New-York tribune., 1909-10-28
THE DRAMA
KYRLE BELLEw IN NEW PLAY.
The Builder of Bridges at the Hud-
son Theatre.

The acting OF Mr.. KyrIe BeIlev always
gives pleasure TO those patrons OF the thea
ire who know what acting Is In the new
play oy Alfred SutrO. at the Hudson Thea
tire. Mr. BeIew delights the spectators BY
the charm or his personality and the jewell
Ike finish OF his art. This new play. The
Builder Of Bridges" win owe whatever sue
cess awaits it in New York TO the acting
OF Mr. Bellew. Mr.. Ernest StalIard. Mr.. De
Witt c. Jennings and Mrs. Thomas whIf-
fen. Very earnest and good work Is that
of young Mr.. Eugene O'Brien. and II de-
serves mention. but the other four players
have the skill which comes with experience.
the conviction which comes with skill: they
are always in the picture. and what they
DO could not be better done.
The play is not a great play by any
means. but # is a clean AMI entertaining
one. II concerns the course of the love
making of a middle-aged civil engineer
who is enchanted by a young woman VINO
makes use of him TO save her embezzling
young brother from arrest and disgrace
The brother is a decent youth. who has
fallen a victim 10 the bucketshops- All
the while the young woman. Dorothy
Faringay. is betrothed to a schOoIfellow
OF her brother. a circumstance which does
not prevent her from engaging herself 10
Edward ThUrsfeid the civil engineer,
whom she intends to throw over as soon
as her brother is extTicated from his
troubles. Thursfeld discovers her unpleas-
an scheme. rebgzes her. Of course. and her
brother. and resolves to leave England for
RhOdesia, where another bridge Is to be
built Dorothy. meanwhile. finds that she
really loves him. and not the youth 70
whom she Is engaged. and whom she has
contemptibly treated (she has a remark
able faculty for treating everybody in a
contemplate fashion,, and disclosing her
better nature 10 the elder man, wins back
his devotion. and everythingc ends happily
for this pair of lovers.
The defect of the presentation OF this
play is n the actress who has been chosen
for the part of Dorothy. II is an Ungra-
Cious part at the best. and it needs an in
terpreter who can make the audience SYM
pathize with the troubled girl. Miss GLADYS
Hanson is unable to secure this result And
she is most unskilfuI in the delivery Of her
lines. So is Mr.. Frank Connor. the young
lover, in the delivery OF his lines There
fore too little OF the authors intent crosses
the footlights. ard some Of the dialogue be-
comes almost unintelligible. How is 1t that
young actors can appear with Mr.. Bellew
and not learn how TO carry themselves nd
how TO speak their native language Is &C
tors should speak it?
Mr.. Bellew is most ably supported BY tho
other players who have been mentioned
here. There are capital scenes TO which
Mr.. Rellew and Messrs. Stallard and Jen-
nings impart the true spirit Of comedy
scenes which in themselves are worth a
visit to the theatre.
These actors understand the business OF
their calling And So as everybody knows.
does that favorite of many years. Mrs.
Whiffen. When any one of these players
is or the stage cOntentment comes upSn
the spectators; when all of them are pres
ent the satisfaction OF the auditors Is
keen. 1t is worth while commenting upon
the excellence of the work of these four.
Messrs. Bellew, StalIard. Jennings and
Mrs. Whiffen, because such satisfaction as
they give is obtained too rarely in con-
temporary performances These actors
know how TO speak. and how TO move. and
how TO be still. These attributes are
among the very rudments OF stage PLAY
ing, and yet how few Of the innumerable
players Of the time know anything, or
care to know anything. about the eIemen-
tary principles OF their art. Playgoers.
who were fortunate enough TO see Mr.
BeUeW as orlando, thirty years ago. al
the old Imperial Theatre in London. when
Miss Marie Litton was the Rosalind, and
Herman Vein and William Farren were
in the cast, recall a production of '.As
You Like It. which the more gorgeous
decades that have followed have not sur
passed in true Shakespeariln savOr- tx
cepting that his hair is white now and
his art has msllowed, Kyrle Bellew seems
TO have retained the spirit and the gift of
youth. He has a grace and figure that
time has not touched; a voice whose tones
and cIearness have lost nothing since the
days when he was leading man with Les
ter Wallack; a technique that he mas
tered when players could win no recog-
milton without grounding themselves il
the \ C's OF their profession. But IL
is the fashion nowadays TO think that nay
ure and managers do everything. and art
nothing. for actors. How should many
think otherwise when stars are tossed
from their cradles 10 tho stage. il they are
rot roped in at hazard from the crowdcd
streets? \. ".