The Washington herald., 1907-04-21


the New National last week, that
lEr. Henry Arthur Jones issues his
seal challenge to the man whom he has
esways been compared tt and whom
"a has sought to rival. Mr. Arthur Wing
Pfnero Qn the meantime a man who
challenges them both and has beaten
tiiela both has arisen in Mr.. George Ber-
hard Shaw; but that is neither hsr. '10r
there) The final and solemn verdict must
De. of course, that Mr.. Jones has lament
ably failed. The great test OF the matter
perhaps, is to think how Pinero would
have treated the same theme that is the
backbone OF The Hypocrites." What is
now slovenly and slipshod would under
that masters hand have disappeared. and
most certainly no such anti-climax as
that awfully preachy and stupid fourth
act would ever have been allowed
Tie theme Of THE Hypocrites' Is so
great that one is apt TO be led away by
admiration of its possibilities and is likely
to overlook The fact that those posstbili-
ties have been woefully misused, Mr..
Jones certainly knows his England and
English society and English playgoers. 50
il is almost inconceivable how he could
ever have perpetrated such an atrocity as
the picture ne has drawn of a Church Of
England rector. There never could have
been such a man; but if one had sprung
into being by freak Of nature he never
could have held a living in England. Not
even In SNUG, well-satisfed. unchange-
able, stolid England could such a beast
be allowed And if not that the part is
overplayed 1t is not any too Well played,
perhaps, but it is the lines that are
ahominable, not the playing.
II is understandable, OF course how d
mother and father should seek-such being
the state of the British conscience-to
cover M the sin Of their only son. but it
is hardly conceivable that so many appar-
entity virtuous people should be found 10
help them. The girl, too! II is quite pos
sible that "a girl might be deceived and
then. through love of the man who had
deceived her, consent 10 any sacrifice to
save him from the consequences Of his
misdeed But il is not thinkable-as a
sane proposition-that such "a girl should
lie and persist in lies merely for the sake
Of money. Nor IS it quite reasonable that
such a young fellow as her lover should be
cad en0ugh-even for his mothers sake
to accent such "a sacrifice.
No. the play is not good enough. IT
strains probabilities too seriously ever Il
be taken as transcript of life, and is toe
loosely and apparently carelessly CON
structed ever 10 be considered as a first
rate play No such balderdash as this will
ever threaten the laurels that Mr.. Pinero
has so hardly won. More than that
there does not seem the remotest chance
of such MAY ever finding anything but
a lukewarm reception at the hands of the
staid bu; eminentIy sensible British public
The most grewsome and awe-inspirine
play of the week was "The Kreutzer So
nata" at the Belasco Theater. The play /.
dreadful one but better in this Langdor
Mitchell version than it was in the yer
sion used by Blanche Walsh. Indeed
when Miss Walsh played Miriam Fried
lander the play seemed hardly worth whil'
if it is worthy of serious and thoughtful
consideration now il is solely because OF
the great genius OF Nine Bertha Kalich.
Nine Kalich is "a remarkable woman
She made her mark on the Yiddish
speaking stage. and now she is winning
nay. has already won-high honors on tht
English-speaking stage. She has a mag
netic presence and a voice of great power
and beauty. and her English has only tn
very slightest trace of a foreign accent
The play itself-what is its moral or il
lesson? 1t gives, it is true. striking
and perhaps a faithful picture of tn,
effect of our modern civilization upOI
the newly imported inhabitants of tn,
Jewish colony; it presents a strong pic
ture Of the working Of the elemental
passions, and its lesson is the old, oil,
one-"The wages of sin is death"
Nine. Kalich has gone much farther il
the play than Blanche Walsh did Tn,
American actress had no reason for tn,
final and desperate tragedy Of the las
act. save that the author had created IN,
situation and she had to play IT, Mime
KaliCh goes much farther. She shows
even while the dialogue is being carrie,
briskly on at another part of the stage
the thoughts that are torturing her an,
driving her to distraction Nothing coult
be more eerie or wild than that fatefu
waiting, waiting, waiting for the nigh
TO pass. Here a most skillful stage de
vice has been used. AliTiam's husban,
and her sister have gone together TO tn
opera. they have sinned together so Ion,
that they are careless Of appearances
careless of what any one thinks. Miriam
knows they are not at the opera. Sh
sits and waits fer them. Through tn
open window come the noises of th
Ghetto, the street cries, the hurdy-gurd,
music, the shouts of men, and the erie
Of children. Gradually they die away
the light dies, too. and in the blaci
darkness. still with that look Of horro
on her face sits this tragic Miriam
waiting.
When the twain return-happy, careles
gay-the lights are up. and now the fac
of Mime. Kalich is the face or a ma
woman; her hair is disheveled. her eve
are hollow, her lips are parched and dry
The look Of her face is really dreadful
And so, while she cries out the agony o
her heart TO the tune of her sister
careless and mocking laughter, and Ia
sChO of her silly husbands pleading tn
"ld Miriam dies away and love passes
md tenderness and only shame and hoT
ror and "A desire for revenge-for an en-
20 il ali-takes its place And then tn
fateful shots ring out, and with a smok
ing pistol in her nerveless hand and tn
bodies Of the two sinners silent or tn
floor. she wakes. the light of reaso
daWns in her eyes for a moment. "Wha
have 1 done?' she asks, as simply as
child
IN fields that demand acting such a
this Nine. Kalich need fear no rivals
There is not a woman on the stage q
America to-day who can touch her i
al, &c Z
often of how Rachel moved audiences
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