The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-04-26
Theatrical Season Closes;
: Several Notable Offerings


" " night the regular theatrical
season of I9O7-0S in Washing
ton came to III end In many respects
It has been unique. in one or two mem
orable.
Opening with several disconcerting
failures. notably THE Christian Pill
grim and Charles Klein's The Step
Sister" there was every indication early
last fall that we were about TO expert
ience an era Of dramatic eclipse As the
months passed. however, there came to
light not a few productions. interpreted
with admirable art. which have made
the season one to be remembered with
pleasure and profit.
Internationally the most notable dra-
matte offering OF the year, and indeed
of many years. was Charles Ram Ken
nedy's The Servant in the House"
presented at the Belasco Theater by
company % Incompatible excellence.
This play came late in the seasan. at a
time when the theater-going public
felt Itself almost callous to any new
sensations. But from the moment the
curtain rose on the remarkable scene
an which a player representing the re-
4ncarnated Son Of Man was seen upon
the stage. treated with all the reverence
of the priest and yet with all the HUI
lmanness OF the man who comes In daily
contact with the masses, the audience
realized that it was Witnessing a dra-
matte production which stood for some
thing broader and deeper and bigger
than mere frivolity or superficial en-
sertainment.
The Servant in the House does not
present a problem, it does not even sug-
gest a new doctrine or propose a new
mode Of conduct. But It does set forth
fhe fundamental doctrine of the brother
hood of man in such a forceful and
gripping way that its influence is such
as to have lasting effect upon every
Individual who listens with understand
ing and with sincerity.
The Author Obscure.
Mr.. Kennedy was unknown to AmerI-
"a prior to the production of The Serv-
ant in the House." His future works
will be watched with keenest interest.
"A master of dictiOn, displaying remark
able dramaturgic skill and with the
courage to break away from the beaten
paths OF conventional thought, the stage
has much TO expect from this compare
lively young author, who in a single
night took his place among the fore
most playwrights of the day. Mr. Ken
hedy was fortunate in having for the
interpreters of his play Edith Wynne
Matthison. Tyrone Power. Mabel Moore.
ARTHUR Lewis. Charles Dalton and
Walter Hampton.
Entirely different was the dramatic
event OF second Importance, the engage
1nent Of Nine. ALA Nazimova. In this
instance it was the player and not her
plays. Nine. Nazimova came 10 Wash
ington after two seasons in New York
where she had been variOusly rated
from a second Duse" and "a new
Bernhard 10 "a tricky actress Of ques-
Iionable talent" After witnessing the
Russians performance of a Dolls
House" the general opinion prevailed
that the latter estimate was more nearly
correct. When the change of bill came.
however, and the compelling force. and
sinuous fascination of her "Hedda Cab
Ter was seen and felt in all its vivid
contrast to the light, frivolous work in
the earlier Ibsen play. the genius Of
the woman was recognized. As an art
iste in makeup she IS without an equal
on our stage and in her gripping por-
trayal of physical unrest she ranks
day tragediennes.
SOthern's Repertoire.
z. H. Sothern. too. came 20 US with
a varied repertoire. Each year this
earnest, seriOus-minded, and withaI
gifted actor impressos the American
stage more strongly with his own per
5onality, a personality which IS a force
for the moral and artistic uplift Of the
drama. His most important role this
year was that Of Rodion. the student,
IN The Fool Hath Said There Is No
God q play Of gloomy import, and OF
"a more or less discursive and didactic
character. It was forcefuI, and yet Its
Theme was extraneous to normal people
and normal conditions. Its chief value
On Mr. Sothern's repertoire was the op-
portunity IL gave the star 10 show his
versatility in being able TO play the
somber student one night and the next
become the absurd, and idiotic Lord
Dundreary in a revival OF the famous
Taylor plav, "Our American Cousin ."
Mr.. Sothern also revived IF 1 Were
+, King romantic drama in which this
actor showed that he had lost none
of his charm as a stage lover and poetic
gallant.
Mrs. Fiskes annual engagement at
the Belasco proved a genuine treat for
the lovers Of Ibsen. Her RebeCCa West
was one of the most forceful charac-
feriZations she has ever given US. The
role was handled with such rare art
and coasummate fnesse and incisive
psyche understanding that even the
anti-Ibsenites were forced to pronounce
1T one of the really masIeTful pieces Of
creative character Interpretation Of the
year She was aided by the Manhattan
Company. which for individual excel
lence stands side by side with Henry
1JfIler's Associate Players. seen later in
the season in The Servant in the
House"
= Another play Of the sombcr type
which achieved an artistic though not
financial success was Marta of the
Lowlands," as presented by Bertha
Kalich and Henry Kolker. Nine. Kalich
Is ali actress of great vital force and
temperamental power In spite OF a
foreign sccent she has a voice of vast
range and great heXlbility. Her work
IS always worth while TO the student
of the drama and she compels the at
fentfon Of even those who would prefer