The San Francisco call., 1904-12-11
CHANGE SHOCKS
ARTISTIC WORLD
London Playgoers Marvel
at Substitution in Fagan's
Prayer of the Sword"
IDEALS ARE SHATTERED
Tragedy in Blank Verse
to Be Withdrawn N0twith-
standing Managers Coup
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LONDON, Dec. 10.-Art, with a cap
ital A, got setback at the Adelphi
Theater recently, when The Prayer
of the Sword" by James Bernard Fa-
gan, was 'popularized." This is the
play which was put on with such un-
common earnestEess few weeks ago.
Practically all concerned in its pro-
duction-author, producer and leading
man and woman-were old Benson
ians"-that is, former members of the
famous company which has played
Shakespeare in the provinces for so
many years-and all were animated by
the highest sort of ideals. The two
stars of the production were Oscar
Asche and Lilly Brayton, both of whom
had distinguished themselves under
Beerbohm Trees standard AS for the
play itself, it was a really ambitious
effort. 1t was tragedy in blank verse,
whose hero, a monk, fell in love with
medieval Italian Princess and threw
aside his cowl and took up the sword
for his country and his lady love. At
the end. however, the heroine was
stabbed by the villain with poisoned
dagger and the final curtain fell upon
her death.
SUPERBLY MOUNTED.
The piece was mounted superbly and
acted with force 1t reached It's fiftieth
performance, but there was general
understanding in theatrical circles that
Indifferent business only was being
DONE No one, however. anticipated
such manag gerial coup which mas just
been carried out. A short time ago
the play was presented with an entire
ly new last act. in which the heroine
escaped the poisoned dagger and the
impression was conveyed that she and
the hero were going to get married and
live happily ever after. OF course, the
thing has called forth a great outcry.
1t is said that no such drastic change
has ever been made In q play by Brit
ish dramatist after the piece had been
produced. Pinero frightened the end
ing of his "Profiigate," but he did it
at the behest of his manager before the
public had seen it.
to Momus which has been made at the
Adelphi is not as regrettable as it
seems,>for THE Prayer of the Sword, y
though lofty in aim, was not a good
piece of work, and it's failure to at
tract the public Is not a sign that the
public will not patronize poetic drama
of real worth. Stephen Phillips plays,
"Herod" and "Paolo and Francesca" I"
both ended tragically, but both enjoyed
lOHk Iulto, DCCdQSC tAtCiC wac ACcSl 6OOu
stuff in them. The Adelphi incident
is to be lamented only on account of
the high standards which the manage
ment set for itself in the beginning.
That the change in the play has
made little difference In its popularity
with the public is proved by the fact
that it is coming off at the end Of
next week.
SCUDAMORE'S DEATH.
Frank Scudamore, who died the
other day under strange and tragic
circumstances, was a comparatively
little known dramatist. but one whose
plays, among certain classes, achieved
wide popularity. He was not troubled
by any lofty notions of the missions of
the stage. He made it his chief con-
Germ to find out what took the best
with the public and then did the best
to give it to them. He paid no heed
to Emerson's injunction, Hitch your
wagon to a star" In one of his melo-
dramas, rs Life Worth Living?' he
hitched it to 81 seam roller, and the
latter made such hitthat thereafter he
devoted his attention to the introduc-
ton of novel mechanical features on
the stage. He claimed TO be the first
to utilize a phonograDh in the DRAMA