Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-09
FITCH PLAY
is STAGED
BURBANK PRESENTS "WoMAN
IN THE CASE"
DRAMA is NEW TO LOS ANGELES
AUDIENCES
Piece Is Not Fitch at His Best, but
Tells van Interesting Story
in an interesting
Way
BY sIDLE LAWRENCE

Clyde Fitch's play, THE Woman in the
Case" was given its first presentation
on a Los Angeles stage at the Burbank
yesterday with Miss Maude Gilbert as
Claire Foster, Miss Blanche Hall as
Margaret Rolfe, A. Byron Beasley as
the attorney and William Desmond as
Julian Rolfe.
The play is by no means Fitch at his
best, but it tells an interesting story ana
ii has one big melodramatic moment, at
the close of the third act. There are
occasional flashes of Fitchian humor and
one character that could have been
drawn by no other American playwright.
This is the New York society woman,
so much the creature of social habit
thai when she goes to the city jail to see
her son-in-law her nerves give way and
before he is brought into the room she
leaves with a request that her daughter
explain to Julian how sorry she was
not to have found him ''at home" Yet
when this woman can be of real use she
is seen at her post. in her daughters
sick room. her little %fectations forgot
ten.
The Chamber of Horrors
Earlier, in the first act, who but Fitch
would have thought of segregating the
queer wedding presents in the library
and then calling that room the cham
ber of horrors? And who but the play
wright plenipotentiary to society would
have let this little pleasantly reach the
ears of one of its victims, whose gift OF
a lamp had been placed with the otner
horrors?
Here and frequently elsewhere we are
given flashes of dialogue that bear un-
mistakably the Fitch hallmark Unfor-
funately. however the Fitchisms are also
fewisms. which is the more to be regret-
ted since the play has much talk and
comparatively little action.
The story of ''The Woman in the Case
is the story of wife who assumes the
character of a woman of the half world
in order to secure from one of its deni-
zens the truth that will acquit Ler hus-
band of an accusation of murder. 1t is
a story that deserves better binding
than Mr.. Fitch has given it. 1t should
have appeared in an edition de luxe in
stead of in the more commonplace covers
of one of the seasons best sellers.
Miss Gilbert, the "Woman"
In the Burbank production Miss Maude
Gilbert plays the woman" and not al
together successfully. She is properly
vulgar, as she must be to realize the
character, but her vulgarity is without
-enticement There is no lure, no fascina-
ton. The woman is hard and cold. even
toward the man who is for the moment
at her chariot wheels; and her few little
Establishments are palpable frauds. 1t is
not a nice part, this role of ''the woman
in the case" and to be made effective 1t
must be played In very un-nice man
ner. Perhaps Miss Gilbert has been. un-
willing to do this At any rate that is
the kindest view to take of her per-
formance.
Miss Blanche Hall is the courageous
young wife Her best work comes at, the
close of the first act. when Desmond, as
the husband, Is about to be taken away
by the officers. 1t would be easy 10
overdo this scene. Both dialogue and
action present strong temptation to that
end, but Miss Hall handles 1t with discre-
ton and with fine appreciation of It's
dramatic value. In the third act she is,
perhaps, somewhat too refined, but
throughout the act she succeeds In giving
the impression of woman upon the point
of a nervous breakdown, so that her sud
den attack upon Claire, once her point Is
gained, follows logically instead of COM
ing as a surprise, and makes understand"
able her subsequent illness.
Desmond, the Husband