became d criminal in his service. and has left the
wife and child Of that friend want and sorrow.
His sin pursues him, and though he strives 10
escape by imputing the crime 10 an innocent
man and 50 preventing a marriage TO a woman
whom hs loves he is brought 10 grief at last.
There is no sense. however. in either the ordeal
for the lovers or the retribujon for the villain.
The plav contains momentariy effective bits, but
a. is built apon the fallacious theory that TO
,hotogranh the never-ending trivialties OF every
dav life is TO hold the mirror up 10 nature, and
aside from lis accessories Of paint and carpentry
snd calcums, i is platitudinous rsmarole of
nonsense.
When as in this instance. the players are made 10
advance in platoons il is not easily possible 10
discriminate between individual figures. The finest
sneaking was done by Mr- James Hinton. as the
Dean Of Westminster. the most delicately charac-
terestic actng-because faithful TO natural emo
zion as well as literal in makeup and manner
bv Mr. Z. Harrison Hunter. Sir Henry Del
sbere Mr. Lackaye invested Lord Derwent
with authority and weight. denoted in him
the ravages Of incipient disease. expressed
paterna solicitude perfectly well. shot the spy
firmly and delivered the blatant nonsense Of the
eliminating speech in a moving torrent Of
vehemenoe. Mr.. Arthur Forrest may he destined
10 distinction as sn interpreter of bo!sterous char
scter parts. hut he did this occasion reveal
any marked aptitude for characters of craft and
subtlety. When actors are obliged present alb
surd persons. in absurd situations. however, they
must not be Judged unkindly. The production was
welcomed with the usual applause.