The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-06-30
AT THE THEATERs
.Lyceur,,-"Heart and swoJ

s5ssl-yceur1--"f4eart and Sword. s5
The loves Of royalties both polite and
,clandestine, have frequently been made
the groundwork for playwright's endea-
seek. TO your true lover his lady love is
always regal. Why then. should she not
be invested with her proper title and sur
rounded with all the pomp and circum-
stance Of an apochryphal court? 1t Is no
more than her DUE After all, a princess
is woman and therefore, to be wooed;
she is a woman and, stherefore, to be won
And the story OF her wooing and her win
ming. even when, 1t is indifferently told,
seldom proves other than delectable.
When Walker, Whiteside sat him down
to write Heart and Sword. " his knowl-
In good stead. An actor familiar with
the best traditions ..Of the stage and of
veteran experience for man of his years,
1t was to be expected that the product of
his pen should prove dramatic, that 1t
would not go halt or lame or lag in It's
action; yet there are moments in his work
when the story-teller gets the better Of
the player. notably in the second act. Here
the action anb1essfineIy until 1t reaches a.
premature Climax. Then there is a stop,
unexpected, undramatic and wofuuy dis
appointing. t
The Princess Sylvia, tricked into a
promise to wed the ostensible ruler Of a
netghboring princinality, comes to the
Berry Bush inn to escape her sutton. Here,
too, comes the prince, incognito, and hap
pens upon spy for whom his soldiers are
seeking and whose escape would mean ruin
| for his country. He makes himself that
spy's confederate and sets at work to se-
cure from him certain maps and plans sto-
| len from the Heinhalt authorities. A
man, however, cannot pass the military
| lines by which the inn is surrounded. 1t
becomes necessary, therefore, to impress
a oYot fr,f0 IN q yrYo1 on
trived and cleverly handled scene the prin-
cess agrees to become the messenger. AS
it is written, this is the climax Of the act.
It should be the curtain signal, but 1t Is
not, and the princess rettres, to appear
later in the guise Of a Yivandiere and to
1 carry the papers, by trick, back to their
original owners. So much for Mr.. White
Iside's technical skill. Occasionally the ac-
i ton Of his play drags elsewhere, but this
Is the most glaring instance.
i AS for his ingenuity Of plot probably he
4 realized his own Limitations in this regard
an old tale and to make it interesting in
1.-THE telling. In this heEhas not been wholly
unsuccessful for Heart and Sword Is a
pretty story, nicely calculated for the
pleasur1ng of young lovers and old. That
4 a dictionary princess should fall In love
with a fairytale prince, when that prince
9 was disguised as his own secret agent Is
the manner Of her winning is shown forth
I, upon the stage most delightfully."-.
The dialogue of the play is peculiar. Its
scenes laid In 1920, the prtncipality Of
Heinhalt was then far in advance of its
times in the manner Of cOlloquial speech
'tBoost Heinhalt, says the prime minister
to messenger he intends to dispatch tt
1.-THE Princess Of Steinhausen, and the slang
tho sadly out Of place. Is expressive.
Despite its defects however, and its oc.
casional crudities, Heart and Sword is
, an interesting romantic drama, with MOI
a few good moments and that it pleases
the Lyceun clientele Is obvious from the
enthusiastic reception saccorded it last
evening.
The company is seen to advantage in thu
piece. Dick Ferris has returned to thu
, cast and plays the prince, whose Incidence
, and neglect made it possible for his prime
minister to say, in imitation Of the French
king, 81 etat c'est nGi.,..; Miss Hayward
! is@the lovely, belovshAnd loving princess
t Ben Johnson, the prime minister Of Helm
halt; Carl Smith Seerle, the spy: Herber
Brenon, the princess private secretary
Miss Gilbert the princes cousin, ant
9 James W. Castle, All Inn k&eper In&on,
scene Miss Gilbert masquerades as cava
Her, and a, most charming gallant sh'
makes. ass w u u. S. S. Lawrence.