Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-13
HE THEAT E R.
New National Theater.

| There is undeniably a fascination In
| crime. Indeed, some philosophers have gone
| so far as to insinuate that crime feared,
threatened or committed is what lends
interest to this life. Society is arranged
| into two grand classes; those who desire
to be good and those who desire to be
bad The ranks are constantly shifting,
according to the manner and degree in
which individuals are affected by particular
temptations, but the continual struggle be-
tween them is what makes the newspaper
worth reading every evening. No wonder
then that your detective story. with its
arch-v1lla1n and its irnplaCable defender of
the popular peace, is SO popular. since it
ep1tomlzes the entire social system. Mr..
Hornungs stories of Rallies reverse the
method of the detective story. and make
the pursued criminal the central figure of
interest, If not the hero. Mr.. HornunS' S
stories also differ from the average detec-
tive tales IN being grammatical He has a
fine literary style. which suffices at times
10 gloss IN very agreeable manner the
bald mechanism of plot that is likely 10
become obtrusive in this style of fiction.
Naturally there We're many people eager
to see how Mr.. kyrle Bellew would realize
the character of RaffleS at the New Ma
tional Tkeater last night Mr.. Bellew was
last seen here Romeo. From Romeo to
Raffies! Evidently player folk object to
long jumps only when they are of a geo
graphical nature. Yet Mr.. Bellew lands in
sd fety. He is actor of consummate
skill and in addition to this advantage pos
sesses natural poise and personality. So
obnoxious has the fame of the mere mai
nee actor become that it is almost an at
front to dwell on the charm that strength
and regularity of features, and natural
grace of carriage imply. Yet it is Mr. Bel
LEWIS good or bad luck to be one OF the
handSomeSt men on the stage, and great as
his abilities it is doubtful whether he
will ever quite succeed in impress;ng the
intellectual side of his art sufficiently to
drown the callow observer who makes
Amt he good looking!' the sum total of
critical comment. Mr.. Bellew makes Raj
fieS almost poetic. Musical of voice, e.e-
CANT of appearance. his love-making seems
for the moment to render his burglaries
quite dignlfied and eXcuSa bic. OF Mr.. Bel
LEWIS performance it must be said that he
realizes and to certain extent idealizeS
the Hornung character. Mr. Bellew is ably
seconded by Z. NJ. Holland as Captain Bed
ford. the detective. Frank Mccormack as
Crawshay, a common thief gave a very
good bit of character work. Indeed it is
a little disheartening to note that all the
first rate people in the cast are associated
with the police or the criminal classes. The
play is not provided with company chat
makes even respectable background for
MIR. Bellows polished personality. The cast
is very deficient in it's feminine contingent.
The dramatiZatiOn is done according to
wellrecognzed recipes for popular stage
productions. The efforts to win sympathy
for the hero (who is master of the situation
at all times and needs no sympathy and to
supply the customary quantity of heart in
terest are dutifully made in accordance
with models that have been long approved.
Mr.. Presbry, who made the dramatiz1tion,
has been little too fatherly in his interest
in Rallies. These Ibsenish hints at hered-
ity and the hopes of reform for the sake of
a lady are unavai1ing. Raffies is bad boy,
and even though the author generously al
lows him to escape at the conclusion of the
play, it is safe to assume that he comes to
nd vii
lainy is a legitimate stage study. scape-
grace may be interesting, amusing and pa
thetic, but he is a scapegrace still. and any
effort to invest him with lofty conceptions
of moral obligation is fallacious. Shake
speare did not try to redeem the role of
Richard III, and it is not plain why Mr..
Presbry should take on SO about Raff1es.
The conclusion is startling, almost to the
extent of senSationalism. The ingenuity
shown in extrcating Rallies from a situa-
ton that seems hopeless is one of the clev-
crest strokes in the play. The impression
it leaves is best described by the remark
of one of the auditors he left and went
down the stairs after the play was over:
Wasn't it immense? l lost a five-dollar
bet the finish of that play