The Washington times., 1909-02-23
Vrae Action and Sparkling
Lines Mark Early Walter Pay
Seen at Columbia This Week

Z ter. production with even louder &C
/ claim.
There is not space TO tell of a com
/ pany justifyinS superlatives that would
/ sound overweight. There is not time
TO point out the details Of staging
/ which make this play vie with the pro-
ductlon staged by the master hand Of
David BelaScO.
But It is time that theatergoers
pause TO recognize the merit OF this
Young playwright and try to appreciate
Just what his work represents.
clyde Fitch, while by no means a
dramatist of any high degree Of power,
| has long been recognized as a master
/ OF construction and in some degree the
exponent of the ultra-mOdeTn school Of
dramdtlStS Eugene Walter has ac-
/ CURED much OF the technique OF Clyde
, Fitch, and combined that with a native
! aDllltN 10 conceive dramatic situations
OF telling force and TO work these out
WIN the lneXorable logic in which lies
the mooted secret OF action"
Mr.. Walter has been scored by \ critic
VINO stands near the top of his profess
sion, for the Introduction Of the mother
ln-law and the sister-in-law, who. this
writer declares, are too nearly CariCa-
lures TO be in keeping with the motif
OF the play. But 1t can hardly be
charged that they are eXtTaneOuS. They
are not there 20 furnish n comedy re-
Ilet, a la Shakespeare. They are there
because they have a direct bearing on
the pre-eXisting circumstances OF the
hrSt act They form one link in the
chain Of circumstances which drives
this weaklng to theft And they are
wonderfully true to life.
Criticisms Not Justified
Nor has the author escaped indictments
on other counts.
Does "Jimsie's" speech smack too
much Of the made-to-order slang? Hard
~, or ''Jimsie'' would not be one of the
most lovable and human characters in
the play
Is Joseph Brooks an unmitigated cad2
He Is, but that is hardly a fault of con-
Suuction- For he is a type pictured
with fidelity 10 the model and invested
with personality that. Of necessity,
brings out the worst phase of his ma
ture. Not only that but he is a vital
eleTsent in the construction OF the play.
Were he any less puEnant the ending
would not find Justification.
Does the language fail TO measure up
r. the excellent prose Of THE Great d.
vide2' Nj. Walter is not like Mr..
Moody, poet as well as playwright.
But every line bears the stamp or sin
Cerity and drives straight home, which
is, perhaps, a higher achievement.
"Jimsie" INDICATED.
PopgunS and heavy gatlings have
been leveled at the passage in
which ''Jimsie" pictures. to the woman
he loves, the stigma Of his birth. Here.
doubtless, all traditions demand that
the speaker, cast off mis- home-spun dia-
lect and embark on a stately TRADE Of
measured prose with, perhaps, Sug-
gCStinn OF blank verse. Such are the
traditions that Nj Walter is bUffetlug.
The higher art that is truth demand
that ''Jimsie' should be natural,
should, 70 quote him. avoid celestial
badges" and the finest touch OF all IS
a
this strong man holsters up his courage
90 finish the story.
II is unfortunate for the cast, but only
fair that just once the tables should be
reversed and space devoted TO the play
At the expense Of the actors. The act
ing Is worth notice Of it's own. Guy
Bates Post. Julia Dean. and Ben John
son deserve the highest praise. Both
praise and admiration should be the
share Of William Riley Hatch. as the
weather beaten captain. character
that deserves a third story all its own.
7. r. HILDEBRAND.