The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-02

reprosonJS tnom ~ deCorminou 10 ueal
with each other platonioally: but even ~
no docs 20 he raises doubt Of the suficiency
Of their chAperonnge and OF the hrmness
Of their virtue. First and last, the people
Of the play founder in a mOrass Of iudeci-
sive impulse, and Mr.. Sutro gives the i'm
precision. at least, OF cropping in IN artistic
fog.
or the several young men with whom
the future OF the English drama apparently
rests Mr.. Sutro Ia perhaps the ablest. He
has in n full measure the trick OF observing
the details OF life and transferring them
accurately to the stage, and his wit Is piquant
and apt. He has a belief Of no mean order
In the seriousness Of existence, rising At
times to genuine moral fervor. But instead
Of progressing toward clarity OF vision
in the human comedy and tragedy his suc-
cessive plays have beer less and less COM
posed, less and less convincing. The
Walls OF Jericho" strong In satire and
emotion, was impaired by the sentimen-
tally OF the emotions. The Fascinating
Mr.. Vanderveldt," light and accurate in
the depletion Of manners. was impaired by
the sentimentalities OF conduct. Both plays
gave the impression Of an infrm mental
grasp on the problems M the conditions
OF life. but both also gave the impression
OF ability TO achieve the efect intended. II
Is not r~eassuring to find that this third play
is As imperfectly thought out as it's pred
eoessors and technically incl ective besides.
Mr.. Saint John Hankin's The Two Mr..
wetherbys,' though IL IL cven slenderer
and more commonplace In theme and lacks
Mr.. Sutro's vivacity in wit and the depletion
- AAA.a, -. A. - - .A.A g. waAAA
interesting and moving. II Is called "A
Domestic Fact in Three Acts and 1t deals
with the petty tyranniee OF the Overvir-
tuous wife. Two sisters, puritanically
middle class and full OF propriety and good
works, marry two brothers and attempt
10 elevate them TO all the anemic morali-
tics. The elder brother-the bad Mr..
Wetherby-has an independent mind and
a sense Of humor and brings on q judicial
separation with his ~spouse-who oonvinces
herself that by leaving him she is Furnishing
him for his sins.
The action Of the play centres In the in
felicity Of the younger brother, the good
Mr.. WetheTbv, who is serious minded and
really tries to live up TO his wife's ideals
though he IL not above being seduoed forth
on occasions TO a music hall by the bad Mr.,
Wethsr6v. One Of his ~esoapades being dis
covered, a. also some trihing trimmings of
mendacity, the younger Mrs.. Wethsrby
resolves to follow her sisters example.
And here Mr.. HanAin ilumines his therle
with q broad light OF comedy. The wife
OF the bad Mr.. Wetksrbv has tired Of her
separation, missing the afiuence and com
partnership Of her married life. When her
younger sister is on the point Of fleeing
TO her for refuge, she herself IL determined
to 20 back to her h~usband-not owning
her fault to him. oh, no. but with the highly
moral purpose OF ~curtailing the liberties
he Is enjoying in the recrudescenoe Of his
bachelorhood. The crossing of the pur-
poses OF the two sisters brings the situation
OF both into admirable dramatic relief.
The bad Mr.. WetherbV, who, it need hardly
be said, has less than the average Of mascu-
line weakness, Is loud in the praises Of his
second bachelordom, and with equal reso-
luton and sense Of humor refuses to take
back his wife. In her encounter with hin
the hypocrisy Of uncoguidnees is laid bare
wen to herself. The younger sister sees
her own narrow selhshness mirrored, and
decides to start her married life again on a
sincerer and more human level.
The play ends with the reconciliation Of
the elder couple. The bad Mr.. Wethsrby's
mask Of cynical Indifference and humor is
clearly in danger OF becoming the real
thing; but at heart he is sound and true
and the scene in which his love struggles to
the surface is a pattern Of complex and in
terpenetrating emotion clearly defined.
With a single exception. all the characters
are disagreeable or unsympathetic, but they
are portrayed with absolute fidelity to life
1t Is the fidelity that hurts, which indicates
that daily life may not always be majestic
and with a rare divination OF character and
motive. The bad Mr.. WetheTby is one OF
the most intimate, mellow and humorously
OWNED p~ersonagee IL has been my fortune
TO encounter in the modern drama. II the
play as a whole had been OF a commensurate
character it would deserve to rank very
high indeed.
William Hawtrey, who makes his first
American appearance in the piece, has less
personal attraction than his brother Charles,
being older and Of a ruggeder cast of coun-
tenance, but he has all OF the Hawtrey sim
plicity and finish in comedy, and a tenn
permanent at ones sympatheti 10 and dis
tinguished. What the fate Of the play will
it is hard TO say; but nobody who cares
more for art than for amusement can afford
to miss It.
or all but one OF the other pieces Of the
week there is not much to say. Lady jim"
in which Miss Hihda Spong il starring at
Joe Weber's Music Hall, is a reflex Of GER
tain minor English comedies OF recent date
and though bright in spots is prevail
ingly unreal and ineffective. The Little
Stranger" isa farce that centres in the antics
Of a real live midget like Barnum used
to make. who disabusss a mother OF a
mania for spiritualisn and Buddhism by
up as her baby and pretending
to be the reincarnation OF her supposedly
husband. The midget is clever
and his antics are amusing on a rather
plane. The piece itself is dull enough,
but it promises to be a popular success.
The Judge and the Jury" is noticed else
where in these pages.
The most notable offering Of the week
was Henry Arthur Jones's dramatic satire,
9 The hypocrites.' II is a play OF large