Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-20

tankerous streak in the pro-
ducers of musical shows. They
are determined to defy the die
'tates of propriety. whether there is any
fneed of 1t or not. There is some sympathy
,and liberation due the manager who. find
ing the public Indifferent to his legitimate
tendeavors resolves to give 'em what they
want" Augustin DAILY Is said to have
klaughed at some of tho plays which in his
Elater career were put forward as box
toffice appeals 1t must have been cold,
nhard. cynical laughter. But piquant
disregard of conventionalities Is some
khinS far different from a studious and
fcold FLOODED effort to be perfectly scanda-
tsous so as to get talked about. The scene
An 1.-THE Soul Kiss" which has aroused
tso much adverse comment as to over
sshadow appreciation of the real orlght-
mess and beauty in which the prooucuon
sbounds Is needlessly emphasized Inc
defiance to the theory that germs may De
transmitted by OSCILLATION is so uncompro-
missing that the auditor becomes weary
and the idea of the story lntrnslcany
clever is made for the moment cheap anu
absurd There is a large class Oh pray
goers quite willing to be shocked. Out
s,ocl< imnlies something electrical, a thrill,
a. surprise, a shaking up of. the e1notloiis
ond nossibly of the intelligence. But the
termination scene in the soul kiss is merelS
prolonged and inane interruption in
-orfor,nance whose claims TO considera-
zion. satirical smartness. ingenious rhym-
NO n,easant music and, above ALL spec
.ac,lar sorgeousness are exceptlonai.
The fight about The Soul Mss hds
b..r hitter The atmosphere in New York
hos reso,,nded with epithets and mansleo
critics have been carried from the helo.
And ALI for what? In order that one OF
.ha least consequential incidents OF an
otherwise good show might be preserved.
II does look like cantankerousness ana
nothing more.
one result has been the award to Genee,
that most charming of dancers, entire
credit for saving the piece from faliure. IL
has been a success, and there must be a
reason for its success. And like crea-
ture born to sunshine, Genee futters in
at the opportune moment, gives every
body something to talk about and nothing
unpleasant to think about. Admirable as
she is, there Is some reluctance to be felt
about admitting that without her all the
comic felicity Of Mr.. Herr and the dis
tinctly original ideas Of librettist, stage
mapager scenic painter and costumer
would have gone for naught. Whether or
not this show could have survived with
a less competent dancer in her place.
there is no doubt that she could have
saved almost any show however deficient
Genee is one of the artistic revelations
OF the present generation. one of those
Of
permanent that content the most exacting
ideals. The training she has had enables
her to express freely and buoyanuy the
purpose Of the music and mere physical
grace becomes secondary to poetic sig
niicance.
Three of the most massive and beautiful
stage settings shown in Washington this
season were revealed in Maxine Elliott's
new play, 1.-The Chaperon.'' The first
shows a bungalow in which rustic archi-
lecture and furnishings are shown in a
most elaborate and tasteful manner. The
second a deserted island, where canoe
which figures in the story has been
wrecked and where a villainous husband
who seems to have been drawn according
TO popular descriptions of Count Boni
makes himself extremely unpleasant by
surprising an innocent shipwrecked duo.
The sound Of the water and the repre-
sentation of sunrise are fine touches of
realism. The third act is interesting not
only because it reveals some beautiful
scenery, but because it includes the most
thrilling incident of the play, the acct
dental seating of a rather dgnified old
gentleman in a plate of fudge. No more
charming combination landscape garden
I'm.
before the gaze of tneatergoers in many
seasons. The play itself is of dis
unctly superficial quality, lacking both
plot and character analysis. Miss ElIott's
role is one which. without displaying her
personality to the best advantage relies
upon 1t wholly. 1t is revelation of
scenery. but the scenery's support is not
what it should be-
The Columbia Theater's chief enter
tainer came late on a Tuesday afternoon
and had to hurry away to catch a train
The opportunity to see Harry Lauder was
all too scant; Washington should have an
other chance at him. He is the physical
manifestation of optimism; the embodI-
Inent of human good nature. with tiny
touch of pathos here and there for good
measure.
The Girl Question calls attention to
Startling supply of limitations in current
theatrical affairs. To initiate actors was
once accomplishment but this play
turns nlimics out by wholesale. To see one
imitation of Eddie Foy after another walk
out on the stage complete not only as to
makeup, but as to voice. gesture and
dance. is uncanny. II imitators can be
trained in platoons, there will soon be
nothing left to copy. Even now the trav
csty artists are standing hungry and alert
Wa ting for some play to be enough of
success to warrant putting it into extrava-
ranza. This joyous pienitude of imta
tons serves TO call attention to the some
what formidable sparseness of the real
thing. P1ILANDER JOHNSON.
SONG WRITER'S ON THE STAGE.--It
IS A notable fact that most Of the popular
songs of the present day have been writ
ten by performers, and these songs, by the
way. have been the means In the ma jority
of cases of placing -heir authors in the
limeIignt and giving them their first i'm
petus stage career. George NJ.
Cuhan first became heard of as a song
writer. The first song he wrote was a
waltz song melody called Venus" which
ne composed at the age of seven. and had