Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-18
STRONGHEAR7
A GOOD PLAY
STAGE STORY OF COLLEGE LIFE
is PRESENTED
RALPH STUART APPEARS IN THE
NAME ROLE
First Two Acts Provide Excellent
Picture Of Undergraduate Life
at Columbia as 1t
Exists Today

"Strongheart," William G. DeMille's
successful play of college life, was pre-
sented at the Los Angeles theater last
night by Ralph Stuart and his company
before large and we'll pleased audience.
The play was seen here at the mason
last season with Robert Edeson In the
name role and A. Byron Beasley. now at
the Burbank, in the part Of Dick Living
ston. Last nights presentation was
marked by the same excellence In stag
ing that attended the earlier production
and was, for the most part, well played.
The play in it's first two acts, presents
fairly accurate picture of college me-
overdrawn occasionally as 1t needs must
be for stage purposes, but always con-
veying a clear idea of actual conditions.
Billy and his dog, "Siegfried;" Reade, the
grind" the dig or whatever he hap
pened to be called in your particular alma
mater; Ross, the freshman, and the rest
of them all have their counterparts in
real life. Any university man will recog-
nize them Immediately, and surely In that
fact is sufficient praise for the play
wright
Fact Through Fiction
Curiously the second act, which is more
at variance with fact than the nrst,
doubtless conveys to the general public
q more accurate 1Q6d Ol WudI II
quarters are like, between the halves or
an important intercollegiate football
match, than could be given by an exact
reproduction, were such a thing possible.
A football team does not loaf between
halves. Its members do not come In ana
stretch themselves out on the floor. They
are taken in hand by trainers and hur-
ried away to shower bath. Aching
limbs are manipulated. Abrasions are
doctored and the team wastes neither
time nor wind in cheering for Columbia
or for any other football institution.
However, the coach Is there, and he
swears at the men just as coaches do
when they are demanding not man. s
best, but something better than that.
And the college spirit Is there. 1t doesn'
show in real life 1t must be shown on
the stage, to make the audience under
stand, and Mr.. De Mile shows it, He
shows too the fatigue of a hard contest
and the audience sees the truth without
realizing that this is attained through
trickery.
Story of the Play
AS for the story of "Strongheart" it is
too well known to require extended COM
ment. Its lesson is plain-the Indian. no
matter what his education is an Indian
still and must not mate with a white
woman. To prove this the dramatist first
shows us the repugnance with which such
a match is regarded by the young wom-
ans brother. who is Stronghearts closest
friend and then he shows us the reverse
of the picture, the Indian messenger S
prohibition that a chief shall give to his
tribe miscegenated son to be it's future
ruler. Thus Strongheart is made to real
ize that there is no place for him among
the woman's people and no place for hel
among his, and thus he gives up the
fight and returns to take up his work fol
the betterment of his race.
Ralph Stuart gives a we'll conceived
Characterization of the college taught
Indian. differing little in it's methods from
that of his predecessor in the role. Miss
Evelyn Vaughan as the woman plays
with grace and in the later acts. with
dignity and force that make her work
admirable. Earle Mitchell is almost too
good to be true as 'Stuffy," and Robert
Gailliard does very we'll with the unpleas-
ant role of Thorne. Francis Bonn is
good as the coach end less good as the
Indian messenger. Miss Margaret Mof-
fatt plays Molly in a way that makes the
audience like her almost as we'll as does
the Columbia center. Neither Stanley G.
Wood as Frank Nelson nor Carlyle Shell
ley as Dick Livingstone get the best out
of their roles, though their work is by
no means bad