Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-05
HEART OF GE|SHA'
BELASCO TRIUMPH
PIECE EXCELS IN BEAUTY
AND STRENGTH
SCENIC EFFECTS MARVELLOUS
Juliet Crosby as kohamma San Inn
parts a Sense of Reality Never
Attained by Blanche
Bates

Much was expected of 1.-THE Heart Of
the Geisha," which opened at the Be-
lasco yesterday afternoon, but although
San Francisco cheered itself hoarse in
Its praises not half has ever been told,
and the two audiences yesterday were
amazed by the beauty, strength and
appeal of the production.
Frederic Belasco in this has become
his brothers rival and marvellous as
were the scenic effects of THE Darling
of the Gods" there are spectacles In
.-The Heart Of the Geisha" which sur
pass them and are achieved without the
nelodramatic ''plays to the gallery to
which Brother David stopped to trick
his audience.
The California product is straight.
legitimate, honest drama without hys-
terics and the only torture chamber Is
the heart of the geisha where the soul
of poor Kohamma San Is racked.
1t is Camille in a Japanese setting
Stripped of the weird and oriental at
mosphere, upon which most of the
japanese plays rely for their popular
ity, it would still be a great drama.
Though it is a problem" play the
habits and customs of the people with
whom it deals robs 1t of unpleasant
taste found in the English brand. Like
many Of its kind 1t turns tragedy at the
end.
The story lays bare the geisha world
with what may be accepted on sus-
picfon as correct local color" In any
event the coloring is extremely pictur-
esque and delightful. The play opens
with a scene of the garden and villa of
a wealthy Japanese baron. The f1utter-
ing geisha girls. the queer lights, the
athletic games all form a continuous
picture made perfect to the smallest
detail.
Here enters the American man who
falls in love with Kohamma San. 1t
is her first taste of genuine happiness
but it is short lived. Made to realize,
after the "affair" has progressed many
months, that she is compromising the
man she loves, she gives him up as
Camille did Almond and she teaches
him to hate her by returning to her
geisha life.
There is one particularly strong
scene in the reception room of the
Otowaya tea house where Kohamma
San dissembIes her true feelings under
the guise of merry making. At this
point Miss Juliet Crosby, who played
the leading role, rose to her greatest
art.
In the last act there are three Won
derfl1l scenes-a street in Toxic, the
customs pier at Yokohama and the
final triumphant scenic achievement
night. The lighting effects through
out are startling but nowhere on the
stage has real water been so truly rep
resented as this bay scene. Here the
crazed and broken heartd Kohamma
wades out until beyond her depth the
water closes in above her head. 1t
sends the audience out of the theater in
an impressive silence.
Miss Crosby was a great success in
the leading role. Her tones and ges-
lures were so artistic and so excellentIy
sustained as to impart sense of real
ity which not even Blanche Bates was
able to attain. She was grace personi-
fed and she projected personality
that won the audience from her first
entrance.
It was almost too great a produc-
ton to stage in one week. There was
difficulty in mastering the Japanese
infections for many of the actors
Outside of the leading role favorable
mention should be made of the excaI-
lent work Of George Barnum, Robert
Dempster, Richard Vivian, William
Yerance and Margaret Langham. All
of these were unusually good and al
though only in unimportant parts Mr..
DempDter and Miss Langham distin-
guished themselves beyond anything
they have done recently.
1t is a play more worth seeing than
anything given in Los Angeles for a