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


Of their virtue. First and last, the people
Of the play founder in a morsss Of indeci-
sive impulse, and Mr.. Sutro gives the m
PRECISION, at least, Of cropping in an artistic
fog.
or the several young men with whom
the future OF the English drama apparently
rests Mr.. Sutro Ia perhaps the abIest. He
has in a 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 sue
cessive plays have been less and loss 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 s~entimentalities OF conduct. Both plays
gave the impression of an infrm mental
grasp on the problems and the conditions
OF life. but both also CAV the impression
Of ability TO achieve the cffect intended. IL
Is not reassuring to find that this third play
Is as imperfectly thought out AZ its prod
ecessors and technically incl ective besides.
Mr.. Saint John Hankin's The Two Mr..
Wetherbys,' though 10 Is v Q slenderer
and moro commonplace in theme n lacks
Mr.. Sutro's vivacity in wit and the depletion
Of character, was, 10 me at least, far more
interesting n moving. Il is called "A
Domestic Fact in Three Acts' and 1t deals
with the petty ~tyrannies Of the ovsrvir-
tuous wife. Two sisters, pu~ritsnically
middle class and full Of propriety and good
works, marry two brothers and attempt
TO elevate them to all the anemio morali-
tics. The elder brother-the bad Mr..
WetAerby-has an independent mind and
a sense Of humor and brings on q judicial
separation with his spouse-who c~onvinces
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.. WetherbH, who is serious minded Ind
really tries to live up to his wife's ideals
though he Ia not above being seduced forth
on occasions TO a music hall by the bad Mr..
Wetherbv. One Of his e~scapades being dis
covered, a. also some trifing trimmings Of
~mendAoity, the younger Mrs. WethsTbv
resolves 10 IOAOW uOT 8LbUcT 3 example,
And here Mr.. Hanhn illumines his therae
with a broad light Of comedy. TIT wife
Of the bad Mr.. Wetherbv has tired OF her
separation, missing the afiuence n COM
partnership Of her married life. When her
younger sister Ia On the point Of fleeing
to her for refuge, she herself is determined
to 90 back to her husband-not owning
her fault TO him, oh, no, but with the highly
moral purpose OF curtailing the liberties
he Is enjoying in the "reminiscences 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
Jack his wife. In her encounter with him
the hypocrisy Of u~ncoguidness 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.. Wetherby's
mask OF cynical indifference and humor is
clearly in danger Of becoming the real
thing; but at heart 10 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
It 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.. Wetherby is one Of
the most intimate, mellow and humorously
OWNED p~ersonages it 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, put he has all Of the Hawtrey sim
plicity and finish in comedy, and a tenn
permanent at Onoe sympathetic and dis
tinguished. What the fate Of the play will
be 1t is hard to say; but nobody who cares
more for art than for amusement can afford
to miss 1t.
or all but one Of the other pieces Of the
week JDere IS not muCn 10 say. Lazy jim,
in which Miss Hilda Spong is starring ut
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" is a farce that CENTRES in the antics
of a real live midget like Barnum used
to make, who disabuses a mother Of a
mania for s~piritualism and Buddhism by
making up as her baby and pretending
to be the reincarnation Of her supposedly
defunct husband. The midget is clever
and his antics are amusing on a rather
low plane. The piece itself is dull enough,
but il 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,
sThe hypocrites.' It is a play OF large
calibre and though uneven in both the
writing and the production recalls the most
vigorous pieces Of the last decade OF the
nineteenth century. II deserves ampler
space than is now at hand.
JOHN CoRBN.
SHOWS BY TIE SEASIDE.
Rice's The Girl From Paris will be