Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-25
Gossip About Plays, Players and Playhouses

EDITH two Of the most talked about
w plays Of the season at the Boyd
during the last week two really
Is2Ef9l good plays at the Krug a good
play on at the Burwood and the
orpheuu Road Show at the orpheum. the
patrons OF the theater in Omaha Jared
well during the week. Lewis Morrison
proved TO the satisfaction of his friends
that advancing years have not as yet
made any appreciable difference in his dra-
matte powers and that the fire Of genu-
Inc art still burns strong In his veins. His
impersonation of Mephisto in Faust" Is
an American classic. The rare opportunity
Of seeing two of Grace Georges characters
in one week was also a feature. Miss
George presented 1.-THE Marriage OF Will
liam Ashe" at the Boyd. while Miss Jane
Corcoran was seen at the Krug in Pretty
Peggy" role which Miss George all but
made her own during her presentation of
the part OF Mistress Wellington. In both
instances 1t is simply stating fact that
the star part is the only reasonable excuse
that be offered for the play. Were it
not for Lady Kitty 1.-THE Marriage OF Will
liam Ashe" would not have happened. and
II Mistress Wellington had not got herself
mixed up with David Garrick and one or
two others the stories told OF her would
not have been written.
Miss Georges art redeems an otherwise
impossible play; for the character of Kitty
is so unreasonable. and the people who
surround her are so distorted in order TO
fit her pecularities that il requires the
most painstaking application and all the
earnest endeavor that can be brought TO
bear on them to hold the attention Of the
public even for a moment That Miss
George has been able to give life to the
queerly conceived young person who has
been so fantastically outlined by Mrs.
Ward is the highest tribute that can be
paid to her as an actress, and ought TO
satisfy her for the present. Miss Cor
coran's work as Peggy Wellington is char
acterized by a fundamental understanding
OF the role and an evident desire 10 lift II
to higher place in art than its intrinsic
merits deserve Peg Wellington is not a
pretty figure in real life and on the stage
is a woman of moods and fancies, indie
terminate and uncontrolled She has been
impersonated by a number OF ambitious
women, and by some who were OF mature
judgment, and is always made interesting
but never has been raised above the level
she found for herself
THE Clansman" is a play with a pur-
pose. but some reasonable doubt exists as
to what that purpose is. Some persons
have been unkind enough to insnuate that
it is to line the Golfers of Rev Thomas j..
Dixon, jr. These folks are mean enough
to think that the gifted author would
break the cerements that have long
wrapped the Ku Kluk Khan and one or
two other incidentals of his drama and
parade the ghosts for a pecuniary profit.
Others give him credit with honesty of
purpose, and say that he is come like
John the Baptist crying in the wilderness.
He Is sounding. according to these ap-
prehensive ones. n clarion call to arms; is
pointing out a situation that can not much
longer be winked at and which must soon
be met and settled by the white man.
Each of these opinions is entitled to so.ae
consideration, and, while the discussion
may range slightly outside the scope OF
dramatic debate, the divergence will not be
entirely ungermane. and may lead to a
clearer understanding of some of the points
involved in the matter in dispute
II Mr.. Dixon Is actuated solely by mer-
cenary motives he is open to a degree. of
condemnation; some OF the sentiments and
situations he handles are too sacred to a
large portion of the American people to
be lightly dealt with. Both North and
South are interested in the discussion of
all that pertains to the War OF the Rebel
lion, and any play that opens up the purely
ethical phases OF that great struggle Is
getting into a dangerous locality. While
forty years have done much to heal the
wounds then caused and a new generation
of men and women, with new ideals and
aspirations. have come up TO take the
MIA Of fhOqa vuh
cerned in the rebellion and its causes. the
vista is not yet sufficiently heightened TO
permit the formation OF views that are
purely and wholly judicial: opinion is still
strongly tinctured by personal prejudice
conviction. For this reason the taste
Mt least OF Mr. Dixon in writing the play
rs he has is open to question. The hope
of permanent peace and union between
the several sections OF this country rests
on the oblteration OF all that once divided
the states into sections. Therefore II is
doubted II any good end will be served by
WILDLY reminding the people OF un-
pleasant things that at one time held
North and South apart.
At any rate admitting that II is essential
that the people OF the north be given an
illustration. and the people OF the south
ne Icnllnutus OF the SuueTlnES OF lndl
section during the days that followed the
close Of the war. II is hardly necessary
that It be done with the bitterness tina,
characterizes Mr.. Dixon's play. THE
/. Clansman" has an acrid flavor, that ir-
~ritates and stimulates unpleasant
thoughts; in measure it is beligerent
in tone. and excites combativeness rather
than contemplation. and to this extent
really defeats its purpose. other writers
have dealt as intimately with the question
as Mr. Dixon, and far more effectively
No one who has ever read "Marse Chan
or "Meh Leddy'' will forget the pictures
Thomas Nelson Page drew of the condi
lions of the south after the wave OF
war had receded. With infinite tender
ness and sorrow he sketched the char
acters OF his stories and the condition:
that surrounded them. Men and womer
from the south admit the accuracy OF this
work. and IL is cold nature that is MOI
moved by either OF these tales In "ReC
Rock" Mr.. Page has drawn a more detailed
picture OF the days OF the reconstruction