The Washington times., 1909-03-14
MERIT IS ANSWER
TO MERRY WIDOW
Same Motive, With Widely
Different Results, Launch
ed American Idea"
SELECTION NEED
OF MISS KALICH
JudiciouS Tempering of Sunshine
Would Heighten Shadow Eff
fects in Her Acting.
BY ALLEN D. ALBERT. IR.


0eIl be dancing here this week. too She
found as much favor with Washington
as with washington's visitors. The
crowd yesterday afternoon. in spite of
the rain. was as great as that of in
euguration day. which is speaking in
superlntives or going some, whichever
style of our modern language you may
prefer.
An answer to Why is it?' was set
forth in these columns on two succeed
ing Tuesdays. Resolved to words of one
syllable, it was this: That il hits the
mark. Producers OF comic opera and
musical comedy with special knowledge
of American public taste have been Try
ing TO do this for years. IL remained Tor
q Viennese to achieve il. without any
particular thought of us or or the
genius of our institutions.
One item in THE Widow s adVant-
age Is that she did not rate our taste
too low. Let's have music with a
swing TO it," says the average producer
So his composers set to work to GRIND
out swing, on the basis of one-two-
three, one-two-three, and so forth.
Lets have something dom every
minute" says he again. SO the drill
master and the dancing master and the
music master and the chorus master set
10 work to confuse the eye with Whirl
the spectrum could not aLalyze. Let S
have real comedy. the kind the tired
two or three comedians are hauled in
and told to do their worst. The product
is fairly represented in The American
idea" And If ever that highly interest
ing exhibition OF stage tinsel should
do the business in Washington which
the Widow has done this second week
Of her stay, the producers would fan
dead.
we are not in the theatrical stone
age We know and love good music.
We like comedy on the track. We have
even some pride in approaching an OF
ferins based on intelligence and devel-
Oped according to meritOrious stand
ards. So, when we heard the music
OF 1.-The Merry Widow with our ears
SIS well as our feet, when we laughed
at situation as well as tumble,
when we followed plot as well as s
program, we were gratifed and told
our friends TO go and do likewise Ii
all seems mighty simple when one
thinks about ii.
Tells Another Story.
over at the Belasco there was an
other story. The Unbroken Road"
was builded BIZ no master hand. 1t was
the reckless hand OF a beginner. In
stead of one scene for his play he had
five. instead of FIVE characters he had
fifty, instead of fifty thoughts he had
five hundred And when the patron
rose frcrn his seat at the close, hair
acting he had seen. IL is no wonder
that he walked out of the theater puz-
zied and i'll at ease.
Nine. kalich viii ever be the subject
of controversy. Hers IS that peculiar
talent which utterly fails TO impress
many who think themselves competent
critics But in the end il is hard 10
Zee how she can fail 10 establish her
self NJ the very highest rank OF our
modern actors. She has the wondrous
Gift of imagination. She has a positive
instinct for that eXaggeration which is
Indispensable to the naturalism we all
think we know so mucn about. she
has a voice which not only ranges
from high 70 low. bur IS susceptible of
shading and coloring into any effect
fts user appea to desire
In addition TO the consistent unhap-
pinesS OF the roles she has chesen she
Is probably more handicapped than one
might think by her foreignisms. She
probablv stands with Horace Greeley,
who said well print anything the
Lord lets happen" and holds herselt
justified in acting ANYBODY the LORD
let's live.
But little selection would help her,
IS il helped Horace. The glimpse she
gave of human happiness in the second
act of her "Unbroken Road did more
20 win her friends-be It said with ali
regard for Aht-than all the tunult
OF passion she was able 10 reap OIL
the scene later in the play when she
The normal human heart Graves sun
light and IL this brilliant woman WoniG
only recognize that craving she coulu
obtain the encouragement OF Ihuch
more substantial patronage without sac
Tincing a whit OF her artistic aplAIles-
as for the little touches Of the alien
in her speech-there were pLa ~. SI',,,,E
none in her manner she did not inteno
10 be there-they are so many crlst 3
points of evaporation 10 American pidy-
zoera Those Of us VINO Try coIieEs
= "a
knour what this means. II Is proyin-
cfal But n rs human. year or TWO
more Of speaking our tongue ana
woman naturally so Initiative and APT
=. Nine Kalich will have overcome Il
all R1t lust now she loses ground
wnsnever her auditors hear the umlaut
slip into a word IKE poor OF the
word like live
II is to Laugh.
How good a thing it is 10 laugh was
manifest at the Columbia. Aunt Mary
did not Law claim 70 the high ant aims
of Ella Fellanova, but she had twice
rbs hearing. Why because the ma
tural Inclination is toward happiness
Miss Robson provided u In plenty. gar
nished with whinsicanues ana season
ed With = gruffness that only put an
edge on The appetite The Columbia is
coy theater and last week when
laugh after laugh sounded from stage
TO rear wall and back again, good
many Of Us found ourselves thinking
better Of orr fellows and ourselves ever
81 we didn't quite understand why
Then we went out and advised every
one we met to 20 and think as well OF
themselves and US
SO the world runs. This next Weel
II runs toward smiles and light hearts
altogether in three OF our theaters-witl
Billy Burke. at the National, JEFF DE-
Angels at the Belasco. and Gus Rogers
at the Columbia And when we thinl
Of laughter we must not forget tina
over at Chase's, thousands Of us every
week find Just the right con- pound oi
interest, diversion. and fun 10 put ui
back AT our next days tasks with
tenacious little smile Frightening oul
work II is a, good world. II YOU don
believe II, think a little on the teach
ings of single theatrical season IN
the direction of happiness.