Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-25
DR.. BACHMAN' PLAY
MAKES DECIDED HIT.
UNDER THE BEAR FLAG LIKED
BY BURBANKERS
Is Good Drama, but Needs Some Car
enterine-Situations Are Strong,
and 1t Has Lots of Atmos=
phere and Color

"Under the Bear Flag" new play
by DIR. G. w. Bachman of Los Angeles,
given it's first presentation on any
stage at the Burbank yesterday, may
be set down as a decided succeSs-per-
haps the strongest, as it now stands,
of any local play yet produced. Ger
tainly none was ever receiced more
cordially by a Los Angeles audience
This drama, viewed even from the
most critical angle, is good 1t has
ample color, plenty of high lights, some
very telling situations and delightful
love interest. The climaXes of the acts
are strong-very-and they are led up
to naturally and logically. Atmospher-
ically, the play is admirable; it trans
ports one at the first curtain right into
the sleepy old days when California
was a Mexican dependency, and that
atmosphere is maintained almost con-
sistently to the end. The drama has
a good story; DIR. Bachmanl has sue
ceeded-a rare thing, by the way-in
taking a page from actual history and
while maintaining its accuracy yet
hedging it about with romance without
impairing its actuality or straining the
credulity of. his audience. This is an
achievement in itself
The drama is not without its faults
and it will need some considerable car
pentering before it reaches the stage
where its presentation other than at
home would be deemed justifiable. The
fine italian hand of one Oliver Morosco
has undoubtedly done some work on it
already, but there is more to be DONE
In the first place. it is too long; it is
redundant; the interest is too diffused;
1t needs vigorous pruning; some of the
many aside speeches and monologues
must be cut out; and its continuity and
thread of it's story must be closer
maintained. There are some eXtraneous
characters that could well be omitted;
they distract from the meat of the
drama.
The most serious fault that the
writer finds, however, is of a literary
nature. The language of the play
needs scanning closely. The characters
are not consistent in their talk. Some
times one will use "thee" and "thou";
again, you" Some Mexicans speak
straight English; others talk in mon
grel fashion, they should all speak one
sort or another. They are supposedly
talking English; why not then have
the MeXicans all speak brokenly and
the Americans use the true tongue? 1t
is all right to give the Irishman a
brogue, and the French Canadian is
correct in his use of patois, but the
rest is bad. Then, too, there are seri-
Gus anachronisms i'm the language; the
slang is too up to date and many eX-
pressions freely spoken were unheard
of in that day. These things the
dramatist should revise and with
ruthless hand. Consistency in action
and atmosphere is we'll maintained; it
should be as closely considered in the
spoken word.
However, these are faults not be-
yond remedy and are really the only
weak points in the drama. Outside Of
them the dramatist may congratulate
himself upon having done a surprising
ly strong and finished piece of work,
especially for the first effort and he
may well feel that he has a valuable
dramatic property, full of life and
ginger well thought out, cleVerly con-
structed and brimming with incident
and action, fine perspective and thrill
ing climaXes. Whether it would "go"
as we'll in a land unacquainted with
the story of the bear flag is another
question. but it would seem that it's
inherent worth-when the suggested
changes have been made-would permit
its production almost anywhere
OF the manner of the plays produc-
ton by the Burbank theater nothing
but praise can be said IL WAS perfect
in every way. The action calls for only
one set of scenery which in act 3 is
so shifted as to give one another view
point, but this one set is luXuriously
sumptuous and as atmospheric as the
play. 1t shows an old hacienda with
the mission and angelus tower at the
other side, and Is dreamy, drowsy and
manana to the last degree.
The characters as assigned to the
stock company members are perfect
fits. Desmond as the young lieuten-