New-York tribune., 1904-09-18


inine vanity. in Letty's character which drove
her into Letchmere's arms. not alone because she
wanted money and luxury, but because she also
loved him. loved his moods toward her OF boy
ish tenderness and the Wit and fine manners
which she doubtless supposed 10 be the man
himself. In her emotional crises she hao the
tenseness of the dramatic situation, arranged
with MI Pineros accustomed Skill to AID her'
her success there was theatric success But
in the long stretches between her skill was sun
insufficient TO build up the character and MI IN
the lights and shadows. But the fact tnat she
held unerringly to the right body OF the part
unerringly intimated in no uncertain way l"e
heart deem honesty and decency OF Lefty, an
ordinary girl with bit more than the oroi"aty
love for luxury and a great deal more than the
ordinary share of temptations and trials. is all
n her credit especially when around her the
bulk OF the cast were playing fast and loose
With Mr. Pinero's character drawing. ana the III
tellectual basis of the play was falling TO rum
The rest of the cast How melanchoiy Ih"'
sounds! Poor rest OF the cast, badly tralheo Ioi
their parts except in the minor roies' not CUM
nrehendiny what they were about or II COM
nrehend,ng unable 20 do as reason bade theIn'
Poor rest OF the cast that contained such
sterling actor as Sydney Herbert doing COM
edv ''bit" and doing It extremely weH' ana
Fritz Williams likewise doing a comedy olt'
that OF the photographer who marries lety IN
the end, and doing IL also well, while william
Faversharn founde-ed in the character of Letch-
mere a part a world too wide-and high. and
deep-for his very limited and totally unsubtie
and uafAteIlectuA powers. and Arthur Play
fair blurted and stormsd as Vaudeville, part
IN which oscar Ashe need not have scOrned to
exert his fine capacities, Did ever mortal go
to first night with expectation high at the
thought of the dramatst's name, TO have 1t
dashed down more rudely by the inadequacy of
the performance? If such there be. let him con-
done with those who went last Monday to study
Pinero. and came away 10 wonder at the syndi-
cate methods OF making stars. and the stars
methods Of spelling plays.
However Mr.. Faversham's methods are very
easy. He merely refuses to become an actor,
preferring, doubtless. to remain William Faver-
sham rather than transform himself into Neville
Letchmere, who was. to be sure. most decadent
and unworthy specimen Alas, the sad fact
remains that in the drama Of Lefty Letchmere
Is rather more important parsonage than Mr.
Faversham, Letchmere was clever. even witty
he had the easy, graceful. probably unaffected
bearing OF a long line OF highbred men and
women; ne was too. a bit of a poet. or at least
he possessed the love OF creating a mood and
then sitting back and enjoying It Il was made
plain by the author that his early wooing OF
Lefty in Kensington gardens had something OF
this idyIlic innocence about t-an innocence for
the man terribly uninnocent! He had above all
except his moral rottenness. cynical sense Of
humor that enabled him to see himself IN his
true colors at all times. himself ana his family.
and very conceivably had much TO do with his
willingness to allow Lefty to go back TO a life
OF virtue before II was too late. Such man was
Letchmere. and such man must he be shown
on the stage IL Mr.. Pinero's drama is 10 tell IN
its true colors, If II is 20 show the something
more than the old, repeated parade OF theatrtc
machinery, IL it is 10 tell as art upon the
behoIder's emotions. What was shown
on the stage OF the Hudson Theatre
was the familiar person of William Faversham
reciting in much the familiar fashion 4 new set
OF lines. The part Of Letchmere apparently
has in It more OF possibility than almost any
other of Mr.. Pinero's masculine roles TO stimu-
late thought IN the beholder and develop vari-
Gus lines OF suggestion, but the part awaits
its discoyerer, so far as this country is con-
cerned. The moment OF the play. in fact, most
pregnant with suggestiveness as II is with
sheer emotional appeal, occurs when Letchmere
receives his sisters announcement OF her elope-
ment and bursts into terrible fit Of denuncia-
tion OF the whole Letchnere stock, rotten. bad
Of the sheer emotioual appeal Of this scene Mr..
Faversham could not well fail to convey and
did convey in manner that is sure to please
many and to reflect credit on himself But
even much of the possible emotional appeal was
lost by his failure to exercise at that moment
Letchmere's cynical sense OF humor which was
plainly called for and which would have grated
In horrible contrast to the grimness of the sit
uaflon- And OF intellectual appeal thero was
none, though in Letchmere's speech Iurked
surely a hundred hints to start trains Of
thought which should go out and beyond the
play. Then afterward. why did Mr. Fayer-
sham's Letchmere allow Lefty to depart, who
had so bluntly and remorselessly pursued her?
Why show sudden kindness and honor nowH
The real Letchnere let her 60. perhaps- be-
cause that capacity in him to play with
mood enabled him to enter in her mood and
gain an instant's pity; perhaps and more like
~ because his cynical sense OF humor saw an |
ronical joke in this sudden revelation 10 ths |
slrI OF his own rottenness, Of his loathing OF |
Tot6enness in the women Of his own family. OF |
me true horror Of niQuity-all brought about
Oy ms own slster!-and he bowed in obedience
to the Jest as the man with a sense or buroor
does bow and let her depart At anv rata a. |
was incumbent the actor who PLAYED tba |
part to suggest then. to have suggested pr.- |
NlOusly IN the performance. some explanation |
In the character Of the man. Faversharn sua- |
gested nothing. The crucial moment OF tha |
play failed Of ultimate conviction because or |
his failure
1t is sufficient to say OF Mr.. Playfair that ha |
made Of probably vital character an inpossibIa
and sim further carried the per-
forInanee out Of the realm OF art into that Of
mere theatricalism. Nor is a technical disc,,s-
sion Of the drama especially called for In view
Of the difficulties set by the players IN the way
OF its progress from act to act That 1t has less
Of the inevitableness of THE Second Mrs Tan