Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-17
TONE POEM OF
LOVE AND SONG
IS 1.-THE CLIMAX"
HUMAN SOUL WINS IN WAR
WITH MENTAL TYRANNY
LOVE AND ART, ONCE FOES, ARE
REcoNcILED IN OUTCOME
Striking Antthesis to "The Witching
Hour"-"A Royal Family Opens
at Belasco, and New Bill
at Orpheum

"The Climax" a play in three acts, b,
Edward Locke with incidental music by
Joseph Carl Breil, produced at the Masor
opera house Monday evening, Aug. Is, 1903
THE CAST
Luigi Golfanti, the teacher. Walter Wilson
Pietro GOIfanti, his son Albert Latscha
John Raymond, the doctor. Edwin August
Adelina Won Hagen. the pupil Ruby Bridges
BY w. HERBERT BLAKE
DARADOxICALc compound of dreams
and shrewd, kindly humor is 'The
n Climax" A play that looms big
to the after-thought with a message
of cheer and reassuring sanity AND
vet a play that has too, that in
describable element of smallness OF
coziness, of symmetry which we natur-
ally associate with jewels, home, arr
in its kindlier and most truly human
manifestations
The soul goes forth to war and comes
back conqueror over the mind. The
love and the longing for beauty and
life-expression are justified of one OF
their children. There is the atmos-
phere of tragedy, and yet The Climax
is not a tragedy. There is the ilmpio
flow of comedy in almost every hVe
minutes of consecutive action, and yet
THE Climax" is not a comedy. There
is a flash and gleam of menacing melo-
drama, but it goes out There is o
touch of farce, and a bare hint OF the
problem drama at the close, but tht
play is neither. It is just life, or rather
one of it's great and awe-inspirlne
episodes seized upon and illuminate
by the master hand of the artist, ano
life imaged by the most faithful ana
consummate Interpretation of four eX-
uuisite characters which we have seen
at the Mason this summer.
In the democracy of joyous bohemian
simplicity live Luigi Golfanti, his $or
Pietro, and his pupil Adelina Nor
Hagen. The girl has come to New
York from a provincial Ohio town tc
study music. Following her has come
the young doctor, a foe of the stage
from keen puritanical prejudices, ano
the constant and undaunted suitor OF
Adelina Pietro-impulsiVe, muslc-mao
Pietro-is his rival. Thus are the lines
of battle drawn. PietrO fighting for
the love of Adelina, and to keep hen
true to her ambition to succeed as a
singer The doctor fighting, too, for
that love, and striving also to keep he1
from what he deems the menace or her
own aspirations for artistic triumph
In a heated colloquy between the ri
walls. Pietro makes the scornful sug-
gestion that DR. Raymond try his mucn
Vaunted power of mental suggestion
to keep Adelina from the stage. On
this chance remark hinges the initia-
tion of the struggle which makes the
play. Suppose you should lose your
voice" suggests the doctor to the girl,
after she has refused to accept his Of
fer Of marriage and remuneration or
her dreams. would you then be my
wife?" Laughingly, she half consents.
An operation on the vocal cords of
the young woman becomes necessary
and thereafter comes the momentouS
test of the voice. VIII 1t survive z:
"There is one chance in thousand OF
failure" the specialist tells DR.. Ray
mond. and he repeats the opinion to the
little group, assembled in expectancy,
emphasizing with a subtle suggestion
the one chance. The treatment Is ended
and Adelina tries to sing, n note or
two comes, as of old, and then silence.
In a. scene of poignant tensity she fails
to run the gamut of the scale. The one
chance, magnified in her mind by the
power of suggestion, has outWel8hed
the other 999. The sweet voice is mute.
Unconscious of the doctors mental
influence, she yet directs spirited de-
fance at him, as if the soul knew bet
fer than did the mind the source of this
threatening danger. 4 will sing, she
cries again and again, and again and
again she tries and fails. The physician
has triumphed. and even in his hour OF
victory we catch the note of remors2
and grief in his voice as he bids the
broken hearted little group goodby
Traitor as he is to the woman he loves,
for that very loves sake, he does not
quite forfeit our sympathy.
Alone in the little room sits Adelina'
In a burst of pain and baffed hope she
sefzes a dagger and is about to kill
herself. when the old music teacher
Tnigi. enters and saves the life she
deems useless.
The last act shows us the little rooms
and the two Golfantis preparing for
the wedding of Adelina-the woman
now, and not the singer-to the doctor
His mental suggestion has carried him
thus far, and already he seems
ashamed of his work. 1t is the spring
time. meet for love and weddings, and
despite all we must sympathize again
with the bigoted man of science and a
puritanical faith, who is yet the lover
An accident to the wedding carriage
calls him from the room, and in last
confidential talk Adelina tells her old
teacher that she still dreams of mu-
steal career of which her waking hours
have ceased to assure her. In cas-
ual moment she runs over a few
strains. There is no pause. The voice
rings clear and deep. There is q new
note, indeed, the note of happy love
the one thing needful. AS she cries
aloud in her joy the doctor enters, sees
the situation and bids her choose again
between her career and him. Then
almost before she can reply, the voice
of conscience speaks to him, and ne
quickly tells of his influence over her
revealing the little soul tragedy which
his pride has nearly caused. Adelina
spurns his coutrition. Pietro, aflre
with the hot blood of the italian lover
seizes the dagger with which the girl
nearly ended her life, and rushes at
Raymond. His father prevents the
blow and the doctor departs after tell
ing Adelina his love will still be watt
ing for her whatever be her future
choice of career.
And then comes THE Climax" The
old teacher himself tells his pupil that
she must marry-marry the doctor
marry and forgive, as he, the old Luigi,
forgaVe the wife whose vanity and con-
tempt of his art wrecked his youth
dreams For the return Of the voice,
in answer to his prayers, he sees has
come from the great love fov the very
man who tried in his puny way to de-
Btroy it. 1t is the gift of COG to over
whelm and confute the ways of men, to
vindicate the soul and TO humble the
arrogant mind of the doctor Love and
art shall be helpers, not foes, and that
as the last curtain falls, is our lesson
from "The Climax"
In a certain interesting way, this play
is the antidote for THE Witching
Hour" which we shall see before many
weeks There the power of the human
mind is victor, and we feel strangely
H-,ll c.