The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-10-11
Miss Jane COrcOran in "A
Dolls House" The Bill
Audience Delighted With Excellent
Rendition of the Great Domcs-
tic Tragedy.
SUPPORTING COMPANY GOOD.


is" remarked a man to his wife at
The Kentucky last night, during Miss
Jane Corcorans performance of Ib-
sens Doll House. and his wife
smiled. because she knew Helmor
was more or less like every man in
the house. the degree Of similarity
depending on the character OF the
wife. "What typical woman" was
the reflection Of the men in regard to
Nora Helmer.
1t was night Of reyel for the vic
tins of Ibsenitis, and the healthy
folks present enjoyed themselves a.
well. The story Of DOLLS House, ="
is familiar. A wife, Nora Helmer,
kept like a child in the house by he's
big. egotistical. selfish, but devoted
husband, Torvald Helmer, had forg-
der TO provide funds to take her hus-
band to Italy for his health.
The forgery was discovered by the
man to whom she negotiated the note.
He. too, had been a forger and his
reputation ruined by the exposure.
lie was employed in the bank of
which Torvald Helmer was the new
head. Torvald was the impersonation
of the cold morals Of business. and
the association OF a man, Ike KrOgs-
tad, the forger, was repugnant. He
was to dismiss him. Krogstad appeal
ed to Nora and threatened. MIS-. Lin
den, an old sweetheart OF Krogstan
and friend OF Nora, shows up. She
had sacrificed herself by marrying to
support her mother. Krogstad is dis
missed. and he exposes Nora's guilt.
She had thought herself a heroine for
raising the money to save her hus-
bands life, and anticipated the mira
Gle. when her husband should ASSUME
her guilt to shield her and come out
/ OF his she'll of reserve He thinks only
Of himself on the exposure and COM
demns her. Krogstad repents and
sends the note to them. The wife. un-
/ deceived as to her husbands lgnoble-
ness, loves him no longer and in a
long. ragumentive ante-curtain
scene ahaudons him and their two
children.
lbsen was a realist. and where pure
intellect furnishes insight into human
character. he has laid bare The in
/ ner organism of the mind with the
precision Of the surgeon; but he falls
down woefully, where the heart
comes in. and that point is reached so
often in the every day life Of the hui
man family. that Mr.. Ibsen missed
the truth quite twice to every hit
oddly enough. too. the truest
thing in the play Is the demand O,
Mrs. Linden for someone TO care for
and work for. and her acceptance OF
the outcast Krogstad: but because Il
IS not done dramatically, that bit OF
pure reality fails utterly 70 convince.
The greatest mental difficulty II
following the DOLLS House" Is to
keep behind the story. The mind
when it reaches a climax. would leap
to the natural and ordinary conclu-
sion. which does not always attend
Then. too, Ibsen has taken a theme
that would furnish 30 minutes right
good comedy to an ordinary American
/ and converted It into a tragedy Our
saving sense Of humor would have
played havoc with anyone Of his care
fully worked up situations.
There are tragedies Of the soul nc
less intense, but they require a leu
tonic setting and diseased brain It's
sues. We have too much Celt in oui
make up TO appreciate the conclusion
OF DOLLS House. The discovery
that Helmer was vain and veal
would have dashed the wife's idol e
the ground, but it would not have az
feoted her love, and she couldn't hav,
left an American husband that way
He would just have picked her up n
his arms and squeezed her and bull
lied her into behaving.
There is no problem In the DOLL
House" The problem" is Just ID
sens weakness as a dramatist. /
has no heart in II, and without hear
There is nothing. He seems to havl
imagined he understood love. 70
which he mistook passion. That is on,
reason why Ibsen never was as popu
lar play writer as Clyde Fitch.
Nowi
The DOLLS House" is intensely in
teresting. The company supporting
Miss Corcoran is quite capable an,
satisfactory and Miss Corooran her
self is a fayorite in Paducah. She ha
certain limitations of power and sub
tlety, which do not mar the play, an,
are apparent only when one measure
the possibilities OF Nora Helmer fl
the hands of-Mrs. Flske. for i'm
stance.
Curtain calls were the order las
night, and the attention of the audi
ence was rlveted constantly on tn
progress-never say action concern
ing lbsen-of the piece.
James NJ. Brophy as Helmer an,
Frank B. Hersome as DR.. Rank de
serve particular mention.
RetribntiOn.