Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-03


scene. and the poets. philosophers
and people who blow tin horns on
-la street have Joined in their respective
" favored methods 20 give the new
,,ner a hearty welcome. We are now at
-, b,.n,an i'm the season of 190S-oe. 1t Is
:. season when retrospect is encouraged
t,ie ror better endeaVorS in the f1-
,pre Washington has beheld large pro-
,r+to, of tho theatrical endeavors to pro
tide material for public enlightenment
and diversion. and a summary CT 'i!ins
GONE by may help to throw some liSht
on whether the best or the WORST l.
10 come.
Early in September Blanche Bates APP
neared in "Thc Fighting Hope" 1t SEEM
cd a hopeless conglomeratior of CLAP
trap and was the subject of much crl'~
cal scorn.l But the prestige of blanche
Bates and Belasco compelled interest," anu
the MAY. lavislly advertised. held its own
IN New York, where II ranks as one -
the solid successes. The same week Wit
messed the presentation Of jet II nckef-
cd and it's present career II it has any i
not metropolitan. Next came + atheI
and Son" 1t was an unhappy 1anlE
when il was presented in New 1crk-
Things We're going badly in the cast SUD
situations had to be made. and the play
did not last long enough To give William
Norris credit for the really merltorlous
character representation he introduced
The next week. that of September Il,
brought two more new plays. The World
and His Wife, in which Faversham ap-
pears TO have scored the most substantial
success of his career not even excepting
Lord and Lady Alsy." and The Gentle
man from Mississippi. a Washington
Tlay that continues to win laughs i'll New
York. Then came The Wolf. which
seemed almost as had a meloira1na as
THE Fighting Hope" and has proved
almost as successful. This second scoring
for raw sensationalism indicated beyond
question a popular preference for drama
done rare. The same week introduced the
latest return by Harry e. Smith and
Reginald de Koven to real comic opera,
comic opera. as Mr. de Koven explained.
worthy 10 rank with Robin Hood,
The Fencing Master and other operas
for which Mr.. Smith had written the
libretti and Mr.. de koven the music. The
Melting Pot next greeted Washington
as it passed from chrysaliS and floated on
the wings of Mr.. ZangwiIl's rhetoric into
the world beyond IN Chicago il met with
great favor. and secured A recognition for
Walker Whitaside which has long been
his due Then came Eddie Foy's Won
derful laughing success. "Mr. Hamlet of
Broadway in which Maud Raymond in
troduced her innocentIy mirthful travesty
of the Sa'ome dance We laughed in
lpSS oil a
ties We did not know what a serious
matter the classic dance was destined to
become. Following We're Wireless.
odrama-spectaCle whose spirited Incl
dents and magnificent scenery left no
chance of failure: The Great Question y
fearsome play something after the
manner Of THE Clansman The Strong
er Sex" in which Annie Russell demon
strated that personality may save q di-
OGRE play and land it in New York for a
comfortable career: The Battle. in
which Wilton Lackaye appears to have
found the success that his admirers have
long thought his due: The Queen of The
Moulin Rouge u so-called Partisan play
which. in an effort TO present the riquancy
Of Roquefort. goes completely to the Linn
burger: Paul Bourgeois Divorce whose
lnoISAl-ul appear was loC IiSS'u iof tIte
afterdinner mood Of the average thaater-
goer; Tho Chaperon.' play which Miss
Maxine Elliott selected as the piece for
the opening % her very own theater,
thereby attracting attention to the charms
OF the theater rather than to what might
be in progress on the stage: Yosemite,
which was mounted in the spirit % a
David Belasco and needed only Il John
Luther Long to bring its diction and ar
tistic atmosphere up to standard. and
finally. ~ House Of Cards
Il does not seem possible that an act
ress Of Miss Mary Nannering's taste and
experience could have accepted House
OF Cards" with her eyes open. Somebody
must have been dealing from the bottom
OF the deck.
There may be significance in the at
tention given to plays which touch the
people and the questions of the present
time True. there Is no new question;
the relations of wealth and poverty have
been questions o. deep human concern
ever since humanity existed. But the
record OF the season registers the fact
that amid all the punninS ana pifle there
Is Il stout backbone of national charac-
ter. The American drama has developed
from an artistic hope into practical
reality So great a majority of plays
deal with topics and clarac. ers native
to the soil that the European trade
mark has lost its significance With
this tendency developing, it will not be
many years before the Importance of the
stage. as an Influence not only on popu-
lar taste. but on opinion. must be recog-
nized- Once the stage makes a practice
Of dealing seriously and directly with
questions Of the hour such as are touch
cd on in The Melting Pot and diplo-
iaaticaIly discussed in THE Battle
the necessity of taking note of what the
theater is offering will present itself to
every mind that is concerned either in
an active and official or a private and
phiiOsophic capacity about the public
welfare.
The Girls Of Gottcnberg' is 4 per-
t"rmlHcc To bc commended for its po-
htencss. 1t breaks away from the pro-
pTictles only once. which is q very good
record for "A modern musical comedy
vicinity Many laughed heartily and
those who did not probably went to
sleep. The Girls of Gutenberg affords
interesting evidence of the length OF
time = joke can survive when inpris-
ONpI in RTIfiSfa a,fb,r,. mini