The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-18
"WRITING ON THE
 WALL" A DRAMA
 OF MUCH MERIT
Miss Nethersole s Genius As Tragic Actress Shines
 Resplendent.

Olgo Nethersole gave a satisfying performance of 8 thrilling and usefu play, at Smiths last night. 'sTht Writing on the Wall" may, or may no be the Great American Play. The judgment on this point is for posterity But it is play well worth the at tention of Americans, both for tht lesson that it drives home with power and tor it's dramafic merit.
 The playwright has done good worl Tn combining a meritorious treatmenF of a social problem, together with z sustained sex interest that is at leas as vividly set out as the sex interess is in any of that at present popular group of dramatic writings which have no other claim to the attention of an audience.
 The lesson of. the play is directed against the tenement house evil, large ly unknown in smaller cities, but z pressing problem in New. York an6 other great centers of population
 The first act contains a discussion of the subject which Trinity sChurcI is handled with gloves.
 Trinity is the owner of large tene- ment house properties in New. York and is credited with opposition te tenement house laws which would ef- feet it's interests.
 The conversat ton is between Irving Lawrence, Barbara Lawrence, his wife and Lincoln Schuyler. a settlement worker. s.ss .-es..- r-..s.-s,-.y.-7 ! Lawrence is a rich man whose in come is derived from tenements. He is the owner of some of the worst cd these houses. Mrs. Lawrence, having engaged also in settlement work, has her attention particularly attracted to
 
 which humanity lives as a swarm. The fire escapes are in badt condition The building inspector has been bribed to leave them so.
 This talk, between the humane, sweet hearted wife and the enthusias- tic and impulsive settlement worker on the one side, and the husband, cold man of business, on the other, becomes typical of the argument between dok- lars and the great modern In0Vement toward social uplift .ss =
 At last Lawrence consents to renew the first escapes, but instead giveS~an order to have them repainted. ' The sex interest hinges about an irr- trigue which the husband has with an- other woman, and about the affection which Schuyler develops for Mrs. Law renee. In the one case the intrigue is continued until it is exposed to the wife, when she receives a Christmas gift intended for the other woman, with note which tells the story. In the other case Mrs. Lawrence and Schuyler separate, never to see each other.
 Thus Mrs Lawrence is not present at the Christmas festival she has ar ranged for the children in her hus- son has gone there with a. maid without the knowledge of the mother.
 The tenement catches fire. The rot ten, repainted fire escapes are useless. Scores are burned to death.
 Perhaps no actress ever has been given greater opportunity to sound the depths of human agony than Miss Nethersole has in the situation now produced.
 In a few breathless moments she learns of the faithlessness of her hus- band. the hopelessness of her love for another man, of the death of the man whom she has loved, and finally of the death of her little boy who did not escape from the h6loca6st his fathers greed had made possi ble.
 Always a finished actress, Miss Nethersole mounted her stairway of grief with consummate skill and gen. ius to a. truly moving climax. She was called before the curtain again and again. |
 The only disagreeable feature con- nected with the performance was the in the galleries, of people who were unable to make up their minds what the play was about, and who, feeling it a duty to do something, laughed. cried and 'barked at most in moments.
 Miss NethersoIess support was of a uniformly high quality. 'The Writ Ing on the Wall' deserves to succeed.