The Indianapolis journal., 1904-02-27
TO-Day's Schedule.


ENGLIsHs.-Forbes Robertson in Ham
GRAND.-High-class vaudeville. 2:15 and
PARK-'The volunteer organist.'' and
EMPIRE.-Burlesque and D. m
UNIQUE.-Variety, and p. m.
Failed"
That the play is not always 'the thing"
was sufficiently demonstrated last night at
Englishs when the distinguished. English
actor. Forbes Robertson, appeared for the
first time in Indianapolis in the stage ver-
sion of Rudyard Kipling's THE Light
That Failed before good-sized audience
1t may be said with considerable certainty
that Mr.. Robertson's impersonation of Dick
Heldar will be remembered long after the
play itself is forgotten. Not that the dram
atization by Constance Fletcher is a poor
one, for on the contrary, il is as good as
could have been expected so much finer
than anything else in the drama that it is
this dominating feature of the performance
that must necessarily remain in ones men,
ory to the exclusion of all accompanying
features of the play.
| 1t has been long time Since an actor of
such power has graced the local stage. 1t
| would seem that he lacks nothing that
dramatic star of the first magnitude should
! possess. He has dignity, force, strong in
| tellectuality. handsome face, a graceful
| figure, musical voice of marvellous variety
and intensity of color and TO the fullest
extent he realizes every element of passion,
pathos, grief and noble exaltation that the
role of Dick Heldar affords. While it cam
not be truthfully said that his charming
wife, Gertrude Elliott, rises TO his artistic
height, this fair young American actress
proves a most excellent partner and gives
i nrtr oil of icfa hot x-hf 10 rnp-f
colorless at first, gains in naturalness as
| the play progresses and finally impresses
| one with its tenderness, girlish fervor and
charm.
1t is a peculiar play-so different from
| Kipling and yet so like him at times Miss
| Fletcher-or George Fleming, as she prefers
| to be called-has followed the incidents of
! the novel closely enough for one to recog
nize the fact that Kipling was the creator
! of the story and the characters, but she
has taken so many liberties that the rugged
British writer must have writhed in his
seat when he first viewed the play in Lon
/ don. Kipling is altogether masculine and
| of THE Light That Failed is thoroughly
/ feminine, despite her nom de plume, and so
| romantic that she could even succeed in
| transforming the supremely selfish Maise
| into a sympathetic woman whose heart
beats with love for others and whose mind
| Is filled with something besides her own
| life and ambitions Kipling himself finally
| allowed his publishers TO coax him into
writing q "happy ending" to the original
| y,
| book, and of course this ending has been
| followed out in the play. But this tends
| to add to the good effect of the stage YER
| sion where it detracted from the original
work-so different is the viewpoint of the
| play-goer from that of the novel reader. On
| the whole, the dramatst has done her work
| well, for ii was easy matter to preserve
| the Kipling atmosphere when adding the
necessary romance and THE Light That
Failed in its theatrical form is interesting
and appealing.
The adaptation is necessarily dscon-
| nected and for those who are not familiar
with the book the story. as told on the
stage, must be difficult to follow. The pro-
| logue shows the camp scene of the war cor
respondents in the Soudan. 1t is a strik-
/ ingly fine stage setting, with magnificent
painting in the background showing the
! desert Dick Heldar has received the saber
| cut that is to cause him such sorrow and
| as he frets under his binding bandages, he
is the object of kindly solicitude from his
/ companions while his chum, TOrpenhow,
/ acts as his nurse. During a raging fever,
/ Dick is in love with the girl comrade of his
way-through the conversation of the cor
! respondents-the auditor is informed that
/ Dick is in love with the girl comrade of his
boyhood. Sounds of firing rouse the ''spe-
| cials." who hurry off to witness the en-
! gagement. Unable TO Withstand the temp
tation Dick tears off the bandages and
| porary power of sight.
The rest of the story is told in three acts
and four scenes. Dick returns to London to
| paint some pictures that he has had in
| mind. He tries in vain TO win Maisie for
| his wife She refuses his offer. she is
filled with ambition to win fame as an
| artist on her own account. Dick worShipS
| her. They are driven cOnfiictingly to a
| sort of trial of artistic strength. She will
! paint 'Melancholia" rather than marry
| him and he will paint one against her. Dick
| lends assistance to a poor girl of the Lon
| don streets-Bessie Broke-a cockney of
an unregeperate type who is almost dead
| model. She is an evil little person. The
artists big. handsome friend Torpenhow,
| IS her ideal; she learns to adore him, and
| Dick, fearing that his chum will be caught
In the net which the girl is trying TO en-
twine about him. dismisses her. She con-
| ceives a fiendish hatred for the artist, al
though he has been her benefactor, and
attempts in every way 10 ruin him. When
| Dick takes TO drink il is she who fills his
glass and tempts him TO unman himself
| again and again In a moment OF passion
she destroys his picture. His doom reaches
| him. The light fails He becomes blind.
Maisie knows nothing of all this. With
her companion, the ReG-Haired Girl, who,
as in the book, is never given another
name-she takes a little cottage in France,
at Vitry-sur Marne. bent upon pursuing
her artistic work. Torpenhow brings her
the news OF Dicks trouble Her heart is
touched as IL has never been touched be-
fore and she starts at once for England in
company with the faithful friend of her
lover. The unfortunate Red-Haired Girl
is left behind to weep quietly to herself.
She has loved Dick in silence from the very
first. Poor. gentle, sweet wOmanly Red
Haired Girli-you feel awfully sorry for
her
When Maisie comes 10 Dick in his stu
dio, she repelled by him. for he thinks
that IL is only pity for his condition that
his brought her to his side. But il is not
pity; IL is lOve-and the girl finally con-
vinces him that her heart and life belong
to him and that his words, uttered to her
long before, have proved true-the words.
there are just three things that matter
birth and death and love" Dick
takes her in his arms and holds