The Washington times., 1908-11-15
SalOne Dance
And "The Devil"
Mere Sensations
Neither Is Attractive Moral
ly or Artistically and Both
Are Undesirable
Citizens"

artisticahy. aestheticaIIy. Neither of
them IS any substantial addition 10 tie
forces Of a community which make for
good; neither is noteworthy I'm the field
OF art: neither can be construed into
anything beautiful They are sensa-
tons, as Big Winnie and the Siamese
Twins were sensations, and in no other
sense would either have attracted the
crowd.
Whenever a manager has a "hunch"
TO put on a play which contradicts the
moral intuitionsB he assumes one OF
three attitudes:
He follows Nietsche and braveIy at
tacks the accepted traditions of good
conduct.
Or he contends that his new Offering
Is at bottom not Inconsistent with the
accepted moraHues.
or he disposes of the whole question
with Art has nothing To do with
MORALS"
The second is the position taken I'm
behalf OF MOlnaV's strange study. IT
is probably true that the ultimate eff
feet OF the play ought to be away from
immortality. That il is say. THE Devil
can hardly give alluEement TO vice in
the understanding of the thoughtful in
telligent. and attentive play-goer-
''The Devil" a Characteristic Fraud.
But this does not dispose of the re-
sponsibllities assumed by author, pro-
ducers. and iWTerSonarors- They have
10 consider, amongst other things, the
patron. who is not thoughtful, whose
intelligence is not trained, who may not
prove attentive.
The first mission OF the stage is to en-
terrain. How many are there who pat
ronize Il solely for entertainment, and
so may not be presumed to follow
closely the unfolding OF a plot which
IS not entertaining
An average audience is not recruited
from any one class. How many were
there 10 follow The Devil" (and all
his works. this week. who were either
too young, or too inexperienced, or too
incompetent 10 perceive the real lesson
of so palpabIe a breaking down of
moral self-TespeCt2
And for these latter, the great ques-
ton is:
Does the pIay-'The Devil" OF an
other-provide an education in vice?
A mild judgment would probably be
that The Devil" is at the very least
a doubtful production morally. What is
Il as TO aTt7 Well, there Is nothing
great in the acting. Such interest In II
as there is attaches to the popularity
OF the task undertaken by the leading
man. If Mr.. Stevens had assumed tae
role Of a lion tanner and walked back
and forth with a dozen shaggy beasts
at his feet, he would have undertaken
an interesting task. But it would not
be anything more. Now he has out
Fausted Faustus. He must create a
satanic Illusion without the help Of d
scarlet costume and a fOrked tail Sup
pose he does it. He is better than the
Hon tanner only in this-that his "stunt"
has to do with the mind and not with
beasts.
From the playwrights point Of view
st is hard to ind much more sausfac-
ton I'm the comedy" Molnar has treat
ed with modern psychO-histrionic meth
DDS a theme which dates back to medi-
eval days. Here too. is a task with
interest But is il any higher in the
field or art than those marvellous carv-
ings IN butter that adorn the agricul-
iuraI buildings Of every worlds expOsi-
ton? Surely not in the sense OF any
lasting contribution 10 the worlds store
OF beauty.
Three other devils viii come before
we are through with this dramatic inva-
sion Of purgRtoTy. In one, at least,
there will be more of the actors skill
But unless Mr.. Arliss is able TO read
into this play meanings wholly absent
from il as Washington saw it this past
week, the whole furore is a tribute to
circus methods not under canvas, and no
tribute TO the disCeTnmenU OF judgment
of the American people
A Poor Dance and a Good One.
'salome" is curiously parallel 10 her
lord and master. The same discussion
might he followed 10 the same destina-
tion. The hope viii be that another
dancer than Miss Honmaun-notabIy the
Maude Allen who lighted the first fire
of the sensation-wilI offer more TO JUS
Iify the paroxysms of Gotham than
this SalOme whom Washington has seen.
II she doesn't we can only blame our
selves for buying tickets to the side
show because other victims have told us
1t is pleasant to get bitten.
All this is beside the Spring Dance, -
OF course. Miss HOFFMAN, was a little
tall, a little angular, q little too much
Of d romp, and little inadequate as a
dancer 10 make the performance a fuIl
delight. But sensible men and women
will not be too critical. They will take
happiness where they come upon it,
even if It be not altogether perfect.
ans dances 10 give genuine pleasure
long TO be remembered. AS one partOok
OF it the taste was as sweet and in
MIGRATING as fresh air. What a mis-
take IL would be TO complain that some
where else-in the heart of I,OndOn's
Rockies or in the hot springs of Paris
the air has a rarer or a more intoXi-
eating quality.
On the Reward of the UnrighteOus.
The sun shines next week. Al the
National, Mr.. Crane, IN comedy rated
first class and UnquestiOnably from q
fTst-Class source. II is called Father
and the Boys" and has been described
by critics in other cities as George
AIDES best comedy" At the Belasco
an old local lavOrlte-Charlotte Wakes
with Frank keenan,. in The Warrens
Of Virginia" and folk do not need Il
. follow affairs theatrical very closely {,
know that play and east have alike re-
sarded large patronage At the Co
snbia. a later Uncle Toms Cabin,
pc form OF Mrs. Wiggs." Chase'