The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-10-21

terpretation was in the part Of the
heroine, Nina. Margaret Ellington was
the thoro naturalness of the concep-
ton by an occasional measured elocu-
ton, which would be more suitable
to blank verse. Yet she has the win
son IS production Of s3The Lion and the |
Mousse in Minneapolis, and the WON
anliness which characterized her work |
in Alfred Sutro's curtain-raiser, "A |
Maker Of Men. 4, Withal she is q |
charmingly independent American wo-
man: Miss Mackinlay, on the other
hand. brought out the subtle lights and
It was not she, but Irene Vanbrugh,
who originated the part, by the way,
but surely Jean Mackinlay has given
Il, the final touches. Shy to the point
Of awkwardness, yet buoyantly' en-
thusiastic, loyal and rebellious, reticent
and a spit fire, she moves thru the
drama.
creature not too bright or good
For human natures daily food,
And yet a spirit still, and bright
With something of an angel-light.
By all odds the most difficult role is
that of Hilary lesson, the brother,
! friend. peacemaker, not puppet Of the
plot and yet both protagonist and
chorus George Alexander was thea
/ trically effective in the London produc-
His sense of humor was at war with
his goodness. His eloquence came from
to preach NJ s such IMPRESSION easi n Of Il
John Drew. He. is Hilary. lesson. His
restraint, tact, flashes Of drollery, ami
staunch manliness turnout make him
the glory Of the New, York production.
"To stand still on the. stage (and not
aDDear a UuV) ia one nf tho ntar ,y
difficulties of the art Of acting-and
one which is rarely mastered George
Henry Lewis wrote these words nearly
half a century ago, but any play
goer's observation will verify them to-
day. Mr.. Drew is one Of the few
roll Of his eyelids. at the psychological
moment brings a laugh and round of
applause. He is not too tame, either.
a When he speaks with tempestuous con-
v1ction, we know. that he is honest. 1t
has been objected that Hilary is illogi-
cal in urging e1 Nina to destroy the let
! self. Mr.. Drew shows clearly that this
is no equivocal twist in Hilary s char
acter, but rather a demand of his chiv.
alrous nature for fair play The change
is carefully motived; first Hilary sees
with his own eyes the insufferable
patronage which the Ridgeleys are pre-
pa arng to bestow upon Nina, and he
Of the young earl, Price Ridgeley, that
they consider Nina of no Importance,
because of her humble birth. Mr..
Pinero's technic is flawless, and Mr..
Drew technic is nicely responsive.
All OF these Annabelle worshipers,
declares Hilary, those who insist on
blind to religion and virtue Itself
these are the pests of society. And
here we find the germ of the drama.
1t IS blow at English caste, that pres
ent-day evil which ignores all Of the
virtues unless accompanied by ''birth. -
| can think Of no society in this coun-
try which would ostracize a young wife
OF a prominent man Of affairs merely
because she was the daughter of poor
parson and had once been a governess.
Still, even in our democratic society,
the social snob is not extinct, and
hence the appeal Of the piece in this
country as well as abroad. A year ago,
however, l should have said that these
fR1dgeleys. are impossible caricatures
tive soil: the old :Englishman, his long
whiskers mixing in all Of the family
affairs, the elderly lady, with folded
!, hands and i11vincible opinions The
:. young idiot with the ideals Of a sheep
and the hard, incorporating, capable
t young girl. These do not Symbolic
e English society, to be sure-in~ fact
: they are exceptions still they cali
! themselves society. Instead they are
as Hilary says, it's pests. Against them
.: Mr.: Pinero makes his emphatic pro
t test. but not in vehement invective-
no.. indeed: He has written an inter
f esting. little comedy, compact, deft
e sparkling, all imbued with the spiri1
r of common sense. Common sense il
r comedy-how can that be9 "But thu
v irst-born of common sense,' says Mr.
S Meredith, lis the vigilant comic, which