The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-09-10

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/ gotiations her official austerity was
softened by her memory of & romance
Of her own girlhood, when "a beauti-
ful sentry with great blue eyes stood
at her palace gate. But she had never
| questioned the necessity under which
| she ignored her heart and gave her
hand TO a royal cousin. Nathilde Cot
trelly, years agone a singer and man
ager in German grand opera, gave a
quaint German accent TO the character;
also, the skill of an old-fashioned COM
edienne 20 the depletion of pride with
out hautiness, and the tender sugges-
ton heart once full blooded. though
now withered by royalty. But she
couldn't beat Maxine. The prince mar
| rled the American girl.
Hall Game and George Bernard Shaw
are pitted here this week against Fitch
and Thomas. The Englishmen have an
advantage over the Americans through
holding places in literary fame Game
writes novels that sell immensely;
Shaw writes books that. while not eX-
ira saieable, are calculated to get con-
sideration; and both are quick to write
about their novels and themselves all
that the newspapers viii print. Each
practices the showmans tricks of pub
LEFTY. Gaines portrait, put out stimuli
taneously with THE Christian" so re-
sembled the traditional pictures of
Christ that he was accused of purpose
ly enhancing the similarity with hair
and beard; and the discussion helped
the business OF the book. Shaw de-
clared, with such an air of seriousness
that II was not taken as a joke, that
his plays were superior 10 Shakes
peaHe's: and there was advertising
tralt iFs ha I'D eft Hays
Fitch nor Thomas invites missiles from
critics by posing on literary pedestals;
yet that may not come of modesty, but
Of their lack Of the pedestals to get
onto; for they are playwrights merely,
While Caine and Shaw are-well, ! leave
the reader TO pass upon their claims Of
genius.
There is no need to let prejudice for
or against Hall Game affect ones judg-
ment of 1.-THE Prodigal Son." and mine
is that, narratiVely strong in the novel,
it is Electrically stronger in the drama.
The author is said to have written 1t
simultaneously as a story and a play.
He had drawn more money from the
aires for THE Christian" and The
Eternal City" than from book stores:
and II was easy to pick out, in reading
the print OF 1.-The Prodigal Son." the
episodes designed for principal scenes
in the acting version.
No more in the play than in the
novel does Game respect the spirit or
lesson of Christ's parable. Two BROTH
ers in Iceland. Magnus and oscar. are
opposedly good and evil; two sisters.
Thora and Heiga, embody the same
contraiety; the worthy man loves and
is betrothed to the worthy woman; but
she loves the worthless one, who gets
her in wedlock and her wayward sister
in adultery. The father does not give
the prodigal money TO spend I'm Fiotous
| living, but drives him from home; and,
although the wanderer returns contrite.
he is no miserable tramp, but rich and
famous; and the son who stays at home
is not enyious, nor coVetous, but mar
| vel of self-sacrifice.. For, you see,
however problematio and morally pur-
poseful Caine may purport to be, he is
ever and always a melodramatist. In
| his stage version of THE PFodigal
| Son. he is theatrical. too. The craIuly
effective scenes include notably the
death of the wife, erazed at the birth
/ OF her child by grief at her husband S
and sisters perfidy; and the decision OF
| the enraged brother not 10 kill the
| scoundrel. as he has planned 20. upon
| finding him PROSTATE with remorse at
| her bier. A SNOWY Illustration Is made
| of the casino episode, where Oscar
cheats at cards and runs away from
| disgrace.
The interest is not concentrated IN
a hero and heroine, as in THE Chris
| tian;" the four persons whose mating
| and unmating make the action Of THE
| Prodlgal Son" are of lust about equal
| account. and only by assigning the sin
| lister two roles to Aubrey Boucicault
and Drina De Wolfe, who are heartless
in manner. and the suffering two to
| Edward j. Morgan and Charlotte
| Walker, who are soulful. is the audi
| ence saved from turning some OF its
sympathy, if not bit of approval now
| and then, from the good ones to the
/ bad ones.