The Washington times., 1907-03-26

sacrilege and the Charybdis Of efusive
puerility-
Mr. LaCkaye has avoided both dangers
with signal success. and though his stage
version OF the immortal novel is neces-
sarily fragmentary and deals with Incl
dents rather than with underlying
causes, he has preserved to a large de-
gree the splendid personality OF the now
elists hero and the subsidiary charac-
tiers
As Mr.. Lackaye frankly admits in a
certain speech. his 1.-THE Law and the
Man" is an undeniabIe melodrama. Were
il the adaptation Of any other work
than Les AnserabIes" the public would
undoubtedly call fl lurid. Ii has all the
earmarks of fire, blood, and murder"
variety of play. There are the escaped
eonvicts, the home OF the man OF God,
tue WrCnged woman. the flight by an
upper window, Tie battle in which the
hero is a victor in spite of seemingly
overwhelming odds. and many other
Characteristic episodes But beneath all
these and through them all runs the
purpose and the main thread of a gi-
ganuc personality. a reborn soul.
All Of us who have read Les AIIser-
ables' have a well established idea Of
Just what Jean Vatican must have been
We would recognize him among the
tens Of thousands who walk the streets
OF FaTls. He Is as much an individual
personality 10 us as any OF the people
with whom we come in daily contact
This being the case, il is not 10 be eX-
Fected that Mr.. Lackaye's impersona-
ton should exactly 1T the particular
niche in the mind OF each person in his
audiences either in appearance or tenn
permanent But, however much he DIFF
fered from each ones own Jean Val
jean. he at least did not outrage any
Treconceived Ideals. and this IS high
praise. II is an accomplishment which
only one who has gone about his task
with reverence Tor his character could
have achieved.
Mr.. Laciaye plays his Jean Vatican
with marked suppression and deep feel
ing. HIS work ia the first act in the
mayors office at Meme is excellent He
pOrtrays with consummate art the bat
tie which the man is fighting against
the law where individual Righteousness
IS contesting against the greatest good
20 the greatest number
Melbourne Mcdowell appears as Jaw
eTt. His work is in many respects eX-
cellent, but he has followed too close
" the melo0ramatic incidents of The
Law and the Man rather than the Erua
spirit Of Les Miserables." His imper-
sOnation approaches dangerously near
the mock heroic, rapting type Of act
ing
Miss Jehreys Lewis, who is well re-
membered In Washington for her work
in the Columbia Stock Company last
summer, appeared as Nine. Thernardier
She was satisfactory In an unsympa-
thetic role. Her occasional attempts at
coarse humCs did not coincide with the
uuTpOTt of the role, however. Miss
Josephine Sherwood appeared as Fan
tine and Cosette. The part might
easily be strengthened, but her lighter
scenes were played with discretion
The production is adequately staged
''The Law and the Man is well worth
while, for it revives for those who have
read Les Mi5erdbles'' many pleasant
memories Of the nineteenth century s
masterpiece Of fiction, and 81 Is 10 be
hoped that it viii stimulate the interest
of those who have not read Hugo s
work 20 do so without further delay.