Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-13

vaded the theater situation las
week The Italian opera com
pany sang the old fayoriteS al
mirably and demonstrated tina
grand opera at popular prices is as nearly
practical as anything can be that has u
do with an enterprise in which considera
tions Of art, emotion and professional
rivalry are so intimately assembled. one
of the distinctions between genius anc
art is that genius must be practical while
art can suit its own pleasure in the mat
ter. Shakespeare was a genius whose
mental grasp did not allow even pecuni
airy details to elude it. Mrs. Leslie Car
ter. to select an example at random, Is
an artist whose interpretations are won
dcrfully moving, but whose appreciation
Of the more sordid eXigencies of life Is
slight To successfully conduct grand
opera enterprise requires both art and
genius. 1t is to Ivan Abramson that the
organization looks for the masterful in
telligence that mods materials, recon
Giles negative influences and YIELDS het-
erogeneous impulses into a single demon
stration of power. The audiences who
witnessed the love scenes and tragedies
enacted on the stage and who listened to
the purling notes of the singers had no
Idea of the mental vitality engaged in
holding things together. Mr.. Abramson
Is not well known in Washington. He de-
serves to be. 1t is due the public that a
man of so much resourceful diplomacy
should be known and available for serv-
Ice IN case he should grow weary of the
tumultuous career of an impresario.
Mr.. AbramsOn is man of small stature
smooth shaver, with small restless eyes
and a resolute jaw. On Monday night
he was attired in the simple conventional
fashion prescribed for evening. Later in
The week he donned frock coat and a
red necktie. 1t meant something. A new
tenor had arrived fresh from battle in
New York. The red necktie was no doubt
the signal of defiance. The new tenor II
he fights with the vigorous abandon
that distinguishes his singing, would seem
a man to be feared. even if reports of a
black eye left behind as a souvenir of his
regard for a conductor were wanting. On
some evenings the rear of the auditorium
echoed to sounds that seemed to threaten
complications between France and Italy
and Mr. AbramSon was seen going comet
like through the theater in .ain effort
to be at the box Office and on the stage
at one and the same time. No actor has
had to run the gamut of human emotion
quicker and oftener than Mr.. Abramson
He has wept with the Borrowing, stormed
with the irate, laughed with the merry
and on occasion launched the lhunderbolt
o. supreme dictation. He met situations
which seemed to the enlightened obser-
yer to threaten the stiletto. and re-
duced him to convivial meetings over
spaghetti. And all for what? That COM
paratively few people who enjoy grand
opera might have an opportunity of hear
Ing it sung well. Despite inevitable varia-
tions in the quality of performances. the
average of the week was remarkable high.
Mr.. Abramson should not be permitted to
leave this scene of legislative struggles
and contentious without having attention
called to his pre-eminent abilities as
reconciler. f"e.r
Another play by Jules Eckert Goodman
was displayed at the Columbia Theater.
Like the inventor of the fifteen puzzle.
once so popular. Mr.. Goodman thrives
because of his ability to get up something
for which there isn't any positive and
permanent solution. His plays grow in
attraction as familiarity with his work
increases, for while some of his socioloS-
Lcal arguments may be involved in their
progress and unsatisfying in conclusion,
he has the gift of portraynS everyday
types in modern American life In man.
ner that is wonderfully convincing. The
performance of THE Test is chiefly re-
markable and admirable for the pictures
Of simple human nature that are distrib-
Uted all along through the cast.
1.-THE Round Up" is a Respondent west
ern spectacle. AS play ii is unfortunate
in seeming to challenge comparison with
The yirginian." The performance of
Maclyn Arbuckle was the redeeming note
IF legitimate interest in the plot, but the
fidelity ~ith which landscapes and cos
TUNES of the far west were depicted enti-
ties the production to rank as work OF
art, despite its histrionic crudities.
The Academy came to the front with
real melodrama, one which linked old
traditions with strictly modern spirit of
novelty. Through Death Valley larked
back to joaquin Millers First Families
Of the Sicrras.'' whence Mckee Rankin
derived material for The Danites." But
the scene in which the hero is tortured
DS IiiedNS OF Il IalIleSnakc tuSSlnS at a
rainsoaked thong in order to get close
enough to strike at him is a revelation
OF intensity that is good for several
thrills to each second OF time. The rattle
snake idea was recently exploited in al
most the same manner in maga-
zine story. but the stage manager OF
Through Death Valley solemnly de-
ClareS that he saw 1t first.
A JOHNSON
A SOUTHERN GIRLS RISE TO
FAME.-From a chorus girl at q salary
of SIS week to the rank of soubrette
at a salary of $50 per week. with a star
dressing room and the other perquisites
is a big jump. 1t has been accomplished
in less than a year by young southern
girl who will pass her nineteenth birth
day during her visit to Washington this
coming week.
The girl for whom life has SO suddenly
taken on such a rosy hue is Marguerite
Devon. who plays the role of Elsie Davis
In the Askin-Singer company's brilliant
music play. The Girl Question" which
IS the attraction at tile Columbia this
week.
Less than year ago she was singing
and dancing in the chorus at the La Sale
Theater. Chicago. with apparently no
more chances of advancement than are
possessed by thousands of other girls in
The choruses OF big musical productions.
one night in the middle of the first