Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-13

may not be one of striking power or great
originality nor the language elegant or
even terse. but if the player is provided
with excuse for depicting great mental
strain by vocal tremo'o and facial calls
themes. the auditor says great work"
and leaves the rest of the performance
out of the calculation. Miss Blanche
Bates has much occasion for emouonality
in THE Fighting Hope" Clara Morris in
the most intense of her moods could
scarce have hoped for better scope for
throeS of agoniZed mentality
And the play has the modern touch, too.
At first shock it seemed a little extraor-
binary to see the usually self-reliant and
outdoorsy Blanche Bates as Anna. the
typewriter. seated i'll complete docility,
plunking out commas and semi-colonS like
a plain everyday press agent or play
wright or dramatic critic. 1t was just an
ordinary typewriter that Miss Bates was
compelled to use, not gold plated or set with
diamonds or anything like that: and this
in production under the direction of the
lavish Mr.. Belasco! 1t didn't seem right
until the fact that this typewriter was,
through u dictated letter. to be the means
of disclosing to Anna the awful fact that
her husband was no good. Anna might
have suspected this from the fact that he
was already in the penitentiary. But no!
Her womans heart told her that he was
innocent. 1t was the typewriter that cru
ely undeceived her. and it would have
been only fair to mention the name of the
machine along with those of the four or
five other characters that popula ted the
stage.
There is d certain air of mystery about
THE Fighting Hope Mr.. Belasco is
not mentioned as co-author. This looks
like an oversight. The production is mere
~ under his direction. Some time ago it
was reported that Miss Bates was to
leave the Belasco forces: but it may have
been merely her intention to- desert his
co-authorship. The first performance did
not look like a Belasco production. The
eminent producers courteous reference In
his curtain speech to the satisfaction of
being home again somehow lacked
force. \ BelaSco production with only
one stage setting-and that rather
mildly elegant interior-for its three acts
and with a cast of less than half dozen
the past been anything like this
Nor was there that air of security in
the delivery of lines that commonly dis
tinsuishes a Belasco first production and
invites the audience to expect an enter
tanment which has all the charm of
finished product. There were one or two
moments when the players in important
scenes seemed to be awaiting. and there
was brief but terrible doubt as to wheth-
err they would ever get safely back to
earth.
An excellent character delineation was
that of Mr. Cope the confidential law
yer The excessive profanity OF his lines
must have been noted by the manage
ment, and a modification of his speeches
in this respect may be taken for granted.
Monday night he sounded like old
fashioned steamboat mate. The role as
he plays it has the charm Of rugged
humanity and affords good counter
weight for the attenuated sentimentalities
which sometimes occur. Mr.. Cope played
like a BeIasco actor, though for the most
part the performance looked as if the vet
eran author and producer had been per-
suaded to keep hands off and let the ris-
ing generation disport itself untrammeled
by advice.
From here The Fighting Hope" goes
to Pittsburg. and from there to New York.
where in more polished form the popu-
ularity of Miss Bates, together with the
extreme emphasis Of its emotional pas