The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-02-21

4.
N Sothern were the critics, In my
L n opinion. in the matter of his
Light That Lies in woman's Eyes"
] did not see it until the second week
OF its three-week stay at the Criterion,
and 50 ssvagely had the reviewers slated
it. that 1 scarcely had the courage to
invite anyone TO accompany me. And
yet both my friend and myself found
much to interest us OegitimateIy. tool
in the performance.
am afraid that poor Mr.. Sothern
was pretudged in advance
Look you" said the critics to them
selves. when his play was announced,
here is an actor who has come 10 the
pires to make a reputation in another.
the most dIhicuit of all Surely he can
not succeed I'm both"
And in this mood they came to pass
upon a production which. as my COM
panion remarked, is most unhsppily
named. / vsSily believe had the piece
been called "A stratford strategem. "
for example. it's fate in New York
might not have been such an unhappy
one. That's the trouble with Mr.. Soth-
ern: he tries to be too poetic, and poetry
does not ft his plot.
Which reminds me that this particular
scheme of a blind girl mistakiBg another
man for her lover, originated by wnlie
Collins in his absorbing novel, Poor
Miss Finch Ito which Mr.. Sothern gave
due credit in two of his lines) has Jared
sadly at the hands of dramatists A
few years ago it was tried in Paris
under the name Blind Love" and
save the mark-as a poetic play. it fail
ed promptly. as It deserved to do.
think. though. had Mr. Sothern
elected to use more OF wilkie Collins
and less Of his own poetic aspirations,
he might have made the piece a go
The story contains dramatic situations.
and. as far as l know, has never been
put on the boards in its entirely.
Miss Harneds Career.
But to return to The Light That Lies
in Womsn's Eyes" as a production. Mr..
Frohman has outftted it most care
fully. and Virginia Harmed. 1 under
stand. is to retain the play in her roper
toire for the entire season. She herself.
however. is not particularly aIIurinE as
the lively young woman OF title with the
IRISH brogue.
But just now. with Henrietta eros
mar and Sweet Kitty Bellairs' in
town. all other attempts at reproduc-
ing fetching accent from ireland must
take back seat And yet there Is con-
siderable charm about some parts Of
Miss Harned's performance particularly
the episode with Courtenay while re-
hesrsing for "As You Like II" In the
forest OF Arden.
About twelve years ago Miss Harmed
came into prominence by a. fall down.
stairs. She was leading woman with E.
II. sothern, some time before their mar
riase, and the fail occurred in Henry
Arthur Jones play, The Dancing Girl"
She had gone on the stage FIVE years
previous 10 that time
A native or Boston. she spent much
OF her youth In Virginia. but she was
back in the Hub when. at fourteen. she
became stage-struck.
one day. az the home OF a friend, she
met a real actress" and, through her
connivance. managed to secure very
insignificant part in Our Boarding
House" with Robson ana Crane.
This proved q stepping-stone TO Lady
Despair in The corsican Brothers"
after which Miss Harmed went barn
storming for several months.
1t was in 1859 that Dan Frohman saw
her do a part well In a failure at the
Fourteenth Street Theater. a Long
Lane" which induced him TO engage her
for L. II. southern's company. and she
made her first appearance at-the old