Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

49, is this more beautifully and com
pletely oNCmplihed than In connection with
the theatrical season Of Omaha. II always
starts well, and almost always ends IN
blaze Of glory. Sometimes 1t says badly
in its middle reaches, but this IL because
the big stars are required 10 satisfy the
demands Of the theater patrons Of New
York and Chicago and few ether places
that have an advantage over Omaha in
the way Of securing attractions. Yet and
also however. II we can restrain ourselves
until the proper time comes We nearly al
ways have the privilege and frequently the
pleasure Of seeing some Of the best OF the
seasons attractions And this Is true this
season. The advent OF John Drew and
Margaret Ellington Is not exactly the FIRST
low wash along the shore where soon
shall roll human sea-" but It is a pleas
ant assurance that the road TO Omaha Is
not blockaded and that the powers that
be in the syndicate have not forgotten
we are on the map. This engagement and
some that are given out from the once
q Manager Burgess are enough to COM
pensate for an even longer time OF walt
ing. In fact the announcements have
raised anticipation to that pitch where peo-
pie can hardly restrain their impotence
and wait for the fullness Of time. Omaha's
season OF 1861 is TO have an ending as
brilliant as that OF any OF recent years,
Age has its advantages even to a play
wright. In the enthusiasm OF youth the
why's and wherefOres are frequently over
looked IN the zeal 10 set things right, and
not infrequently the logic Of facts knocks
endways some most allurlnE proposed state
Of affairs. Mr. Arthur Wing Plnero is
proving this postulate. lie began with the
fervor Of a knight Grant newly hedged
and fun OF Jealous desire 10 do things for
the uplifting 81 humanity To be sure, his
first successful works were comedies so
light that they hardly seem his at ALL The
long list that precedes "Trelawney Of the
Wells' serves to mark the various stages
Of his progress, but that may fairly be said
60 denote the unfolding Of his real powers.
''Ghe Gay Lord QueX' contained more or
less Of strength. but in "'rhe Second Mrs
Tanqueray' ne probably reached his zenith
lie assailcd boldly one Of the conventions
of society. probably the one most rigidly
adhered TO- and handled his attack with
Consummate skill. He cnlists a tremendous
deal Of sympathy for Paula, and almost
convinces one that she was entitled to the
sympathy she was denied But he did sue
coed I'm establishing that about the good
woman is something bad woman cannot
understand, and that i'm some degree this
condition is reciprocal. Maybe If Paula
had been better understood by her step
daughter she would not have been driven
20 suicide. And yet Il seems logical that
the misunderstanding should have existed.
In Iris the same answer is returned to
the same question, though not in exactly
the same way. Iris Bellamy only in way
compares to Paula TanQueray. 1t was
sordid selhshness that led Mrs. Beamy
into her ENHANCEMENT with Maldonado; she
could not restrict herself, and practically
sold herself to the man she affected to
despise. His money afforded her the
luxury she Cravcd, and she secured 1t at
the sacrifice Of everything else I'm the world
Maldonado offered her marriage, but she
preferred to refuse him the honorable right
to provide for her In the vain notion that
the man she loved would return from
abroad and wed her. He came and on
learning the truth he forsOok her, while
MaldOnado simply turned her into the
street Paula Tanqueray had earnestly
tried to make what amends she could, but
happiness was not for her because Of that
hard and fast convention OF society.
The storm that Iris" raised led Pinero
into Il whimsical mood, and he sought 70
confound his critics with his satircal doll
play, The wife Without Smile but
this shorn of what was admitted to
be positively indecent. became simply
absurd, and was abandoned. Lefty
followed, case Of put yourself in
his place" 1t Is something Of an echo
of "The Gay Lord Quex," with sitter
application. The hero, just at the moment
when he is about to complete the seduc-
ton of Lefty, learns of his own sisters de-
lection, and his denunciation Of the man
in that case fits himself well that the
affair ends right there, and Lefty goes back
20 her clerkng to subsequently become the
disconnected wife OF man in her own
station As Captain Cutie so frequently
said, The moral Of this lies in the ap-
plication of it," 1t is merely the personal
equation that Pinero presents in Lefty
and it's answer is as clear and unmistaka-
BILE as anything can be- He has ceased
his quest and is showing people things
as they are; no longer bent on the inn
mediate reform of mankind and the re-
arrangement Of social customs, he is busy
presenting some pictures of mankind in
the concrete. Not always attractive, and
never fiattering, these pictures are terribly
true, as witness Iris" and Lefty"
The further evidence OF his advance in
wisdom and strength is afforded by his
most recent success, His House in
order" It is a tale with a moral, an
amplihcation Of the rule laid down by
Sidney Grundy for the management OF
second love affairs. Before you enter on
the new love, be sure that you are OF
with the old" says Mr Grundy through
the mouth OF one of his characters The
wife in His House in order is very
womanly woman, and i'm her love for her
husband she puts up with a great deal OF
heCtoring from the relatives OF his first
wife She happens TO be different sort
Of woman from the dead and gone lady
and is continually reminded Of the mani
fold virtues OF the dear departed, along
side which her minor defects become as
mountains. She would be more or less thar
human II she did not resent this, and come
10 look on the dead woman as her dearest
foe When, therefore. she comes upon the
letters that prove the inhdehty Of her pre-
deCessOr, her day of triumph seems al
hand. Just as natural as her resentment
is her desire to expose the hypocrisy OF
the sham angel whose memory has beer
perpetuated az the expense Of her peace
How easily she can shatter that idol aud
80.