New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-11-16
THE DRAMA
Blanche Bates in "Nobody's
Widow" at Hudson Theatre.

! 7alf the audience sat bored ana ill.,.
lille the other half applauded ara 49,
ord kept the curtain bobbing Tn and a.,
&c the noisy portion of the crowd ~
hIa5 for a speech After the sctor. 81
bowed as often as need be. and Mr. pa,aaoo
had thrice appeared coyly at one ar+ra-,o.
nushing or dragging on the author ~
wore the appropriate look of bewiIsarr,e,+
attempts at further demonstrate, ,rara
abandoned No speech was delivered tho
curtain remained Gown, after MANY os
cents the lights were turned up and nor
sons who had kept their heads in tho b,,uo
haIoo asked each other what had oooo
stoned the tumult.
Miss Blanche Bates. in the character Of
Roxana Clayton, had said: Marry Won,
Damn YOU! at the end of the second act
and, according to the rules of the Dramat
lists Correspondence School, an audience
is compelled to applaud this elevated senti-
ment when il falls from the Inns of a
heroine, as it often does fall in conten-
porary plays. Half the audience beloved
with admiration al this subtle stroke. Mr..
Avery Hopwood had at last fallen into the
right hands Through two acts he had
been laboriously climbing toward the COM
manding height of that sweet feminine
oath: and Mr.. Belasco had spared no ex-
pense in furnishing the piece, for that
demonstrating climax. It is something to
have lived for achievement so fine In
the third act another lacy, not Roxana, but
RoXaua's hostess, Betty Jackson, said that
her lover threatened to go to New York
or to hell, or somewhere" And again 10y
reigned in half of the front of the house
The first chapter of the primary text book
in the Dramatists Correspondence School
points the way to these sublime reaches of
undying art L was hardly to be eX
pected that Mr. Hopwood. after his sue
cess with Seven Days" would think it
necessary to enroll himself for a term
with the D c. /. In Seven Days" he had
written or had collaborated, in the writing
of q highly successful farce free from
coarseness and without a second of dull
ness. But II seems that he yeaTned for
higher things. Whatever his yearning, he
has now achieved the distinction of writing
q farce of quite astounding duiness: one
in which an appalling poverty Of invention
is offset only by such tender and delicate
word painting as the quotations in EX-
hibits A, B. {, d.
The worst name my husband ever called
RE was .Angora'" How glistening the VII!
i called him 'Hyena.' " Can the fountains
of wonder surpass. or even equal THESE
shafts of repartee? What this farce Jacks
is a slap-stick and hot painted) irons. ana
a game of leap-frog over the chairs. For
high as the author has climbed on the
steeps of Olympus there are more COM
nanding perches beyond Sometimes. on
Tuesday night one almost thought that the
wings Of the playwright's genius would
transport him far above this sodden earth
but. alas! he few no higher than the sweet
oaths of his principal ladies' To be sure,
that is flying very high indeed
That the story of the ''farcical romance
which bears the title OF ''Nobody's Widow
is as the saying goes, improbable Is IN
keeping with the fitness of things; prop
ability would wreck any farce. But TINS
story has such slender merit that repeating
il would break the thread The piece is
rather funny in the first act less funny IN
the second act. not al ali funny in the third
act and frequently sleepy in spots. Some
times il leans toward comedy, sometimes
toward a sterner form of drama II Is
many things by turns and nothing long.
Stripped of the tasteful Belascoan mount
ings. it would not last long in New
York. At least three characters out OF
eight have nothing whatever to do with
the play. The others do all they can, and
do # well. Miss Blanche Bates for one,
Mr. Bruce McRae for another, Miss AIDE
laide Prince for third. But can artists
like Miss Bates and Mr.. McRae, capable
though they are, capable as every one
knows them to be, ever be fine enough.
strong enough. worthy to endure in that
cloud-topped temple Of dramatic art where,
in rarefied air. a consecrated imagination
spins the web Of such a work as
''Nobody's Widow? Mr.. HopWood was do
ing very we'll before he entered the d {.
/ and studied the colored postcards OF
the master. If he will keep nearer our
mother earth and the ideals of the plain
people he may, perchance, live in their
hearts. Now does he not fly over their
heads like JohnstOne-speck in the all /
ether? Swing low, sweet chariot.
and bring the celestial wit to a level where
general human appreciation IS possible
A W.
CAST OF .NOBODYS WIDOW"
Po,ana CLAYTON. ............ Blanche Bates |
Betty jackson .Adelalde friiCe
Countess Manuela Valencia Edith Campoei /
Fanny Owens. .....-....... Dorothy Shotnlahet
Duke of MOreland. bruce hcfNaT
Ned Stephens. f<ex McI1oustI /