The daily sentinel., 1903-03-23
AT THE SHOW.

and all artists. Each of the actors
had the true dramatic sense and tenn
permanent for the rendering of his OF
her part. There was no individual
player who particularly outclassed the
others. The cast was we'll balanced
and the performance was smooth and
harmonious throughout. Even if
there had been nothing else to recon-
mend the production of ''The Second
Mrs. Tanqueray, this would have
made it an exceptional theatrical
treat
But there were other excellent fea-
lures. One of these was the play it
self. AS a piece of literature and as
deep social problem worked out in
dramatic form, it was masterpiece,
classed among the products of the lat
ter-day playwrights. Besides being
bright and clever, the dialogue was
thoughtful and full of profound mean
ing. 1t taught moral and it taught
it consistently. Paula Ray could not
make the world love and respect her
after spending her early life sinfully
Captain Ardale had to pay for his
dissolute follies by losing the idol of
his heart. The fate of Lady Orreyed,
though not yet repentant at the
time of the play, did not hold out
any pretty promises for her Aubrey
Tanuueray, in the same breath that
he cursed Captain Ardale for the
licentiousness of that mans youth,
says to his friend, "Ah, Cayley, you
know, we were the same-iust as bad
in our day" " And though the final
calamity visited upon Mr.. Tanuueray
by the suicide of his wife cannot be
traced directly back to his wayward-
ness, yet it is significant fact that
he was wayward and it is easy and
tempting to construe his misfortune
as the wages of sin.
Offsetting these characters was Ell
lean, pure, innocent and full of wis
dom (but somewhat lacking in char
itv, we thought) and Cayley Drum
mile with his timely and philosophic
moralizing.
A man should not marry woman
he will be ashamed of or afraid to
have as the companion of his mother
less children. Nor should a woman
with past become stepmother.
Pinero's play shows that both these
moves are dangerous, ay, fatal. The
world is small and murder will out
These two points were also strongly
presented. 1t takes more than one
week of noble actions and admirable
heroism to stamp out past associations
with demimonde. That was les
son taught, and it was doubly strik-
ing because it pointed out the fact
that women are not the only ones who
able career.
Rose Coghlan appeared neither
young or handsome but she was at
traotive and her looks suited the part.
Her acting was easy, well-rounded,
artistic. She is one of the old school
and it was pleasure to watch her
careful-careless movements. Her
efforts to win the love of Ellean were
pathetic. Her work of performing
the painful duty of denouncing Cap
tain Ardale was powerful. Her joy
at receiving what she thought to be
a voluntary kiss from Ellean was
beautiful ON account of its very child
ishness. Her last remorseful words,
when she was overwhelmed by the ac-
cumulating wretchedness which her
presence ON earth was causing, and
after she had been told that Ellean
had not kissed her entirely ''of her
own accord, - were pitiful, almost
heartrending. Just before leaving
the room and killing herself, she pic
tured to Mr.. Tanqueray the day when
she would become old, worn, yellow,
too thin or too fat, and he would
sicken of her. She shuddered at the
thought. This was fine scene, very
similar to one in Sappho and also one
in Zaza.
The wise and innocent Cayley's
saying in the third act is worth re-
membering and thinking about: ''Of
all the forms of innocence, ignorance
is the least admirable. - And Ellean,
when she said, ''Does it hurt an in