Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-20
AT the Theaters

''The writing ON the waIr' ne the
Brandeis.
Olga Nethersols and company in THE
Writing On the Wall" q drama in three
acts, by William ], Hurlburt; under d.
rection of Wallace Munroe. The cast:
Irving Lawrence........ Mr. Harrison Hunter
Baroara Lawrence. Miss Olga Nethersole
19N.Sl thelT onho ..s....., MISS Joe wallace
Muriel Lawrence Irvlngs sister......,..
....,,,.......... Miss Lillian Stafford
John Trainor lrving's seeretary".,,",...
Stella Trainor Harry's governess. .''
..,...... Miss Charlotte Tittell
Gordon Payne engaged 20 Muriel......
Lincoln scbuylSr'''''''M M anes mes, o. p, Ross
Peters, manservant. Mr.. Frederick Browne
Christine, maid....,,.,....,..M Miss Arnold
In little speech, after tho fall Of the
last curtain at the Brandeis last night Miss
Nethersole said that a number OF tenement
houses in New York had been torn down
and remodeled since the production OF her
play, THE Writing On the WALL" in that
city It Is hoped that this is due to the
fact that the play was produced, for that
would Indicate that the New York land
lords heart is not encased in a harveyized
steel box, as has often been suggested But
the expose Of Trinity's connection with the
tenement scandal, as we'll as efforts put
forth by a number Of interested and de-
termined organizations, such as are repre-
sented in the play by Lincoln Schuyler,
may have had some effect on the reform
Seventy-three was the number stated by
Miss Nethersole; q magic resides In that
number, for 1t was long ago adopted by the
telegraphers Of the world as a signal Of
greeting and felicitatlon, and ought to prove
so in this instance, At any rate, Miss
Nethersole has proven her serious purpose
In this and other things she has undertaken
IN the work Of making the world a better
place to live in, and II the lesson OF the
Hurlburt play carries with It such convic-
tion as will aid in solving the problem of
housing the people in the cities, especially
the poor, it will be because 1t has been
presented in a convincing way.
Badly, the story Is that OF a man who
thinks Of himself; his income is derived
from tenements he knows to be unfit for
human habitation. When pleaded with by
his wife, he makes promises, but does not
keep them. Her notions OF reform would
cost him money II carried into effect, and
he wants the money for his own uses. So
instead of putting UP the new fire escapes
and making that much for safety, he pri-
vately orders his secretary to have the
old ones painted to look like new. And
when the fire breaks out, his own baby
boy Is caught with the others and burned
to death. But tho man had also deceived
the wife in another way, and had kept up
his connection with the other woman after
he had given his word that the affair was
ended The money that would have gone
to build fire escapes was spent in buying
a costly necklace of pearls for this woman,
which fell into the hands OF the wife. She
had listened to confession Of love from
a man she loved, but had sent him away,
that she might give her life to her boy.
And both boy and lover were burned in
the fire that destroyed the tenement her
husband owned. Crushed under this. and
with arrest awaiting him, the husband
turns to the wife and begs her to go on
with him and begin anew. She is willing
II he will start right, and he agrees to
do It.
Incidental is a terrible arraignment of
the landlord system. Trinity comes in for
share OF the denunciation, and we see
a prospective bride accepting a string of
emeralds and a set of sables she knows
were purchased by money paid as rent for
houses used for immoral purposes by the
lowest of outcasts. We also see young
man acting as pander for his employer, be-
cause II means high pay for little work
and a chance TO get to a point Of worldly
possessions where, to use his own words,
"I can enjoy spending money without get
ting drunk"
Miss Nethersole shows In the wife all
that mastery of detail that has marked
her as among the foremost of actresses.
She creates the character with the warm
glow of her own impulsive personality, and
moves Il through the atmosphere Of sordid
selfishness without distorting its dramatic
value at a single point. In the early scenes
she iB the loving mother and the faithful
wife. but woman as well, whose gener-
osity and sense of justice urge her to ask
her husband to assist In remedyinR so much
of the evil as he is personally responsible
for. When the mood shifts, she is still the
woman, but in the moment Of her deepest
grief she forces home to her husband his
fault, and insists on his coming up out Of
the muck. No mock herolcs mar this phase
Of the play or the manner of its playing;
her attitude is logical and convincing, and
her conclusion is a triumph for her argu-
ment.
Mr. Hunter is we'll cast for the role Of
the husband, acting with convincing sin
certify, even TO the very last, where he
finally gives way under the weight that
has crushed him and agrees to follow his
wifs's lead and start anew and honestly.
Miss Charlotte Tittell makes much out OF
small part, and Mr.. Ross, Mr.. Mott and
Mr. Perry are also sharers in the credit
for the success Of the whole. It has been
a long time since a play staged with such
an effective background has been seen in
Omaha. Miss Nethersole gives much at
tentlon to details, and in this she has over
looked no point.
This afternoon Miss Nethersole will pre-
sent Camille" a role In which she is very
strong, and which she will give in the
costumes Of 1881 For the evening perform
ance she will play another Of her powerful
creations that Of Fanny LeGrande In
Clyde Fitch's famous play "sapho'" based
on the Daudet novel,
1 EGAcY FOR MRS. JlBERTS0N