The Washington herald., 1909-03-09
THE BELASCo.
"The Unbroken Road.v

Miss BeELud hdlitA HdS NelcDmc0 udck
to Washington last night at the Belasco
Theater by an audience that tested the
capacity OF the playhouse and which at
times grew most heartily enthusiastic.
With the memory of her brilliant achieve
ments in foreign drama in mind. there
was. naturally. more than a little curl
osity 10 see her in an American drama by
an American Additional interest was
lent by the fact that the play in which
she appeared. ''The UnbrOken Road" by
Thomas Dickinson, is the first dramatic
work OF this author.
The play was well received. The act
ing-let il be said at the Outset-was in
every way admirable. The play was ine-
" staged. rehearsei with care. II had. as
It was presented last night all Of the sc-
cessories that do So much % point the
difference between success and failure.
II. then. IN spite of these manifest ad-
vantages. the public left the theater in
a doubtful mood il augurs III for the
playwright II ne has not convinced his
audience. with all the aids that any author
has a right TO expect. then surely he has
not won success.
ing play 1t Is so marveiously good In
spots. II has characterization that Is
brilliantly drawn. The characters of John
Radford. though he Is a bit OF a prig;
Eva FellanOva, Pietro GaFvony. Walter
Dover. Arthur Murrish and his wife. even
! the Scandinavian serVant-these are
drawn characters: they live, move. and
| have a being. But Of what avail IL these,
the authors weIl-limned skeletons are
! invested with palpitating flesh and blood
| by the talent Of the players and yet move
10 little purpose? II is there the weakness
/ lies.
What is the message OF the play2 That
! is sane enough and understandable
enough. II is that love. true love. is a
wondrous motive power. and. besides.
/ that It breaches that gospel enunciated by
Stevenson
To be truly happy is 4 question q how We begin.
and not of how We end of what ye wait and not
Of what We have. Life Is only very duh and IL
directed theater unless have some interests IN
the Eiece: and 70 those who have neither an nor
science the world Is q mere Arrangement Of eoloTs
OF a rough footEay where they may very well break
their shins
That I think, IS what Mr.. Dickinson
| has started out to show in his drama. the
1 tragedy OF the broken shins' along The
Unbroken Road" But he has VentuTed
too much: his canvas is too full. Without
that sufIiciency of technique which allows
a Rostand 20 fill IN the crowded picture
OF "CyranO'' or BeiascO 20 enact the
French Revolution In "Du Barry" he has
tried too much.
The story Of the play Is the story OF
girl, Eva Fellanova. who has been ruined
by 8 young man whose father Is a politi-
cal power and who. 70 get her out Of the
way. has had her sent TO the penitentiary
on a trumped-up charge The governor
OF the State has been her schOOlulaster
in happier days He pardOns her. though
ne Is already the subject Of criticism for
hls TOO free exercise Of the pardoning
power His particular rival. the State
boss. IL the father OF the man who has
ruined Eva, but the governor will not
use that fact IN his political fight There
IS another element. represented by Pietro
GaryOny. an Italian political boss. and
Pietro falls IN love with Eva after she
has been pardoned and is really trying TO
live down the past happily and decently.
in the house OF those who had helped 10
save her.
But when the convention meets there
are three candidates. The governor who
pardoEed Eva. the candidate OF Dover.
the man whose son had caused all the
I
she learns that Il is Garvony who can
save the political future Of the governor
who saved her, she goes TO him at the
convention and premises herself to him
in exchange for the votes he controls
Thus Is the day saved for Gov Radford.
but at the last moment the governor Is
able 10 make the Italian see that II he
holds Eva 70 her promise-a promise
wrung from her in her distress-he will
lose her, and SO he tries the right, the
honorable way, and wins her. That ends
the play.
No one can deny that there are elements
OF a powerful drama here. One trouble
is that there are too many Of them. The
| first act is as fun OF story as an old
/ fashioned three-volume novel. and the ac-
/ ton is 50 crowded; so many things are
/ explained-things which It IS necessary
l for the audience TO believe-that the Gre
/ dulity OF the audience is taxed beyond
| endurance. There is no verify in fl II
! IS too much 10 believe all at once; and so
/ the drama, by what should have been
/ its strength. becomes weak and untrue.
/ II anything could save this drama and
/ lend il verify II would be the fine acting.
I Miss Kalich has a splendid supporting
| company; hard-working. conscientious.
/ and highly capable. The Pietro GarvOny
] +.
/ new character TO the American stage. but
/ II was played with a sureness Of touch
and a fneness OF purpose that made II
real and convincing in spite OF certain
/ inherent lrnprobabIlities. Mr.. Frederick
| Truesdeu did clever but not striking
work as John Rsdford; good, solid, COM
unonplace work that counts for much.
Very clever was the comedy OF Mr.. Riley
Y Chamberlain as Andrew Murrish, and the
Walter Dover Of Thomas L. Coleman
/ stood out Very bright and pleasing act
ing was that OF Florine Arnold as Martha
Murrish and June Congrieve as Augusts
made a distinct impression with only q
| bit"
Rut. after ali. interest centered all the
fine In the work OF Bertha Kalich. and
IN no v-ay did she disappoint those OF her
admirers who. knowing her capabilities
an6 genius. expect great things from her
She has a wonderful voice, which she
controls with great art; a voice that car
be as appealing and feminine as one
might desire; as tragic as that OF LADY
| Macbeth: as rough and racous as tha'
Of a Bowery tough
/ L IS perhaps true that the lack OF nat
uralness in the play was, 10 certain eX-
tent at least, reflected in the playing OF
Nine. Kalich, for there were times when
the work she did in this was less genu-
the. less impressive than II has been IN
plays previously presented here. II was
as II she felt that there was something
lacking in her material; that II did not
ring quite true, and that, therefore, she
did not have the heart TO do quite her
best. But there were moments In the play
when she was amazingly good Her best
acting moment. OF course, was IN that
scene in the second act where she gave
mothers. WILL