Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-09
NEW DICKENS PLAY
GIVEN IN LONDON
BY sTDLE LAWRENCE
CORRESPONDENT writing

a COftfNSOEONOE4NI Willie VNOA
the initials ~. A. B." calls my
IA attention to what he regards as a
misstatement made in the course of
my review of Little Dorrit," printed
in The Herald last Wednesday. 81. A.
b." quotes from the review as follows:
"There have been many attempts to
dramatize various of the Dickens nov
els, but of recent years, upon the Eng
fish stage. only one of these attempts
has met with any measure of success.
"A Tale of Two Cities presented I'M
der the title of The Only Way was
well received. The others failed. And
"A Tale Of Two Cities is the least like
Dickens of any of the master novel;
lists works"
He then writes:
"You are evidently ignorant of the
fact that Beerbohm Tree is now pre-
senting in London play by ]. Comyns
Carr which is a dramatization of The
Mystery of Edwin Brood This dram
atization has been favorably received
by the critics and is a big success,
which does not bear out your asser-
ton"
| cannot admit the accuracy of 81.
A. BIS criticism. J. Comyns Cars
play is not a big success. doubt
very much whether it has yet paid the
initial cost of production. 1t was with
drawn from the Majestic theater, Lon
don, February l, after a run of no
very great length. Whether Mr.. Tree
is now using it in the provinces or
whether 1t has been shelved l confess
= l<..k - So the
that while the play may attain big
success it has not yet done so.
Moreover, 1.-The Mystery of Edwin
Brood had one advantage over other
plays made from Dickens novels.
Edwin Brood" as 1t came from the
master novelist's pen, was unfinished.
Dickens was working upon it up to
the time of his death and he left no
notes which served to solve the 'mys-
terry" Several writer's have attempted
TO complete the story, but as might be
conjectured, with no very conspicuous
success. In his play Mr.. Comyns Carr
offers another solution and that natur-
ally, served to create some ephemeral
interest in his work. His play cannot
properly be termed a dramatization of
Dickens, for the plot of Dickens story
was uncompleted and Mr.. Carr of
course, has had to complete 1t for his
own use as seemed to him best.
How He Solves 1t
The mystery is solved in the play
by having John Jasper, the opium
smoking uncle of Edwin, dream that
he killed his rival for the hand of Rosa
Bud and wake to firm credence in his
hallucination. This transpires in the
second act, when the Princess Puffer,
at whose den in London John Jasper
had smoked opium, comes to Cloister-
ham, where the uncle is choirmaster in
the cathedral Jasper cannot resist the
temptation of his vice. The princess
lights him pipe after pipe; and. after
she is gone, he dreams that he is COM
hitting the murder of his nephew.
While he is going through the scene
Edwin comes from his bedroom, and,
standing at the back of the stage,
overhears enough to understand Jas
per's fell intent and leaves the place
In horror. When Jasper awakes from
his trance and finds that Edwin is not
IN his room he believes that he has
committed the murder he planned, and
has placed the body I'm quicklime in an
old tomb in the crypt of the cathedral.
Overcome by horror and remorse, he
crouches gasping against the wall,
while the carol singers outside chant
while Shepherds Watched Their
Flocks by Night"
The third act opens with Jasper still
undeceived as to his guilt. and Rosa s
guardian, Mr.. Grewgious, acting as an
amateur detective in search of the muir
derer OF Edwin brood. Here Mr.. Carr
utilizes very ingeniously the incident
IN the novel of Grewgious being IN pos
session of a ring. taken from the finger
OF ROsa's dead mother.
Earlier in the play Grewgious gives
this ring to Edwin on the understand
ing that il he breaks off his engage
ment to Rosa he is to reurn 1t. When