The San Francisco call., 1908-03-03
BY Walter anthony

George Bernard Shaw had his little
joke last night at the Van Ness the
ater and everybody laughed good hu-
moredly. The witty Irishman, with
his hand on his heart in token of grave
sincerity, was represented by his play
candida" which might be tragedy
Il 1t was not SO funny. OF course,
ii is a paradox play, and the author,
through the clever east which inter-
preted his work asks confidence and
gets * in the most absurd situations.
ii doesn't matter what YOU may think
about CANDIDA" after YOU reach the
sidewalk. it's fine while it is going on.
You may later shake your head du-
biously and conclude you've been
''joshed," but meantime Shaw has got
your money-or his share of it-and
YOU have been entertained
And It was such a relief from the
ghostly horrors Of Ibsen Of the night
before The first hearty laugh in the
theater last night actually sounded
with a sepulchral echo III the big room
where so recently orwegian ghosts
had glided.
Miss Mary Shaw, of course. was Can
dida, the wife for whose love her hus-
band and the poet struggle. Miss Shaw
was a splendid Candida. She could
hardly have made more of the lighter
touches and her impersonation as an
entirety could scarcely be improved
upon. She made YOU feel in the last
act that the necessity for her to
choose between her orator husband
and her silent poet was real issue.
She chooses the weaker of the two
men, her husband. who is paradoxically
the stronger, and such is the genuine
force Of the authors art you feel a
sense of regret because you had reck
oned on her weakness
The poet, Eugene Marchbanks, was
played by PercivaI AyImer. who
achieved a real success in his role. His
bursts Of poetic frenzy We're startlingly
genuine; he unfolded a heart full Of
rare qualities: his one attack on the
happiness of Rev. James Mavor Morell,
whose wife he coveted. was made to
seem a reasonable enough affair, and
Nntirely moral, if not conventional
When he turns to the husband in the
last act and begs him TO stand by him
IN the trying ordeal of the scene that is
70 come, he is outrageously comical
in his abject despair. Percival Aylmer
viii compare more than favorably in
the part with Arnold DAILY. who in
troduced Candida to US several years
ago. In fact, Aylmer's Eugene is quite
& possible person, at least it is while
you are watching the tragedy of his
soul He almost makes you believe
Bernard Shaw was IN earnest, and that
is no slight achievement. Aylmer is
one Of the best actors we have seen
for a long time.
Lynn Pratt assumed the role OF the
rhetorical clergyman, wrapped up in
his own self-suficiency and conceit.
lie never forgets his sermons, and
breaches through the three acts in a.
manner to have won the approval of
Shaw, whose satire on the cloth is too
obvious to hurt any ones feelings.
Marie Pettes was Miss Prosperine
Garnett and exposed such a fine fund
OF humor that you will regret, II you
saw her in Ghosts" that she is ever
called to do anything but broad COM
cdy.
Harold Cohf1l was Mr.. Burgess and
was convincing in his work Of i'm
personating "one Of the respectable
middle class" as Shaw sees that va
riety OF individual
In short. Candida" will cure you Of
the horrors OF Ghosts" which IS high
praise indeed