The Washington herald., 1906-11-11
ON THE GOTHAM STAGE
VIEWS AND REVIEWS
.or7espondsnce Of The wsshinstoa Herald.

CoFTespondsuce Of The Washington Herald.
New York. Nov. 10-Kyrle BeIlew has
returned to the romantic periods of his
tory for his new character this season. in
which he viii try to eclipse the success Of
"Raffiss.' He made his first New York
appearance Monday evening at the Savoy
IN Conan Doyle's "Brigadier Gerard -
This brigadier belongs wholly to the genre
OF brigadiers OF the Napole0niC era, who
are all heroes Of a rough and eccentric
exterior just as are the heroes OF Water
loo on the English side. This fellow is a
colossal braggaTt, and on top Of i a comi-
cal blundeTer. and it is this combination
Of tho typical Gascon which Sir Conan
has happily blended into a picturesque
swaggerer, and which Mr.. BelleW pOT-
trays with equal felicity-that is, as far
as an actor of his extremely refined meth
DDS can become master Of the more rug
ged essentials Of a character part. He
may not be always conscientiously true
10 the role. but his clever technique is
never at fault and while Gerard in other
hands might assume a different interest,
BeIlew invests him with those splendid
theatrical attributes OF reckless dash,
swordsmanlike skill, and romantic bal
derdash that are always sure Of an audi
ence.
Napoleon being In need OF a bold blade,
and knowing Gerard 20 possess the stout
est heart and the hardest head" IN the
army, sends him on a mission TO steal
certain papers of state from his enemy.
Talleyrand. Gerard. between lighting and
blundering. gets into the presence Of the
great Talleyrand is captured and locked
up TO be bundled back to Napoleon as a
mark Of contempt and defiance. But
Gerard blunders some more, gets into
q coat belonging TO a statesman In MAX
ing his escape, when 10 and behold! the
papers are found in one Of the pockets,
and his mission is crowned with success.
Bellew is unsurpassed in role Of sword
and cloak, and even with the waning in
tercst in improbable characters OF the
Don Caesar de Bazan and d'Artagnan
type, succeeds in beguilding your fancy
in the most pleasant manner. He is so
cOnspicuOusly finished. suave Of manner,
and so dulcet OF voice in making love to
his heroines, that you are bound 10 ap-
plaud him, whatever the character he
fmpersonates.
The production deserves notice, as does
the acting OF Ida Conquest as the heroine,
The part OF Talleyrand is carelessly
drawn. but within these restrictions he
was we'll interpreted by Henry Harmon.
The actor who played Napoleon added but
one more variation 10 the multifariOus
types of the great emperor which have
been appearing on the American stage at
regularly recurring intervals.
By all means see The Chorus Lady
when it comes your way Il has Just two
which directly accounts for the popu-
larlty Of the piece here. II Is the scene in
the second act. representing the dressing
room of the chorus girls Of a musical
comedy show. which reveals a wealth Of
naked shoulders and necks little dresmt
OF in the philosophy of the average purist
who goes 70 the theater to be instructed.
And as for hips. arms. and ankles
Words fail in any attempt to DO them
justice They must be seen to be appre-
ciated. You have my guaranty that the
sight is calculated not to offend the senses
Of the most fastidious. It Is nature in Its
most alluring guise. and nothing more
need be said.
second point in its favor is the re-
markably flatteTing creation Of Miss
O'Brien. the Chorus Lady, by Rose StahL
Exaggerated Yes. but with q Dickensian
touch. whereas you have all the airs and
notions and all the essential tokens Of
The chorus girl as she is pOpulariy de
scribed by the yellow sheets, shown you
10 the life by an actress who has a genius
Tor lucid Characterization. Tears and
laughter alternate like clouds OF sunshine
The swing is the most artistically eX-
pressive ever heard on the stage, simply,
I suppose, because James Ford, who
wrote 1t. never uses it himself, and simp-
" regards II as q feature in his bag Of
tricks The pathos is effective, even
though it is often grated upon artificial
situations. and Rose Stahl, though excel
lent, is somewhat hard end unreal in
emotional scenes
The plot turns on her guardianship of
her sister. a sentimental little creature,
who typifies the purely romantic side OF
n chorus girls life; she indisc-eetly ac-
cepts money from a young vlveur (short
for wealthy young bounder), is trapped in
his room, and rescued from her embar-
RAISING situation by her elder and ex-
perlenced sister. the Chorus Lady. The
elder Miss O'Brien drops her slang,
strangely enough. as she develops psy-
Geological symptoms. shoulders the dis
grece, is deserted by her sweetheart and
reaps a harvest Of tears In the end ev-
erythlng is satisfactorily explained, and
happiness comes apace, behold,
With all her vanity and amid all the
seductive scenes Of artificial splendor OF
that artificial life. the chorus lady en-
bodies the innate virtue OF an ignorant
girl Of humble, even lowly. origin. her
rugged honesty and Wcmanly devotion to
the feminine standard Of propTiety and
decencv. and as Miss Stahl portrays her,
she is a lesson CT uplifting grace. For
several years this actress played a sketch
Of the same title in vaudeville, but those
who saw her In vaudeville viii be sur
prlsed at the clever development Of it's
central idea into a four-act comedy.
Along with John Drew in His House in
Order" The Lion and the Mouse" and
Blanche Bates in The Girl Of the Golden
West'-which. by the way. marks the
longest agement ever played by a fe-
male star in New York-Henry Arthur
Jones' exposure of clerical and social
hypocrisy in England in his play OF that
title at the Hudson maintains an even
level OF popularity. Some sensitive people
don't approve Of the boIdness Of this play,
and one hears as many criticisms Of its
ethics as praises of its dramatic merits,
but every performance is well attended,
and the public has put the stamp of sue
cess upon it.
Jones. who has Just been delivering two
lectures at Harvard and Yale on the
drift Of the drama, believes that the
stage can be made Just as effective as the
pulpit in denOuncIng hypocrisy, but in