Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-10

WASHINGTON engagement that it was
doomed to the storehouse. 1t va
ried the program. Instead OF start
,ne here as so many plays did last sea-
aon IL selected this city as its finishing
point It was unsparingly roasted IT
was bombarded from all sides with no
more mercy than a crowd OF boys would
have for a sick kitten; and 1t was not
a very prepossessing kitten. anyhow. me
best that can be said for it is that more
objectionable specimens Of its kind had
survived claws and all, to disturb the
peace and quiet of conservative taste.
Rut the failure Of THE Only Law Of
fers no balm to wounded moral sensl-
bilities. The play failed not because or
its pictures of abandoned characters, put
because these characters were not con-
sistent in their depravity. The story soon
overcame the prejudice which the hoto-
riety attached to its authorship had ere
ated. by a f1nesse of plot and vigor of
dialogue which compelled admiration LOT
the skill displayed, If not for the purpose
to which it was applied. But the play
deliberately committed suicide in the last
act After fine struggle which prom
ised a robust existence it lay down. took
with the sound of wedding bells in the
distance Everybody was made happy
except the graceless young cad. the worst
role and the best acted in the play. who
had not sense enough to be happy. any
how. How a play which showed such
competence in it's structure should have
been warped and strained at the very
end into such impossible shape is one
of the mysteries Of stage production. con-
corning which the outsider can do no
more than vaguely conjecture. Its loss
to the footlights is surely ca
lamity. 1t means at least one less Of the
buzzng Broadway swarm engendered by
THE Easiest Way
Via Wireless came back in smoother
shape than before. Some of the char
acters are not so we'll acted as at the
opening of the piece, but the story is
improved by the omission of what the
producer had evidently designed as 1.-The
big scene" The representation of the
foundry which introduced d supposed red
hot gun was not attempted this time
The wire and canvas structure construct
ed to portray the gun was a palpable
device. 1t was compared to an illumi-
mated sausage, and it's failure to re-
appear betokenS discretion. The play has
improved, as it has been made to de-
pend more on its five authors and less
on its fifty or so scene shutters. But the
mechanical appeal to the eye is essential
and Is worked out in a manner worthy
of Its producers Coney Island and Hip
podrome training. 1t Is essentially and
stupendously Thomsonesque.
Via Wireless may have one advan-
tage which has escaped notice. There is
no denying that the play is badly melo-
dramatic despite the pretty little love
scene describing the tender message
waited into space by the lady operator
and the excellent comedy of the minor
characters. But there Is a sense of ex-
hilaration in the auditorium which dulls
the analytical brain and creates an ir-
resistible impulse to help the actors whoop
things up. The audience applauds in
sort Of ecstasy. 1t Is the Joy Of physical
demonstration. The scene in which the
terrible struggle Of the young wireless
operator with a set of batteries occupies
so much time is a great continuous cleo
trio spark. The atmospheric disturbance
and readjustment caused by so much
electrical activity is considerable. Very
possibly the producers builded better than
they knew when they put that big
sparkling apparatus into operation. With
SO much ozone in the air no audience
can fail to feel invigorated and enthusi-
aStic.
THE Newlyweds and Their Baby be-
longs to class of productions known as
cartoon comedies. They are seldom SUBJ
Hfo Jofo aI 1fc
newspapers for the amusement of their
younger readers can hardly be sufficiently
general in their appeal to satisfy the
tastes of an average audience. And the
subtle humor which the artist may have
been able to convey in clever turns of
pose and facial expression are usually lost
when the musical comedian undertakes
to turn the creations into flesh and blood.
THE Newlyweds and Their Baby was
amusing in number Of scenes, owing to
the impersonation Of an infant and a mu-
scum dwarf by the diminutive Mr.. Rosen,
who, though tiny, is a first-rate enter
tafner- The company is recruited from
players evidently accustomed to broad
farcical methods. Perhaps the suggestion
is hypercritical. but there is one gentle
man In the cast who should be prayer
fully labored with until he can say "su-
perf1uous" instead Of "supurfellus.'
PIIILANDER JOHNSON.
SICILIAN SINGERS. Royal opera
houses are plentiful in Italy, where
severy large city has its own opera house
and permanent company Of artists. Milan
7 Is q famous instance In that land the
I love Of grand opera is inherent. and as
soon as a lad learns to whistle he can be
heard piping the grand melodies from the
works Of the old composers. Messina,
which before the earthquake was little
known TO the outside world, possessed a
royal opera house and a company of sing
ers. who produced grand operas at stated
periods during the years From such as
these have come Caruso and other finds
in recent years by Hammersten, Con-
ried and the other distinguished impre-
-sArios. At the time of the earthquake
the Siciaian Grand Opera Company was
occupying the Messina house. and in the
catastrophe following the shocks two
members Of the organization lost their
lives. their bodies never having been re-
covered from the ruins The direc or
was Signor De Caro-, the same notable
Italian musician who is now in this coun-
try. The blow to the members of the
opera company was most disheartening,
as they lost everything they possessed on
earth, added to which were the lives of
their two associates. Signor De Caro-
conceived the idea Of leaving the sad
hohf It'd an@ 81 ~