Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-18
NEW OFFERING
4 SUPERB EFFORT
BELASC0 PLAYERS FAIRLY
0UTDO THEMSELVES IN IT
Production Is One Of the Greatest
Ever Seen Here-Mob Scene
Wonder-stone Covers Him
self With Glory

ut is FAR. far better thing that
do. than I have ever donc'
These words the finale of The only
Way" which the Belasco players put
on last night, might be said most
truthfully. in self estimation, by about
every member of that company roster,
and then there would be an inadequacy
i'm describing the production they Offer
ed which only superlatives could prop
erly convey.
That is a good deal to say of a dra-
matte performance by stock company
which does one play a week, no matter
how fine that production may De-
Necessarily. the circumstances are
such in stock work that an estimate
of a play offered supposedly must be
hedgcd q bout by certain apologetic ana
good naturcd excuses, and Il critic IS
rcckoned as discounting this and pal
liating that because art and ability
are limited by the stress Of much work
in brief time.
But none of these things applies in
considering "Thc Only Way" It stands
wholly on it's merits, and invites COM
PARSONS with any previous depictlOn'
Neither the production by Henry Mill
lcr. the original, nor f. J. Morgan
later. could afford one a basis for
earning: neither was better than TINS,
if as good And they were supposed
~ the very best that talent, money
and skill could carry out.
Play a Mans Affair
The play itself is a mans affair: its
strong roles are all in the hands OF
men. and they must be carried by men
of splendid abilities, else they fan
miserably. and so does the play. 1t
is the story of Sidney Carton, a stage
version of Dickens "A Tale of Two
Cities " and In brief ii tells OF the
sacrifice of Carton for Darney. who is
not even his friend. There are sew
eral strong roles i'm it-Carton. Darney,
Defarge. Dr. Minette and Lorry are
the best. Any of these in weak hands,
and the drama is gone. That it grew
with every act last night till the audi
ence was wild with approval, and that
curtain calls were spontaneous, num-
erous and insistent, is only to make a
mild mention of an overwhelming
fact The story is strongly told and
the elilnaXes are dramatic to u degree,
and the interest doesn't flag. Pos
sibly a slight drag now and then i'll
cdent to a first performance might
have been noted last night, but barring
that, one could find no fault with the
ensemble. and scarcely any with the
individual roles.
Stones Great Triumph
Far and away. Louis Stone outshines
all others in this play. This Is not
in the slightest disparagement to any
of the Others. But it is simple JUS
tice to Mr.. Stone. Here at least is a
real actor; virile man of parts; no
matinee idol or pretty boy. but real
actor; n skill and a learning that are
wonderful, and a way of convincing
~ .F Of n
pose and the resemblance of his role
that makes him stand head and
shoulders above the ruck and run of
the ordinary Mr.. Stone is without eX-
ception one of the most polished ac-
tors ever seen here, and his further
work is awaited with keeneSt interest.
AS Carton, last night he set new
mark for stock work in Los Angeles.
Scarcely second to Mr.. Stone comes
Charles Balsar in the smaller part of
Darney. For the first time, Mr. Bal
sar has a chance to do himself justice,
and he shows that he is "A most valu-
able addition to the BelaSco forces.
His personal triumph last night did
not equal Mr.. Stones because he didn't
have n part as strong; that's the only
reason.
Howard Scott attains high place -
Dcfarge, a thanl<less part; Ycrance is
fine again as LorTy; Richard Vivian
has only one real chance, as the public
prosecutor. but makes the most OF
It, and the many minor male roles are
well done Lee Beggs-and it is said
with keen regret-does not compass
the trying part of DR.. Manette, and
further study of the characters import
on his part would much improve this
one weak spot He is too stacy, dl-
dactic and pompous.
Margaret Laneham's Success
OF the women, Margaret Langham
has all the best of it. as Lucie. Miss
Langham's art shows constant I'M
provement and growth. Could she but
display a trihe less Of the perfection
of art and throw in trhe more nat
uralucss she would be admirable But
the unerringness of her acting in itself
is so sure and certain that one fairly
longs for slight touch of the human
fallibility now and then. just to show
that she Is a person and not wholly n
stage presence. And this I'm all kind
ljness 10 very clever young woman.
Miss Gardner has the emotional role
Of Mimi and realizes all it's possibilities,
which accrue as the play develops. The
other feminine characters are wholly
bits, but are well handled.
The great scene of the play, of course,
Is the mob I'm the revolutionary court.
TO George Barnum, prince of stage di-
rectors, one must take off ones hat for
the most vicious, bloodthirsty, up
roarious and wholly natural mob that
has graced Los Angeles stage within
ones memory. That Belasco mob this
week fairly makes ones blood run cold.
II is splendidlY trained, and its air of
reality is something creepy. 1t reaches
the full height of stage art, and that
is saying a good deal.
Summing It up, then one Is forced.
after all, to spill! superlatives almost
nnglessly or go back to that one
significant line quoted at the beginning
1T Is far. far better thing that ]
do than / have ever done"
But as that expresses the epltome OF
the play, the acting and the production
why not let il go at that?
lIAlnnnU At TIIF IIA-nIIk1A~