The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-02-13
ADJUSTMENTS
"The Cav Lord ouex,, at the Me+rono,it:

"sThe Gay Lord Quex" at the Metropolitan
The s;:Fays dss@Quex,' like several
other of Arthur Wing Pineros plays, is
a>duel betweensH 1ffsan esE1da a. woman In
this case, hoWeverl it is the nan.who has
f fes'. a ses Eoiakal who doubts
will always be two opinions sef the play
among those who see it, the difference
depending on ones belief r@disbelief in
Lord Quex. Apparently Mr. ,Pinero him
sen has faith in the possibility of such
real, reformation for a libertine that he
may win and even deserve an innocent
young girl for his Wife, And yet with that
profound cynicism which underlies his
treatment Of life the playwright has pic
tured the young girl for whose sake Lord
QueA reforms, and for whose hand he
makes SO resOurceful and magnificent a
nght, as an lnane and cOlorless character
who-for the very good reason that she
hasn't any to speak of-doesnt know her
own mind
Whatever may be said of the frank and
even brutal manner in which: Mr. Pinero
pictures conditions in English society, it
must be admitted that "The Cav Lord
QueS IS a play of the most absorbing
interest and the most daring originality
And while the story necessarily has 10
40 with immoral conditions, the tendency
OF the play is by no means immoral,
Without being a problem play it sets
one thinking. In structure work of con-
summate art, it is adorned with brilliant
~ satlrlcal dialogue and furnished with
numerous character, sketches, some of
them slight enough but all appallingly
true to life. -
There are three principal characters.
Lord QueX, who has reformed; Sophie
f,ullgarney, the manicurist" who doesn't
DelleVe 1t, and who strives to save her
roster sister from him; and the Duchess
OF Strood, a former flame, whose
romantic temperament leads her to
attempt to beguile him from the
Hurst plays the first with the poise and
CAIN superiority of the noble Briton.
seldom is he surprised out of the imper-
durability that hedges your experienced
Ehgllshman round about. 1t is significant
that on the single occasion when he per-
m1ts impulse to guide him-when he sud
denly determines to give up the com
n1and1ng advantage he has gained over
Sophle-he is brought thereto by a. thor
oughly British admiration for the girls
pluck Mr. Hurst is admiral Bile
throughout. the only doubt raised being
whether his Lord Quex shows sufficiently
IN his face and manner what his life ha g
BEEN
MISS Sylvia Lynden achieves a wonder
ally loiltlilui, dlDe1C quite , unDlea Sa Mt
impersonation of Sophie. The obseuuious
yet boid manners Of English women of
her serVlle class, when thrown in con-
tact with those of higher station are
perfectly assumed. Her devotion to the
happiness of her foster sister hardly ex-
cuses the utter unscrupulousness of the
measure she takes to unmask Lord Ouexl
IN Inc powerful third act, when her duel
WIN nm reaches it's climax, Miss Lyn-
den acting, eliminating in fit of hys-
terics is wonderfully good. Miss Ann
Warrington's romantic duchess is also
most effective. especially when the i'm
mlnence OF discovery reveals her charac
ter III it's true selfish colors
OF the other characters only one tho
maiarlal roue upon whose cynical coun
sci QueN occasionally depends. is done
art1st1cally. Alden Bass is capital in This
ghastly characterization Miss Edwin
Rowland is quite unequal to the task Of
deplctlng the vapid young fancee of
-teueS over whom all the pother arises
and the rest of the company is mediocre
w. B. Chamberlain