The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-11-19
Cast of aThe Straight Road

il.-- W.
Servant at Miss Thompson s VIM. Wadsworth
Policeman '................ Clement HOPKINS
Ben Greet on one occasion when dis
cussing the merits Of American play
wrights said that whenever Clyde Fitch
wished 10 write a play he took his little
camera and went snap-shoting up Fifth
avenue, and then weaved an unsub-
sIantial network about his little views.
To disprove this expose o. his methods,
Mr.. Fitch has taken his camera down
to the East Side, and, as a result, last
season we had the Claire Foster scene
IN THE Woman in the Case" and last
night tEe mob scene and the bedroom
scenes or The Straight Road"
That IN -The Straight Road.' as pre-
scented by Miss Blanche Walsh at the
National Theater last night, Mr.. Fitch
/ mas introduced some types that are
genuinely true 10 life is undeniable.
/ That Miss Walsh portrays the role OF
The regenerated woman OF the slums
with great fidelity 20 human nature Is
equally true.
Thus far can one go and no farther
/ In commentator Of THE Straight
Z
| the play that IL is a pleasing stage pic
ture. on the contrary only the seamy
[ side OF life is portrayed. that phase
which anyone can see without paying
| the price OF admission by visiting No. /
/ Police precinct almost any night IN the
/ year. No one can take exception to the
] moral preachmcuJ supposed 10 be mad
| It's q &c certainly should command Tor Il
/ 8 respectful hearing Tor the adage that
/
| us antedates the Period OF recorded
| history I'll Fitch has brought 20 bear
/ no novel treatment in trying TO drive
! home his truth, nor has he exercised
/ any ingenuity in q fruiuess endeaVOr
/ 10 disguise the fact that he is preaching
/ The average audience IL dOclle about
/ receiving moral lectures and timely raps
/ at the sins OF society and the injustice
/ that Is often done the poor, but il does
/ not relish the idea Of having morality
| lessons forced down its tnrOaat In pre-
/ digested chunks.
Road" while Lot beyond the realm OF
/ the possible, IS at least unnatural II
/ concerns the efforts OF a reformed
woman 10 ave ne girl who Hfted ner
| out OF the ,rITe from q marriage Win
| a human jaC.a' T'.is Jackal is marry
/ ing the snissi o. v-crker for pecuniary
/ reasons, and "a Ll1 eve OF MS wedding
| ne endeavors 20 lure the REFORMED
/ woman back TO the paths OF sin. The
| appeal which the playwright makes for
/ the sympathy OF the audience IS
| through the sacrihcial love OF the re-
| generated woman for the E.r who has
given her new start in .. sec
| ondary article 20 catch WARY
/ tear and the handicap ls duo
/ ton OF the mother INST. -toped
/ IN the woman Of the stree 49, "a Grip
/ pied child.
! The methods employed by the play
/ wright in the climax of the third act
are grotesquely Theatre and the cheap
| appeal to maudlin sentiment is great
| handicap 70 Miss Walsh's excellent act
/ There is only one clearly drawn.
/ forceful character in the play, that OF
| AIoll O'Hara7 the regeEerated woman.
/ In this role Miss Walsh lays aSlde
all personal vanity. Her first entrance
on the stage IS as a drunken revolving
, woman OF the East Side dives, who qas
| been arrested for participating IN a
| saloon brawi with q woman of her own
| type. Her skirt is bedraggled, her
/ hair frowZled, her face besmirched with
| CRIME OF the gutter, and her first words
| are an avalanche Of billingsgate and
| sickening profanity. It is realism, real-
| ism Of the most pronounced type. But
because It is realistic does not prevent
| it from being disgusting. The public
does not wish to have its sensibilfties
| shocked merely to experience a senSa-
| ton of repUgnance. And certainly The
Straight Road is not a play which is
apt to win converts for slum work.
| with the exception OF Mol, the char
| acters of the play are drawn without
| force or cleverness. Douglas Aines, the
roue, as portrayed by William TTavers
was nacid in his sensuality, and the
Bill Hubbell, of George W. Howard
was a modified type Of Bill Sykes, but
without any OF the vitalizing character,
isHcs OF the Dickens creation
/ Miss Jessie Ralph'B Mrs Finnerty was
the type of Irish woman to provoke the
loud guffaw. The one clever bit of act
ing aside from Miss Walsh's able inter
probation was that OF William Wads-
| worth. who had scarcely q dozen lines
| as a servant. Miss Walsh viii repeat
| 1.-The Straight Road tonight and
| Wednesday at both performances, but
will present the powerful Gordin play
'"The Kreutzer Sonata for four per
formances. beginning Thursday.