The Washington herald., 1910-12-25

The attraction al the New National
Theater for the week Of January >. be
ginning with a holiday matinee on Mon
day. will be John Drew in smith" the
newest comedy by ". Somerset Maug-
ham, which has had three months Of
brilliant success at the Empire TheateT.
New York. Mr.. Maugham's previous COM
edies 10 be done IN this country were
Jack Straw Mrs. Dot" Lady Fred
erick." and Penelope" smith" judg-
ing from critical comment. is vastly SUI
perior to the others, and II gives Mr..
Drew the finest opportunity he has had
in years The character of Smith.
young parior maid. is played by Mary
BOland, last seen here in 'Inconstant
George" Mr.. Drew at the National Will
have the complete original supporting
company from the Empire Theater.
The city" the last play written by
Clyde Fitch, will be shown here by the
Shuberts at the Belasco Theater next
week, with one of the strongest casts
which has been gathered together this
season. The players will include Walter
Hampdeu Eva Vincent. Lucille Watson,
Mary Nash. George Howell, Janet Beech
er. and Tully Marshall
Mr. Fitch always had the happy faculty
OF selecting some theme upon which 10
base his story. 1t was seldom a platitude
and more often a psychological problem
In 1.-THE City" ne adheres 20 the belief
that the good in man is brought out only
when he enters into the trying life of
large city, and it requires more deter
mination and will power to keep at ebb
whatever tendencies for evil one may
have while living in a city than IN
small town.
He takes all of his characters, there
fore, from a little village in New York
State and brings them 10 New York. The
central figure is George Rand, jr.. whose
father has left him an enormous fortune
In addition to the money, however, the
son has inherited his fathers tendency
for sharp business methods, and after the
boy has doubled his inheritance several
times. he does not realize that he has
done so as the result of practices which
may well be characterized as dishonest
II develops that the elder Rand has an
illegitimate son whose existence was first
communicated TO Rand junior at the
deathbed OF his father Some years later
this Legitimate son falls in love with the
younger sister Of Rand. and as both are
AaiioN d e VI Atit EtNltA AcNhNA IA NAAN
heart of Rand, they appeal TO him
for permission TO make them happy.
1t is here that Mr.. Fitch has sounded the
deepest note of tragedy every penned
by this prolific and masterful playwright.
1t is the turning point Of the whole play.
The characters having come from the
country 10 the city now return TO their
first abode, where the story. having run
the entire gamut Of emotions, moves
swiftly to "a pleasant and satisfactory |
ending.
1t is said that Mr. Fitch has drawn /
from the recent history of a well-knoWn /
financial operator. who is now in prison !
There is a slight comparison in that the
man in question came from a small VII
lage in New York. rising from total oo-
security to a conspicuous place In finance
not only of New York, but all America
II is TO Egypt. the mother OF Western
that Miss Ruth st. Denis
has gone for the new dances in which
he win appear. in conjunction with the
Imperial Russian Court Balalaika Or
shestra at the Columbia Theater dur
ng the week of January .. Miss St.
Denis vii. be remembered for her artistic
representation of the esthetic side Of
he HindoO religion in the dances which
she presented last season. and it is