Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-23

| made in France. Thanks, perhaps. In
| part to this policy. the Gillette Drama,
French use. is the biggest of success I,
and promises to crowd the Antoine Until
| spring.
| Meanwhile. patrons Of the Paris
Vaudeville are about to be asked to
adjudicate on the question, lis Divorce
| Failure?" which query Is put by Paul IN
rs piece. I'm Divorce" at the playhouse
mentioned. Beginning next Monoay,
every person in the audience will receive
paper to be filled up and placed IN a
ballot box in the hall of the theater. This
paper asks whether the voter favors, ID
Indissolubility of marriage, 90 The status
| quo. CD Divorce by mutual agreement t4)
Divorce by the wish of only one party, or
| 60 Free love.
| In Bourgeois play (Which is. of course.
a ~ramatization of his novel; three OF the
characterize priest grandmother ana
the latters Observation-Disclosures in the
indissolubility Of marriage. The old
| lady's son. free-thinking doctor. holds
| for divorce. The young hero. who is the
doctors step-son: and young doctoress
| fist is obviously Of the first opinion. But
at the repetition general (Which cores
| ponds to our first night performance) the
| free lovers got rather more applause than
the champions of permanent marriages
or the common-sense doctor who does not
think that marriage is failure on prin-
ciple. but believes, with few other
people. that when a union Is distinct
failure, the best course all round Is to
dissolve it. First nighterS, however, are
inclined to judge play merely as a play
and to applaud the best bits of play
merely because they are the uest, no mat
ter what the purpose-at least that Is the
opinion of NJ. Bourget and the manager
VIII, stages his piece. The general public
may take a greater interest In the pur-
pose and a delight in recording votes.
This the ballot boxes will show. and the
verdict will be almost as interesting as
Sherlock Holmes. The Bourget piece is
not for Anglo-Saxon audiences.
A new comedy. now at the Gymnase. is
to be done into English. though whether it
will duplicate the success OF MY Wife"
and Her Father"-biggest of hits at the
London Haymarket-is another matte.
Paris. however, has given a warm well
and it may prove as successful when
adapted as THE Marriage of Kitty" and
The Freedom of Suzanne" which Its
title calls to mind 1t would suit Forbes
Robertson, for example. in case the lat
ter's new piece by Henry James falls to
score, or any American acto- whose Long
suit. is disinterested devotion.
The real hero of the Gymnase play.
whose author is M. Gevault Is Fernand
piness of Jacquelm." though to rather
mall purposes. He is thirty-six and looks
fifty. and In the beginning we ind Jac-
quelin engaged to him, but she soon trans
fe s her affection to Henri Ligineres, who
is younger and vastly better lc-nfng. AS
matter of fact, the girl has engaged her
sci to Fernand (whose family have
adopted herr largely because he asks her
to- and she now asks If he would be very
they should marry. Fernand. who Is
noble creature. with tendency to ig-
gishness. says NO" which Is not true. OF
{ urs, but little JacQuelin believes him
and runs along to the other man. mere ns
the curtain of the first act leaves us. The
disinterested watcher over Jacquelin's
happiness soon enough has matter to oc-
cupy him. The latter's young husband
proves inconstant, and his doings are re-
v"aled by cha acter who is rather
novelty in stage types. This is an invet-
rate diarist. sort of authentic Miss
Robinson of bruce fame. in the person OF
m, Pointillon. He is always finding scan
dial to be put down In his diary, and the
" st # it is that he has a deserved
reputation for accuracy. Through Poin-
tllon, Jacqueiin learns that her husband
and an American widow are carrying on a
vel mt fiji tation at tiny seaside re-
hearted at the discovery. It Is an occa-
sion for Fernand, and he plays the part
Of comforter. again speaking noble un-
truths with the best intentions. The hus-
busy about Jacquelins money affairs. He
van declar s that the lady in question Is
his own affair. and undertakes to night
duel with third man who also claims
as at other points in the piece. the
adapter into English will have his Diff
culties.
In the third and last act Jacquelin
learns the truth and the house of cards
that Fernand has erected in honor Of
her happiness comes tumblng 10 the
ground After a scene with her nus
band-who tells her not to be silly httie
bourgeoise: they do that sort of thing In
his world-she leaves him. She refuses,
moreover. to return. and finally throws
herself into the arms OF Fernand, VINO.
nobly lying as usual. says at first that II
is too late But he does not mean 1t.
and we are left to infer that despite Paul
Bourget, the divorce court will be set to
work and that 1t will be the happiness
of Fernand" thereafter. At the Gymnase
Mile Regnier is Jacquelin and Abel Tar
In French it is not half bad evenings
amusement. According to reports the
American rights already are disposed OF
and for the English ones negotiations
are pending.
That weird genius, Beerbohm Tree. has
found a part that suits him In Locke's
Beloved vagabond." 1t interests him
SO MUCH tHat III shC oCSoAN oSs .'S AZ
gets he is Mr.. Tree and becomes the real
Paragot. OF course, no one who is as
fond Of a novel as most readers are OF
THE Beloved Vagabond" will ever be
satisfied w tn any dramatization of that
move, but Mr.. Locke has at least made
what promises to be successful play out
of this book by dint of laying stress on
the story which in the book amounts
to little, and giving a minimum OF the
atmosphere, which made most of the
charm of his novel.
A successful American playwright re-
marked that whenever he undertook to
dramatize a novel, he carefully abstained
from reading that novel. but had some one
else read it and then tell him the story.
play. After that. he read the novel to
see II there was anything In 1t that would
be Of any use to the p ay. Apparently
this is what Mr.. Locke d d, SO far as he
could with his own novel. remembering
only the slight plot and forgetting
pretty much all else except what would
be of special use to the character actor for
whom the play was being written. 1t Is
a pity to quarrel with the result. for with
ali its failure to convey across the foot
| lights more than a 1.-THE of the charm OF
| the novel, 1t has more imagination, char
acter and charm than nine out OF every
| ten plays London sees.
In the first act CASTOR de Nerac. as a
Partisan Of fashion and promising gen.
Eng ish nobeman who has become In
| volved in q bank scandal. To get the
funds needed to save the father. CASTOR
signs an agreement with a rich and