The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-29
SOTHERN IN HIS NEW PLAY
PROBLEM OF DEEP IMPORT
The Fool Hath Said in His Heart There is No God'
 Deeply Stirs.

It is something of a strain on the human organism, both physical and mental to put upon it in one day a turkey Thanksgiving dinner and such a play as the one Mir. E. H. Sothern gave us at the Hyperion last night "The Fool Hath Said in His Heart, There is No God" Generally a stars manager sees to it that there is for Thanksgiving evening some light, bright play which does not require any considerable amount of gray matter for its. appreciation, and with proper qualities to aid digestion. Any one who went to the Hyperion last night expecting amusement had bet ter have remained quietly at his own fireside. The play with the long name does not amuse
 It is play with problem of tre- mendous import--a powerful play through which no thinking man or woman may sit without being deeply stirred. Lawrence Irving adapted the play from the Russian Crime and Punishment" by Dostolaffski. It is,
 
 of the University of St. Petersburg who takes the law of life and death into his own hands. This young man believes in the theory of homicide and puts it into practice by killing a vile oppressor of many people, but in par ticular of three young and orphaned girls, the eldest of whom, Sonia Mar tinova, typifies the very essence of the simple Christian faith. The stu dent Rodion Rasholnikoff is a bitter unbeliever, and one of the great points of interest in the play is the struggle between belief and unbelief. Sonia, for whom Rodion committed the mur- der, shrinks from him in horror when he confesses to her his deed, although by 1t she herself Is saved from hor- TOTS, but later comes to his aid at the cross s-exanlination by the magistrate and swears on the cross that she knows nothing which connects him with the crime Later she repents of her purely human love, refuses to leave the country with him and urges him to give himself up Rodion does give himself up in the end, a confess ed murderer, but remains a skeptic, refusing to cross himself to anything but the spirit of faith in the girl her self.
 There are other characters K the play besides those of Rodion and Sonia, but they form no particular part of the chief problem. The char acter of the magistrate Bezak, spe- cialist in extorting confessions, while an excellent one, might have appeared in any of a half dozen plays Bezak is an adept in the psychology of crime and conducts torture examination with a mimiery of the real murder which is almost shockingly real This cress- examination scene, while out rageously long-the play was not out until a quarter of twelve--had an in- tensely human appeal, but had noth- ing to do with the big problem which dominates the play. Just what value such play has is hard to say. It neither proves nor disproves that homicide is justiflable, but in this par ticular case the sympathies were drawn very strongly to the self-elected instrument of justice.
 Mir. Sothern gave a powerful pre- sentation of the character of the stu dent Rodion. He has never done anything better in his whole career. He got into the very heart of his character and took the whole audi ence with him. Miss Virginia Ham mond as Sonia played the part won derfully we'll eMr. Adolph Lestina the examining magistrate, had a splendid opportunity and gave rep .resentation of the crafty sleuth of the law which will be long remembered. The others of the company were suf- ficient to the demands, and the whole was well-balaneed company.
 Tonight MT. sothern plays the character of Francis Villon in If I Were King"