New-York tribune., 1908-02-09
LONDON DRAMA.
Il French Idyl at the Haymarket-
Il Charming 1ctrcss.
London. January %.

theatres has fresh variant The conventional
triangle Of two ard man or of two
men and has been dealt with in one
playhouse after another, and tl,e circle of pro-
yrieties has been squared by reconciliation or
renarriage- The happy ending accomplished by
various expedents and readjustments has be-
come Taonotonous and fresh factor has be-
come necessary. Naturally this is the child by
en- unhappy marriage ending in separation. AT
the Haymarket this is a girl. and Mr.. Michael
Mortons adaptation from the French text OF
NM Guinon and Bouchinet is styled Her
Father: but since the success Of the venture de-
rer6s in large measure upon the performance of
q captivating ingenue. Miss Marie I>ohr. more
rrecise title would have been His Daughter
It is the story-and a clean one-of wife
separated from her husband without fault of
her own and concentrating her affection upon
G charming daughter, whose marriage with
promising business is arranged The hus-
band after neglecting his wife and daughter for
eighteen years. is oppressed with loneliness and
bored with fashionable dissipation. He sud
denly insists upon compliance with the text OF
the legal decree of separation, by which the
daughter is TO pass month in twelve under
his roof The wife after outbreak of in
dignation. yields the advice of her prospective
son-in-law and the girl goes TO her father with
the defiant intention OF making herself intensely
dfsasreeable Received with lavish decorations
OF iris and showered with treats. gowns and at
tentions she is cold, reserved and silent: but
before her term of splendid exile ends she has
learned to call him dear. darling daddy" and
has fallen in love with of his fashionable
friends. Father and daughter return together
10 the deserted, embittered wife. and after
stormy scene there is a reconciliation. appar-
e-rlv on the assumption that the girl will speed
,v be married TO the second suitor and that her
-p-,rS 1.-bp TfpV cannot
ta.ter than to console each other.
In the original French this play was a senti-
mental rhapsody on parental affection. and Pa
-is1an audiences. If I remember Alright. found 1t
most affecting in its purity Of thought and the
Iore Of home pervading it. If IT has been con-
-erted from delicate domestic idyl into the
-ecord Of the strange experiences of romantic
rirl when transplanted from a cheap fiat in
pa-,nstead to 2 sumptuous residence in Bel
eravia II mas suffered the usual fate Of adapta-
ZION 10 the English stage. In this instance no
considerations of "unctuous rectitude" were nee
sesa-y for il was not in any immoral
-rnisrress play A literal translation with the
scenes and characters unchanged from the Pa
risian environment. would have preserved the
distinctive style and virtues of the moving little
drama 1lr. Morton like other adapters, has
considered himself under obligation to provide
en English setting and the work becomes un-
real ard stage made. The order for a separa-
1ion. with the custody Of the child a privilege
n the father every June is inexplicable from the
English bench, especially after the girl is six
teen. The promotion Of the father to the titled
class involves the substitution OF English aris-
toc-acv for the bourgeois social layer in France,
and while the galleries are supposed TO love a
lord dearly, this change renders the contrasts
os environment III suburban London and May
fair unnecessarily sharp and imparts an artf-
fetal strain to many OF the incidents The girls
social adventures become more important than
the idyl Of the lonely man Of pleasure and the
neglected daughter.
What Is lacking IN the Haymarket version is
q sense Of literary form and artistic compost
.ion The restful sentiment OF home IS missed
alike from the Hampstead fat and the sumptu-
o,,s mansion with its suggestions OF social rev.
elrv and the hurly-bUrly Of sTnartness. with
what shall we do tonight? the listless baobe
Of the lips ff II is not the motto framed On the
decorated wall The composition also seems out
Of balance when so many we'll dressedApeople
gre hanging on the fringe OF the action WITH
out anything 10 do beyond the wearing OF din
ncr costumes and tea gowns and the manipu-
lation Of telephones. The cOnfidences between
Lord Claremont and his lackeys. while suited to
bourgeois France, are out OF tone with Bel
g~avia. and even If the galleries do not resent
the 15ncaremonious fitting Of the commercial
clerk 10 make room for the titled snob the con-
trast between the lovers is too sharp TO De
agreeable As the parts enacted, the COM
r,ercial traveller is rnucn the better gentleman,
and The carpet knight is lacking in manliness
and distinction.
Criticism ends when the three main charac-
ters are studied and they suffice TO make this
play Of maria ge-and-cild intensely Interesting
Miss Henrietta Watson is the wife. strong.
S-,irf ffal Wifi
orth,,rsts Of INDIGNATION over wrong and injus-
tee and of motherly affection for the child 1t
v-as co strenuous an frnpersonation in its real
ism and power that the ultimate reconciliation
effected bv the pleading glance OF the beloved
daughter seemed like an arbitrary decision I'm
posed by the playwright The fmpersonaton OK
the callous. heartless husband by Mr.. Arthur
Bourchier is an equally effective bit OF sus-
tanned stage art The nervousness and bewfl-
derTnent OF the father, meeting his charming
daughter practically for the first time and seek
ing 10 command her affection by almost vulgar
generosity. were denoted with the unfailing
skill OF an experienced comedian; and the WOO
ing Of the girl for fl little else. by persist
ent effort viyacious charm Of manner and evil
dences Of raternal pride and love, was extreme
" artistic In the final scene with the injured
wife he succeeded in making the reconciliation
reasonable by dignity, magnanimity and eio-
quent unforced pleading for forgiveness.
Miss Marie Lohr as the sweet, g1rilsh irene
played with as much charm power and with
fine variety OF method, which delighted the
first night audience and commanded success for
tire play as whole. capricious and 1mpulsiVe
IN moods, alternately reserved in dignity and
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