Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-22

LIZ fAbDt Gu6OIl ~ III
When the curtain drops on the last scene
of this play one feels as IL some great
depressing weight, some overpowering in
cubus that was crushing and shutting out
the light at the same time had been lifted.
The sense of having regained the sunlight
and the open air which had been almost
hopelessly lost is, to say the least, the
natural sequence of the five scenes of
dramatic situations. This feeling Of relief
is a tribute to the art Of those who are
concerned in the making and interpreting
of the play. The realism with which the
situations have been conceived and de-
veloped and the gripping fidelity with which
they are interpreted is entirely responsible
for the feeling one has at the end. that
he has passed through the soul tortures
of Charley Steele and has come out finally
into the bright sunlight. ,
The play itself is set in a favorable back
ground for sharp dramatic contrasts. The
conventicnalities of respectable society and
the hard lines of orthodox religion drawn
by blind blgotry are set off sharply in con-
trast with a soul loving freedom and Jack
of external constraint. The scenes shift
from the den of Charley Steele in his
mansion in Montreal to the wildness of the
mountains in a parish 200 miles away.
Charley Steele. married to a woman who
does not love him and whom he does not
love, finds himself in the tolls of doubt
as to life and its meaning and without the
reassurances of religion to help him
through. Addicted also to drink. he proves
a poison in the society in which he mingles.
A drunken ex-minister and an embezzling
brother-in-law both lay their downfall to
hin. With the double purpose of finding
rest" and protecting his weak brother
in-law he assumes blame which should &c
to his relative and plans to go up the river
with a riverman whom he has saved from
a charge of murder. Attacked in a low
saloon he is left almost lifeiess and when
rescued by Joe Portugais he has lost con-
seriousness, and even when he RECEIVERS In
the wilds up the river fails to recover the
memory of his past. He falls in love with
a slmple-minded girl and is happy when an
inkling of his past leads him to submit to
an operation which restores his memory.
He is about to renounce his real love, even
though he learns his wife has remarked,
thinking he was dead, when news comes of
the death of his wife, leaving him free.
The part of Charley Steele is one that
requires repressive acting. Mr.. Standing
from the very first, when he swings on the
stage the cynical, skeptical lawyer, to the
last when he finds life for the first time
in the love Of Resale. is true to life. He
can throw off khe Indifference of the early
stages of the story for the grim earnest
ness of a man fighting with a bigoted
community for his love in the latter stages.
His transition into the sober, almost stern
man of social responsibility is most ma
tural. 1t is the fidelity of Mr.. Standings
work that gives the play its grip.
OF the same high quality is the work Of
Theodore Roberts as Joe Portugais. 1t is
no formal French-Canadian delivering him
self of dialect that Is seen, but a living,
breathing man, every gesture of the hand.
every facial expression lending itself to
the Characterization.
The quality of the rest of the company
Is unusually high. The minor parts are
well filled and the staging deserves special
mention. The reproduction Of the noun
tain scenery in the last scenes is true and
effective. The Boyd was crowded last
night and the spontaneous bursts of 'ap-
plause, which amounted almost to o~vations
after the unusually strong scenes, indicated
the hearty approval of the audience.
The engagement closes with the Satur-
day night performance. with a matinee
! Saturday a~ftarnnOn