The San Francisco call., 1908-11-17
By Waller Anthony


Rose stahl, the new legitimate star
that arose in the east from vaude-
vile horizon and has been shining
brightly on the other side of the
Rockies. appeared last night at the
Van Ness theater in the expanded
comedy which once was a sketch at
the local Orpheum. To leave metaphor
alone and talk straight English. as man
10 man. she made tremendous hit in
The Chorus Lady" Not half-hearted
understood hit. but a straight from
the shoulder smash which woke up the
Van Ness from the numbed and nearly
unconscious condition into which The
Clansman" had knocked il. and which
aroused a fashiona BILE audience to the
point of demanding a personal ac-
quaintance with the charming, slangy
delightfully."- wise little chorus lady
herself
After the third act climax had ex-
hibited in Miss Stahl an emotional capa-
bility seldom discovered in a comedy
star. the audience applauded until she
made a speech. It was a long time
coming and quickly over. but it seemed.
and I am sure it was, straight from the
heart She was nervous and her heart
was in her throat for all tempera-
mental actresses are fearful of a first
night audience in a strange and uneX-
plored land.
The power of the play rests entirely
in its name character the chorus lady.
Like The Music Master" or Lord
Dundreary," to go back a bit. the value
of the piece and the force of its appeal
are vested quite completely in the lead
ing role.
That the play last night was a great
success is another way of saying that
she achieved a personal triumph, as the
press agents say. She succeeded in
viyifying a part in which a bit of vul-
garity enters, touch of worldly
sophistication appears, and a whole
hearted womanly character bodies
them forth and softens them into a
parsonage which might easily be en-
cOuntered in the ranks of the girls
whose lives are lived on the verge of
temptation. but who wear no diamonds
and ride from the stage door in no
automobiles
PLAY Is CONVINCING
The character is idealized. it is true:
but then, no one wants to go to the
theater to watch the antics of an un-
idealized anybody; the role is heroic
at times. but heroism dwells in chorus
girls humble rooms quite as frequently.
-AD uOuBls dS GiScA ii6Its anu the SIOI1
of the play is convincing, coherent,
thrilling at times, humorous at many
moments and true to life
1t must not be understood that the
cast which supports Miss Stahl is me-
diocre; for it is not. Though the bur-
den of the production rests with the
blonde lady of the chorus, the subsid-
iary roles are excellently filed Alice
Leigh, as Mrs. OBrien, is an actress
minds you of Marie Bates. She Miss
Leigh plays the part of the chorus
girl. Patricia O'Brien's mother, and her
scene with Patricia, who in order to
save her foolish little sister has placed
herself in a compromising position,
was one of warm and heart touching
reality and truth.
Patrick O'Brien, the father Of the
two girls, is a wholesome Irishman,
somewhat henpecked, but lovable and
blustery. That's the way Giles Shine
plays the part. Dan Mallory is the
one at whose training quarters=he's a
horseman-the play opens. He is in
love with Patricia and looks hopefully
the stake and make her his wife. You'll
be sure to like Wilfred Lucas por-
trayal of the character 1t is safely
and sanely played. Even his love
scenes with the chorus girl are real.
and that, surely, is an achievement He
chokes and stammers, and acts like
a real man when he is confronted with
what appears to be the evidences of his
sweetheart's unfaithfulnees, and the
way he makes love is so unlike the
musical comedy conception of the pro-
cess that whether right or wrong, it
is persuading.
Nora O'Brien, the girl who takes to
the stage against her sisters wishes,
and who gets into the trouble that
makes the play, is a capital foil to
Miss StahIs art. Nora is played inno-
Gently and waywardly by Eva Denni-
son. More might be asked of the girls
of the chorus, who occupy so much of
act two, but they wear their stunning
gowns well and get away with their
roles with physical grace, even if with
artistic insecurity.
SKILL OF THE ACTRESS
It is easy to say the gamut of emo
tion," and apply it as a measure of an
actress skin. The phrase is ffabby and
inelastic with much usage, but it fits a
description of Miss Stahl's art, which
takes in that time worn phrase
From the light hearted. slang speak
ing, self-centered girl of the chorus.
who drops in on the old folks for a
day, to the girl whose sisters honor is
at stake and who saves the simpleton
at the expense of her own reputation
and at the cost of her lover, is some
thing of a leap over the keys of feel
ing. but she makes the skip without a
false tone, and she hits all the notes
To appreciate this you should see her
act
DO not be afraid Of being bored with
a sermon about how to be good though
on the stage" or that you will ha St,l
pefied by a melodrama in which the
emotions are torn to tatters and flung
ouivering through four acts. Nothing
rrrfI