The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-01-26
MAXINE ELLIOTT
IN HER OWN Way
New Star and New Play Re-
ceived With Favor.
A TYPICAL FITCH COMEDY
Fashionable Audience at National APP
plauds Heartily-Drsma Well
Acted Throughout.

One of the few dramatic ventures
which Gotham has this year stamped
with the hallmark of its approval was
presented at the National Theater last
night for the judgment of Athenian
Washington. The drama was the work
of Clyde Fitch, II bore the title of Her
Own Way" and deserved to present
Maxine Elliott. am actress hitherto
rather inconspicuous in supporting COM
panies. as a star. With so many char
acteristics of interest IL is not remark
able a large audience greeted the work
with heartiness and pronounced it good
What is remarkable, though. is that 1t
deserved exactly that Judgment.
II is a commonplace, these days, that
Mr.. Fitch is prolific. This is the age
OF supply and demand Plays from the
pen of Mr.. Fitch have been much in
demand. and they have, consequently,
been equally much in supply. Every
syndicate star has been equipped In
short the season began-although this
author had carefully announced he did
not intend to write any plays not al
ready contracted for-with four new
Fitch dramas under advertisement. Out
of this quartet one play only has sue
ceeded-"Her Own Way"
The explanation for this exception to
a general rule is multiform. II depends.
first. on the personality of the actor who
heads the interpreting company; then
on an agreeable and uniform perform
ance OF every role in the cast of char
acters; then on a story which is OF
strong interest told with epigrammatic
cleverness; and finally on a general man
agement of the dramatic accessories
which ought to rank almost equal with
the writing OF the dialogue.
A Play of Smart People"
In its Office as the dramatic tense OF
the generation Mr.. Fitch's eye focuses
only on people who are smart" In one
play II is the social circle Of Beau
Brummel. in another the society of
Tories who saw Nathan Hale executed.
In another the passengers aboard a mod
ern transatlantic liner. In Her Own
Way" he has returned to the clay which
modelled so readily under his fingers into
The Climbers" Here are the same
New York rich. with the same vulgar
family connections; the same mania for
speculation in stocks on stubborn mar
gins; the same failure. redeemed with
the same trust funds and thus multi
piled into the same double failure. But
here all is sunshine when the curtain
falls and this new play. unlike The
Climbers" neither begins with funeral
nor ends with a suicide
The theme is the fmpotency Of mere
masculine force when at war with the
stanch love Of the feminine heart. Old
as the subject is. It has rarely pro-
duced so good a result and has prob
ably never been used with so much
ingenuity. No one else has ever given
a n 90 r,fr -
like that Mr. Fitch draws in this play.
You've simply got to marry me''-this
ls the kind of wooing portrayed and to
the very last II is much 20 be doubted
It's American liking for just this kind
OF campaign. The play has mani
testify fed on this interest rather than
on the Diet or commonplace romance
offered by the young woman whose
heart is involved and the self-effacing
sweetheart who goes to fight in the
philippines. But the story depends for
It's charm most of all on the intimate
affection II depicts between the heroine
and her brother. a circumstance not at
all rare in life. but too rarely displayed
on the stage
Several scenes characteristic for orig
inality serve further to distinguish this
writing. The curtain rises OH a chill
dren's birthday party. which ends when
the beautiful and gracious heroine Is
discovered beneath the table One act
is played in the heroine's boudoir A
RaTTulOu6 ndir0reSSfTt IN the person of
a brisk young American girl, suspends
the serious progress of the play with a
seine so comic that even the audience
forgets. Best of all, the play demands
genuine character drawing and gives
opportunity to more than one of the
cast-an attribute for which Mr. Fitch
in spite Of all his productivity. has ever
been conspicuous.
Pleasantly Carried to a Close.
All the acting is well done. Miss FL
lott grows more and more able with
every new role she undertakes. and her
beauty stu ensnares her audiences as of
yore- William Courtleigh and r. C.
Herr. who act the obstinate lover and
the Spectator, contribute fine imper-
sonations. the latter especially. George
Lawrence appears as the hair dresser
and contributes much to the success OF
the play as comedy. her performanc
being. indeed-like that Of Eva Vincent
as an elderly woman Of fashion-one OF
the best Characterization which have
sprung from this authors brain. Charles
Cherry. the reluctant hero: Nellie
1horne and Franklin Burleigh. all add
TO the general excellence OF the perform
ance.
The critical judgment Of other cities
has been that Her Own Way was not
distinctively great in any of fits attrib-
utes. This must be the finding of the
Capital as well. Yet no critic anywhere
can deny that the play is charming be-
yond most OF its competitors, and that
Il VIII reasonably enjoy the ardent
reasons are plain-its every element IS
4. d. A.