Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-16


32TM pensable canon Of the drama that
ssa<a9 al least one pair OF devoted lovers
should appear IN each play. and some Of
the most successful have had three or even
more pairs. Recall "The Charity BAN"
for example. in which four separate ana
distinct love stories are recited, the elderly.
the Juvenile. the disnifsd ana the lawless.
and you viii then have the basis for a
comparison with The Hypocrises'' ana
His House in Order" the two new Eng
hsh dramas which have just been pre-
scented in New York with much promise OF
essuccess. and In neither OF which does the
lover or his lady cut any figure. Henry
Arthur Jones Is author of ssThe Hypo-
critics" and It's New York production was
the nrst on any stage. Arthur Wing Pincro
IL the author OF Ills House In order"
which was produced last season In London.
and is DOW being used TO get John Drew
back into public favor.
In his play. Mr.. Pinero presents prob
lem m ethics for the women folks to solve.
Nina lesson IL the second wife OF parlia-
mentary prig. whose hrst wife, Annabel,
was n model Of order. Nina r. Just what
Annabei was not. and the family Of the
dead woman make her life long, dreary
waste Of snubbings and Sights and COM
PARSONS. Nina has spunk. though. and
the warfare Is none the less ernest because
II Is politely carried on. The husband sides
: with his first wife's relatives, and The in
evitabie separation is about to occur. when
Nina finds bunch OF old letters. which
prove that Annebel was false to her hus-
band. and that the son she left behind was
the child Of Illicit love. Armed with these
letters Nina u about to deliver one crush
Ing blow 10 revenge, when the brother of
her husband intervenes. and after much
argunlent and persuasion induces her to
foreEo her vengeance. The dead has paid
the debt" IL the gist Of his argument Nina
finally Yields. and turns the letters over
to her brothsr-in-law. He succeeds IN
awakening his brother. and the deceased
wife's relatives are turned out and his
house U put In order. John Drew has the
part Of the brother-in-law, and is winning
new hold on the public of New York
Margaret Ellington Is playing Nina and is
much praised for her fne work.
-
The argument turns on the course
adopted by the wife. II was the most nat
ural thing imaginable that she should want
to revenge herself on the folks who had
made her married life miserable. She had
II In her power to end forever their pride
In the paragon who was gone by simply
exposing the sin Of the dead woman. Most
women would have done this; she Yields
TO the arguments Of her brother-in-iaw,
and let's the first wife's name stand unsul-
hed. while she takes her chances en- win
ming the fight for her own home ana the
right to her husbands love ana esteem.
This is noble and generous but-would she
do III That is the question
-
In Tho Hypocritss'' Mr.. Jones presents
the position Of young man who 10 ex-
pccted TO retrieve the fallen fortunes of
his family by q marriage with an heiress.
Just before the matter " brought to q con-
eolusion appears young woman with a
baby. Of whom the young man is the
father. Immediately the family sets about
TO got rid Of the giri In order that the
marriage OF convenience bs not interfered
with. Father. mother. sisters. 1awyers.
doctors. all agree to deny the truth, and
DO. and the gfrl u silenoed by the promise
Of maintenance Tor herself and child But
young curats win not lie; they can not
brfbe him to lie and they can not scarce.
him into lying. He appears at tho
psychological moment. just at the eud OF
the third act. and makes his announce
ment. The young man. who really loves
the girl he has wronged. blurts out The
truth. and takes her in his arms and there
is the curtain The play Is said to be
cieverly put together. but Il must be
handled with great care to make It at ali
interesting. It's comedy n said to save IL,
and the one moment Of real strength at its
very close.
John Corbin promises the Pinerc play
an almost nawless piece OF dramatic con-
struction. and is quite as enthusiastic over
I4raa hue
such striking departures from the normal
that their success can only be determined
by tins. It Is said by some others that
Ills House IN Order viii have run In
New York for the season that John Drew
and Margaret Ellington are In IL, but no
one seems to want to 60 on record as
predicting anything for THE Hypocrites"
even though they agree on its merits as
literature and It's strength as drama. The
submergence OF the element that has hith-
erto been regarded as the handspring OF
tho drama. and which has been brought
TO the front in all times. IL purely ex-
perimental II is somewhat fortunate that
writer's Of the quality Of Jones and Pinero
have essayed the adventure; II may be that
they viii be able to open TO discussion
certain Of the ethical questions without re-
course 10 the sentimental. 1t Is likely, how.
ever. TO prove Caviar to the general" for
the reason that not any have yet got 50
far ewey from nature that they win find
their delight In purely academic discussion
OF abstract propositions. Ethical debate
win be tolerated. even enjoyed. but II must
DO aiioyed to some extent with the real
thing In order to get a respectful hearing
very good reason exists for this state
OF affairs. BY far the great majority OF
people who patronize the theaters are still
on the sunny side OF lifes hill. with their
faces toward the crest. and these are not
willing 10 patiently abide plays that handle
mere distractions. They want examples,
and they will have them. Didactics may
be tolerated elsewhere. but not at the
theater. II Is curious condition, also.
that persons who are normal and generally
cheerful looking for brightness and the
Alight In their daily walk. prefer the morbid
in their literature and drama Men and
women who would not willingly witness
even the suggestion OF suffering In real
life will so 70 the theater and follow with
keen and fearful interest the course Of
drama that has It's root IN human misery.
They cannot explain TO themselves why
they do this. but they go again and again
TO have their feelings outraged and their
primal emotions stirred by. the drama that