The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-23
g. ADJUSTMENTS
Metropolitan-s'Th The Lion and the
MouSe -. -

Metropolitan-s'Th The Lion . and the
Mouse. - ..., -.
. Rising like a, beacon tower above the
swirling food of ma gazine exposure and
trust :denunciation,. a. play has been
builded: (which must appeal powerfully
to a public which is just: now interested
in corporate domination. The play is
Klein-and it is a great play. Lawson
like, Klein offers a remedy-but,H I'm
like Lawson, he leaves the naming of
it TO the public itself, and right. mas
fertility docs e.eplay. upon the, con-
seriousness of the auditor. Partly by a
trick of makeup, but chiefly by a char
acterization Of g the richest man in the
world, -; the name of John D.. Rockefel-
Ter is flashed. upon the mind, and. there
after. the. playwright sticks to his theme
thru an elemental drama of .money-greed
and machination. . 49,. 49,. .
j Now, this is. no problem, play, no
zdramatized tract OF screed. 1t is play
of humanity and. love and surprising
save us on the brink; of deeper emotion.
1t is in the, perfect balance Of these
dramatic elements that the play sue:
ceeds. For. it is a combat Of the power
Of love against the love Of power, with
a beautiful2 girl pitted against the die
:tator Of; the business and political
world: .,:H .:9&Es; IT, 80. -. .. 49,.
= The girl 'safather, a federal Judge,
has by an adverse decision fatal to cor
porate ascheming gained the enmity of
John 'Burketts Ryder, trust king. The
girl returns from Europe on the same
liner. with the= magnate S. SON.. and
8 there was a moon all, the way across. -
Arriving, she learns Of her fathers fall
AND iallrrruin----learn he is, about to
bee impeac haa, by the 5senate;. with sR,X3s
der's senator eadingTthe moveme mt to
complete his disgrace. The girl takes
up the battle to save heE3father's: name,
:sullied by Ryder s &conc almept t.of pa
apersSS that t. would have$cleared. It. The
girl7-5'Fsl frley Ro ssnor e-4-h as$ Wriftenf q
noXe1sWith the, trustelna gnate aH itsscen-
tra ailg Ryder, reading the book,
is SstruckssSbys IT'S penetration 2fshis: 81;
to- his Home, and she ssgoes there nder
sher nom de plume, tto match her Fdiplo-
macy against his aen1ineering ways.
h5 armor, sd It'll 1y undeia
datechism he himself had ! tried--and
faned-to, CONDUCT The girl becomes
! him guest, to %write his biography, and
tossaclears, her fathers name ZAP Mean
While. the captivatidn Of the Ryders
goes on, aeven the: iron man of greed
gradually becoming cognizant of y the
gi1I $ unmasking, penetrating power
Confronted by the papers, his defiance
Outright u.s. reasserted in his. desire fol
T reKenge .+lfpon the Judge, and is great
scene that forms the climax Of the
thSrd act. The girl lashes him with ,he1
scprn and ,annoitnces her intention to
i Appeal to the higher power Of, Justice
/ toSsave her father name. s,=s
+ ThesasgiTl excoriationE of the trust
king stings- andssburns' him. Follows a
n gh tsypf< Z vain :. seeking REPUTATION
oft hessArnths thes5 girI4ahas told him.
a1M tllsM the beafenS R Yder. goes to- sus
foTspsHse ca time ssd1is patc hing orders
to- itena os:ae quit the dye, =: !
MaEgaI SHILLING ton IS Shirley Ross
nlese +siszsas.sthanoly. satisfying character
ization. She realizes the part physi
she m99sK Moves from masked attack to open
afrai snnight with intelligence; 4 and
strength. 70 But, however" the! audience
may beEswayed by her progress toward
her victory, it is most attracted tc
the figure of her antagonist as the
greater chara cterization of the play
Arthur Byron's Ryder is a fine, care
full, consistent piece of work. Recall
ing him IN q namby-pamby part in
Inc blSnOp carriage, one is IN
clined all the more to extol his trust
king in "The Lion and the Mouse.
His assumed mannerisms. his poise, his
voice andzihfections contribute toscem
plets tBsii CURE in no : half al finished
Of the:ethers, perhaps the most salts
flying is 1rac II horne Mrs. Ryder
The lparteSis subordinate, butA she pre-
sents just the surrendering, troubled
wife. expected in the trust kim s house
hold. P. S. Barrett's Judge Rossmore
4. S; Lipman s Judge Stott, and George
Parsons Jefferson. Ryder. arey thero
going studies. Joseph KtIgour as thu
English "secondi son, : does q, bit, d
into the story and thefpiet and there
is no marring fgnre:gin any seene:
! However one may praise the play
ers,. it is to the play the mind reverts
It is as complete in its ethical as il
its dramatic values, and ought to form
a more valuable contribution than an,
screed of exposure, toward5ythe solution
Of the the. trust problem of America.s5 i,
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