Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-16
HER PERSONAL BEAUTY,
NOT THE PLAY, CARRIES
LILLIAN RUSSELL THROUGH

Lillian Russell, perpetual protagonist
of personal pulchritude and maker of
multitudinous marriages, dropped her
curtsy last night at the Mason as a
comedienne, as distinctive from a musi-
cal artistic Her play, whether with or
without Intentional reference to it's own
,lightness, is dubbed 1.-THE Butterfly"
Possibly the name is intended to be
apropos personally, for its star was once
airy, fairy Lillian" over whom the
| masculine world raved and whom the
feminine half of the sphere envied. But
neither the comedy has the lightsome-
ness of the winged beauty, nor has Lii
| liam it's varied colored, it's scintillant
brilliance nor it's evanescent ariness
now. And thus the name is hardly a
key either to individual or entertain
ment.
| Lillian Russell, however, has sufi-
cient attractivity of her own self to put
into the passe class the Shakespearean
assertion that "the plays the thing"
1t isn't, in her case; she is; she would
| draw like a house afire if she came on
in minstrelsy, just so she didn't black
up, but let her effulgence beam upon
her worshipful satellites. For her repu-
tation is not that of Thespian; she
never did make must claim to ability in
that line, though once she could sing
considerably. Her basis for popularity
is her beauty; literally, her face is her
fortune, and her wealth is criterion
enough of her possession in the line of
gorgeosity of countenance and luXur-
lance of figure.
This beauty has long been accepted
as her stock in trade; it is an old story
in fact, its oldness is now it's chief
IRns wal III oh
while she nears the half century mark
-nears, that it's one of the marvels.
Curiosity as to it's continuity, as we'll as
the delight which comes from feasting
the eye on its Dresden china lineaments
Is potent charm in fetching feminine
audiences to her playhouse, and thus
it makes little odds whether she comes
in the cleYerest dramatic Offering ever
done, or merely poses la Nine. Yale;
she will get a crowd anyhow. So criti-
cism is once and for all disarmed; like
Othello, the reviewers occupation is
gone.
In all justice to the Russell, it must
| be said that that famous beauty is still
in large measure hers. Not now is she
the sylph-lilSe charmer that we whose
heads are greying were won't to ap-
plaud and gloat over; there hath come a
matronly cast to her countepance and
a middle aged outline to her figure
which is quite noticeable, especially to
one who has not seen her often of late
But 1t Is yet beauty that she of right
claims; there are varieties of looks as
well as of other things, and because a
woman takes on a few decades it is no
sign that she is not still in the pulcri-
tudinous class. Miss Russell needs no
apparent artificial aids to add to the
glamour of her presence; the advancing
years have stood pretty nearly still for
her and whatever be the secret of her
perennial youth, she has mastered 1t
thoroughly No woman on the stage
today Of half her age shows it less.
But to get down to the play--for of
course 1t merits a few lines. 1t is
smartly written. but not overly inter
esting. 1t touches upon the much-ex-
plotted craving of Americans for titles,
and while entertaining, lacks that in
defnable something which makes for
! llghtsomeness; it is not the touch-and-
go affair that it should be; it has the
fatal defect of dragging now and again.
1t is hard to say wherein this lack ex-
lists; the dialogue is crisp, tie action is
brisk and the situations are lever. But
somewhere it falls Just short OF perfect
satisfaction. However, 1t contains the
elements of a good evenings entertain
CONTINUED ON Pnge Eight.)