The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-06
JUSTICE TO A PLAYWRIGHT
1.-THE MOLLUSC" To BE DONE
AS ITS AUTHOR INTENDED.
How Sir Charles wyndham VIII Help
Make Amends for the Professional
Sins OF Joseph Co,ne-Mr. sOthern
and Miss Muriowe IN Shak espeare.

Make Amends FOR the professional
Sins Of Joseph Co,ne-Mr. sOthern
and Miss Murlowe IN Shak espeare.
II isn't very often that a theatrical
season 80 nearly ended affords an oppor-
tunity TO see In one week in this town
four such distinguished players as Julia
, Narlowe, Mary Moore. Sir Charles Wynd-
nam and Z. H. Sothern. Yet this Is the
nnnortunity that Is offered this week to
local theatregoers, Miss Marlowe and Mr..
Sothern in Hamlet and Miss Moore and
Sir Charles in -The Mollusc,7 The Eng
lish Knight says that he did not start on
bis journey to this country with any idea
Of appearing on the American stage, but
to see q performance OF a play o popu-
lar here, the English rights TO which he
holds. Miss Moore came along because
She is going to play the chief feminine
part in the piece; but the Frohman
office. finding the Empire Theatre stage
empty by reason of Miss Adams's re-
bearsals for The Maid of Orleans" to be
performed at the Harvard stadium on
June "a, conceived the notion of psrsuad-
ing Sir Charles to play in The Molluso"
for a fortnight. So the thing was ar
ranged by wireless, the arrangements
being particularly simple because the cast
OF the play is very small.
On the whole, though We have seen
THE Mollusc- here already, this arrange
nent will be very well worth while, be-
cause, though we have seen The Mol
lusc,- we haven't seen it at its best. It's
author, H. II. Davies, is a man who gets
his big results by means OF a series OF
microscopic details. He would have
been an excellent cameo maker If he
hadn't turned out to be a playwright.
When We saw The Mollusc" here last
autumn the leading feminine part was
played by Alexandra Carlisle, and very
well played il was. 1t will be interesting
to compare her methods with those OF
Miss Moore. Miss Moore is a much older
actress than Miss Carlisle and lacks some
OF the personal fascination that the latter
young woman exhibits, but she Ia q nm
ished and intelligent actress with a long
and honorable record of successful i'm
presentations. especially in the field OF
light comedy. When it comes to the
chief masculine part Of the play the con
trsst will be even stronger. Sir Charles
Wyndham is now very nearly 30 years
old. He made his first appearance on
the stage in this country in 1865 with John
Wilkes Booth only a few weeks before
Booth a~ssassinated President Lincoln.
This gives him a stage career of nearly
forty-fve years. for he has been playing
ever since.
The part which Sir Charles will play
was originally assigned for the American
~-~I,,o,;op to Rr,ca NcEae who is nv the
way, anephew Of Sir Charles, but for some
reason unexplained a change was made
and Joseph Coyne was selected IN his
place. Coyne had just been successful
Ia the London production OF The Merry
widow" He was highly unsuccessful in
The Mollusc." and why it was ever
imagined that he could properly imper-
sonate such a character. involving as II
does the daintiest and subtlest kind OF
modsrn high comedy. it is hard TO see.
Anyhow Coyne played it very much as
II II were musical comedy and much OF
the plays comparative failure here was
Enthusiastically due to his presence in the
cast. Sir Charles is about twice Coyne's
are IN years and about a century older
In professional skill. With him and Miss
Moore in the cast we shall now have a
chance to see something like The Mol
lusc" as its author wrote it. 1t is the best
play OF its kind that has appeared here
this season and the production that is
now made Of it constitutes a sort Of belated
justice TO its author.
The initiative faculty is admittedly
strong In the actor. Recent developments
T., th;s ,;tp apopbaeiza the fapr that IL "a
still stronger among those persons who
are RESPONSIBLE for the character Of many
OF the plays that reach our stage, With
the great material success of Eugene
Walters play about the losing fight oil
a weak woman to be decent it became
practically certain that there would
soon be a young food of plays dealing
with approximately the sane subject,
The flood has begun to arrive. The only
wonder is that it was so long in coming
One Of tho first fruits of the peculiar
belief that the public's liking for certain
kinds OF plays goes in streaks If The
Narrow Path" which had a run OF one
consecutive night last week. There was
absolutely nothing to commend it. Ii
wa poorly constructed, there were few
rood lines and the characters were feehly
drawn. The manager IN set II forward
on the stage must have been induced &c
do so solely because another play on a
like theme had been successful.
This manage reaped the reward thai
was his due. 1t was the same reward
that will always follow the acceptance ol
the silly theory that the theatregoins
public gets a craze for this or that sor,
oil 4 play. When The Prisoner of Zenda
was dramatized and proved successful
there followed a perfect avalanche ot
swashbuckling romance in sta &c form
When "Too Much Johnson hit the bulls
eve there followed a stream of farce
After Secret Service" We had many
melodramas The public wants melo,
drama was the rallying cry OF the man,
ayers, and many Of them marched Il
failure with that cry on their lips ane
that queer belief in their hearts As {
matter Of fact the public didn't wan
melodrama. il didn't want farce, it didn't
want sw~ashbuckling, 1t wanted what il
always wants-good plays. 1t didn'
want then any more than IT does now hac
limitations Of good plays. The theatrica
public Is really a good deal more intalli,
gent than 1t often gets credit for being
1t Is frequently far from impeecable or