The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-20
mrs. CAMPBELL IN new PLAY
"THE FOOLISH VIRGIN" STRONG
DRAMA, IF IOt YIELD TO IT.
But Sou Mustn't stop 20 Ask IT'S Fidelity
to lIfe-The star Artineiai in Her
Aetfng at Times and the Ending .
weak-The Play u ny Henri hat aiis-.


Actfng at Times and the ENDING e
Weak Play Is ny Henri Bataiis-
Charles Frohman last night gave New
York it's second opportunity OF the pres.
ent season TO witness a play thar had
won a great success in its own count ~
when he produced The Foolish Virgin
a. the knickerbocker Theatre. Again
Henri Bataille was the author Of the
drama, just a. he was OF The Scandal
which disappeared so promptly from
the New York stage The first audience
to hear the new drama welcomed il with
much greater cordially than The Scan
dali evoked.
La Verge Folle- enjoyed great success
In Paris. Racine and Beaumsrthais were
mentioned by the eulogistic compa triots
Of the dramatist with Ibsen As another
implied prototype OF the writer who
achieved such triumph. Possibly
foolish is scarcely the best rendering
Of tho word fo!is. which has a much
stronger significance than the English
substitute. II surely is more than foolish
In a girl 81 IL 10 fall so desperately in love
with a man Of ~ that she consents to
become his mistress although her father
|
gance and the highest standards OF honor
in her life up To the day she met this
serious mai Of affairs twice her age
The Foolish Virgin begins with the
ducal fathers discovery Of his daughter
love. He consults that indispens sable
adjunct 20 all arirtocratic families in
France. the dbbt. and il IL decided that the
| girl may atone for her crime and her
I..... - l..
convent. But before she consents TO go
| there. her father sends for III. wife OF her
lover and acquaints her with the situation
by the delicate -ypedient Of showing her
! the letters that have passed bet ween the
two. She does not assume here or any
where else in the drama the position that
might be expected OF her. She does not
believe that a girl Of I" could be- won
unless she wanted TO. Her view through
out the play is that they had perhaps pes,
be kept together. Only once does her
fidelity to this belief falter,
ThRi is AT the close Of the second act
The eight cen year old ducal daughter
doea not retire TO convent. She goes
instead to one Of those apart nents THAI
seem 80 essential TO all Frenchmen in
plays Sh. joins her lover. and tn. two
prepar. TO fy TO London The wife
follows hem there. brought by an anony
nous letter.
The girls brot Their. who has learned Of
her life. comes later TO kill the seducer
who has brought disgrace on his family.
But the wife keeps him az bay until the
two escape. Her husband and his mis-
tress leave the room on rhe arrival OF the
avenging brother. Sh. tries To pur-
suade him thar after all the two are
perhaps innocent.
As pne talks tn the Young aristoCrat
she hears the motor car waiting IN the
street TO carry the two lovers away. Will
she 20 alone after her husband has seen
her grief and will her husband come
back TO her. She listens, only To learn
that the two start away to the railroad
station Then for the first time she
bursts into bitter reproarhes at mis- heart-
lessness.
The last two acts play IN England
In the third act the Abbt has gone TO
try 10 persuade the girl To return To Paris
That is vain. although the deserted wifi"
Accompanies him She - still willing
that her husband shall belong To the
woman he loves best Her self saoriiic.
has IL. reward In the end her rival
kills herself with the pistol intended
to shoot her lover and avense the honor
Of the family.
The strong dramatic interest Of the
third act in which the wife valkantly de !
tends her husband. held the interest OF
tbs, audience which responded then with !
the nearest approach Ia enthusiasm that |
the new play brought out Whether or
not future audiences will enjoy the drama ,
depends on the extent TO which they |
surrender TO the kill Of the dramari-t
Henri Bataills dissiain. the school Of
Bernstein He will he more Of p~y
biologist than deviser Of technical
Theatres But he seems ia be becoming
a dramatist IN spite Of himself II. IL
unconscio,isly acquiring the right method
Of expressing himself IN the theatre. which
means that he cannot avoid tn. we'll
made play. however heavily the burden
Of his ethics may Ii. on his shoulders
No he has contrived two ab-orbinRly
dramatic scenes in The Foolish Iir-
gin
On their force the play here must
stand OF fall The soul Of the drama 10
after all illusion, Are those people real'
10 the question that every spectator un-
consciously poses ~ the test Of his in
teresr Has that wife acted a. women
under such circumstances do act' Has
that eighseen year old girl. obseSsed with
her passion for a man twice hsr age. es-
tablished in her conduct any other s-in
blsnce 10 reality than any young woman
al that age might do when violent
physical longing completely controlled
her? In the case Of the married lover
there 10 iees difficulty in the diagnosis
Most men who have passed forty enjoy
the sensation Of such intense interest
from very young and attractive women.
Frankly these characters do not possess
illusion for American audiences. To
Paris they may readily have been sb-
sorbing. A young girl who 80 frankly
throws her cap over the mill. even IL Ahe
IL a duke's daughter. 10 very much Of A
novelty and a piquant one a- that But
she possesses no vitality for our eyes
Neither do her associates. so IL IL from
his dramatic mechanics and not from
his truth to life or his study ~ chsrac-
ter-very French character NJ that--that
Bataille's play may hope TO gain popu-
larity here.
There was little distinction in the
acting. Mrs. Patrick Campbell appeared
artificial az the deserted
wife. Adelaide Nowak lacked the unique
for which tho role ~ the dukes
daughter cried in every speech-that ~
physical distinction. but sh. was three
star We're de We're in comparison with
Robert DTouet, who struggled conicalIy
with the problem II the husband who
n u 4 Il Il