Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-21
THE DUEL ONE
PLAY IN THOUSAND
OTIS SKINNER OFFERS A ORA
MATIC TREAT
No TwaddIe for Youngsters, but Strong
Meat for FulI-GroWn Men and
Women-Hls Depletion
Superb

"rbe Duel" which Otis Skinner pre-
sented at the Mason last night, won 10
it's author Nj. Lavedan, the nlghesL hteI
ary renown open 70 trenctLLIen IN I,,o.It
it can be set down as the most satlsIylns
and fascinating thing that he mas done
Yet why he did it, is as much proplen
as the outcome of the play.
For enthraIling as it is, when it is al
over, one is forced to ask what M. Lave
dan wanted to convey by the play. ~ ~
has given out a forceful story, dramatl(
situations and the irresistible fascination
of the struggle of two strong men 1or u
weak woman. This, however, is only one
of the features. But M; Layedan is 3,tl 4su, I
ally considered as playwright with
mission and a message. . j..
In the prince d'Aurec' he set out TO
rebuke the Faubourg saint German 10, t0I
he came forward with a scheme to. save
the aristocracy of Paris by aboltshinS 1t
and turning it into the bourgeo1sIe. u "
what is he an evangelist IN 1he Duel .
One Is at the same point at the end or
the play as before the curtain rises. OI
course this does not matter. Usually the
novel or play with a purpose is intensely
tedious, unless the gospel is carefully
lightful story. Still, knowing that NJ;
Lavedan holds himself up in the light Of
"a voice crying in the Wilderness, Wilderness one one
cern the meaning Of the voice
1.-THE Duel" iet it be said in starting,
is of words and not of swords or pistols.
The story is of today. There are two
brothers. One enters the church and be-
comes a comparatively unknown cleric;
the other studies medicine and becomes
him a materialist; religion. of the other,
a strict moralist. They part, and never
meet for decade.
There is a vicious, bestial old duke who
hos md 1Nr yxifn a
is a brute; to him she is an angel, true
as light. When the play opens, the doc
tor has. been called to attend, this old
roue, who is i'll. He falls in love with
the wife. The husband is half crazy
through the use of drugs, and may lin
ger along for years. Her church forbids
divorce as does her conscience, though
she has grown fond of the doctor. 1t be-
ing impossible for them to wed, the ply
sician suggests to the young wife that
they two get all out of life that they
which suggestion she gives ear, but de-
fers her assent till she can confess.
She goes to church and bears her heart
to the priest-the other brother, though
temptor. He advises her to struggle
steadfastly against her temptation, and
offers his aid. Right there, the duel
teginS-the war of words.
The priest, unknowing that his own
brother is the temptor, goes to this
brother to get help for his. struggling
aiding the sin-stricken souls, and men
tions one in particular, greatly tormented,
who has found surcease of sorrow in his
presence of late when on the verge of
disaster. Her he wishes to save entirely,
for she is as good at heart as she is
lovely
The doctor, ever doubling, sneers. He
calls 1t the flutter of woman's dress"
that has, perhaps without his knowledge,
moved his brothers heart, and thus ac-
counts for his unaccustomed zeal for
feminne m 4f1e soul 6T ,+fisy Says ne he cynicaly
deemer slips to second place and interest
IN the erring woman to the first Then
however detached you think yourself
from the realities of life, you cannot help
noticing that the woman is striking and
sorrowful-and beautiful And then you
ran pack to earth. The soul-oh, what
lied" -l-'4 --i'' 'ei ie'i-
The reply of the priest is full of lofty
scorn, the honest indignity Of a hurt
man man; 1t is a splendid piece of word
painting, and ends with these words:
That is not what sends a shudder
through me, but the monstrousness Of
@ 1ne coWardly weapons you stoop to use
ne Hyor9 m9rTiole r6i, thing Is you do not believe
Ihus the duel wages.
Then comes the great scene: the two
quarters and here for the first time ali
three discover their several Identities
II IS tremendous; the element of sur
PRISE IS startling. But the duel" goes
on. II IS brother against brother: the
world and the flesh and the devil on one
side, morality and the marriage vows
and the church on the other-the exuIta-
ton OF the soul against the lusts of
The conclusion arrived at is strictly
conventional. Let her marry her lover
as the degenerate derelict her husband
innaily sinks in the gulf of his own abom-
This means only "obey the traditions
and the demands of society" AS a mat
Yer or fact the woman has outraged all
the laws of nature and has been untrue
to herself in respecting the formal ties
that bind her to such a man as her,
husband. The conclusion is not satisfy
ING; It means nothing; it solves no prob
lem; 1t exasperates and befuddles Maybe
1t does show the folly of morbid self
condemnation-little more
The second act is the mighty one of the
gripping and enthralling. The first act
Is somewhat talky, but necessarily ex-
The final act is a bit mushv
and its pathos comes precious near to
mawkish sentiment, and lacks consider
ably the strength of the others. The
nigh Key of what has preceded makes
the drop to ordinary the more noticeable
and regrettable.
Hence, on the whole, it is more sat
isfying to look at the play merely as a
strong, well told story, with lucidly
drawn pictures of the power and mystic
delight of Roman Catholicism, the sem
suality of suffering and the force of the
laws of nature as manifested in the love
between man and woman. Considered in
this way it is a play in a thousand;
strong meat for full grown men and wo-
men; absorbing, tremendous.
Mr.. Skinner as the Able is wonder
fully strong, satisfying and able. Not
for ten years has he played here: he
has grown greatly the while. 1t is not
unfair to rank him as one of the great
actors of the American stage TODAY,
His manner shows superb repression and
leonine strength, most happily and nat
urally combined. Walter Hitchcock as
She uoftor Gc Is ScarCeiy SeGond , 10 MN; IN