The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-09-20
NEW COMEDY BRINGS DELIGHT
"DEIORtTING CLENENTINE" IS
MORE THAN 4 Success.
Comedy From the French, with q. p.
HuntI~, and Hattie Williams as stars,
CApih ates 81 ITS FIRST Presentation
q We'll balanced Cast In the Play.

Hs-tte Williams and O. p Iluntley.
F-s.ciated With some other popular New
Work actors. came last night to the
Ivcaum Theatre To occupy the stage
recently hrd by the manifestations -;
Nj An-tey's jimmie and the other speci
Ir.ns u tpp. too solid British humnr thar
sTha Brass Bottle contained The new
IIav Is much better s,iited tn the ariS'p-
cratic pr f,sssional character % Daniel
frnhmau- theatre than its predecessor.
J. proved tn br a delightful c.ued,' acted
Nh such rare skill IN every detail tina,
th- W,4l worn aud odd word SUCCESS - a
weak description u the evenings tTium-
plant result
Decorating Clementine- IL tn" English
form uf the comedy by Mm de Caillavet
AMI dc Fler-. which as lie Bots Sacre'
enjoyed uncummom favor for several
months At tho Varieties. In Paris its
ca IN IN the Ministry ot Fine Arts. the
sacred wood in which Apollo and the
muses. meet. had a significance which New
YORK. audiences would have taken little
Interest in. That element of the PLAY,
however Was not essential and he comedy
when deprived Of II remains an admira-
HE specimen of the lighter plays that the
Partisan dramAtists are sending To this
country to-day. They are an improve
mant in every way over the old machine
made farces thai were imported from the
PalAis Royal with their philandering
husbands. deceived wives. pstIiss ismmCs
81 me kind or another. and the whole ont.
m hat composed the d-dHchs person in
these highly conventionalized studies Of
Partisan life.
IL was Alfred Capus who in LES Deux
Fcoes.- first thought Of putting variety
into the old forms and enrichins the frame
Cf this kind OF play with the adornmani
81 some elements that might plausibly
have come out Of life and some character
ization bearing recognizable relation
20 humanity. The flower ~ this tendency
in modern French comedies, II not the
finest type. IL to he found in the writings
Of NM. de Caillaret and Flars But the
revolt against the tiresome old manner
began with NJ. Capus.
Decorating Clementine- has for -
heroine the happy wife Of an unlterary
sportsman. She has written popular
novels. as other ladies Of fashion have I
done before her. and IL satisfied with the |
admiration her work brings until she I
hears that one of her rivals Is to h" d"yo- .
rated with tho Cross OF the Logon Of /
Honor
Then she decides that without this dis I
tinction life will always h. unhappy
Her e1orts - win the order take nor 10 4
the once Of the husband Of her friend 1
who distributes these coveted rewards |
He u much too eXigent in his expressions
OF feeling. howe ard anxious a. she
IL for the cross the fashionable author.--
retires defeated from her first effort n /
IL then that she thinks her husband may
AZ last 10 Of assistance to her IN her liter
arv career. He may make love To her
friend " no will thus influence her husband
to hand over the hit ~ red ribbon This
scheme promises to involve her in more
unhappine@s than the honor 81 the decora-
ton could ever offset. - her husband
love affair with her friend threatens 90 h--
come too serious. When she eventually
gets the decoration. however. her tickle
friend consents 90 take another adnnir~r
and the literary heroine has both the love
81 her husband and the ign Of her liter
AIRY prominence.
There was something more than N"
action Of Decorating CleU"nfins' 20 on
terrain the audience last night and this
- by no means true 81 all Transitions 4
foreign plays. even when they pp-s"ss a
wit capable 81 being made effective n
English. Gladys Unger. who made the
English form % the play. however. COY
trived to transfer it, sparkle to another
tongue and nd even gave S measure SI OF dhyer
local application. Her tack must have
been materially lightened in this partIcu-
lar 10y the atmosphere which the stage
manage and the actors maintained. That
rare Illusion % reality IN n French DlaV
when acted by Americans ~ seldom met
with Vet there had evidently l.aan a
ca reful and certainly successful attempt
- preserve the feeling - the original. and
herein Law the cause 81 much II the stC-
Cos- that came so fully 10 the perform A.,
ancp. Il
Hattie Williams has rarely been - well
suited as with the part Of this conicuted ,
Sos al her happiness begin to slip away '
from her IN the excitement 81 the chase {
fur me red ribbon. She acted with un- :
Tagging humor and vivacity, without go ,
? rns 20 any actress and with a degree
81 finish that her methods have not al
- avs shown. But u ~ true that sh. has
t"Iiom had "A part so well worth acting :
@ p Huntley laid on his fun with a
brad brush occasionally, but as the :
.snt rir Russian impresario 81 tho i'm ,
I era ba i.' mis- part lay well in the domain
= rIr.-que NJ certain points And ia.
r.,'.rAss ~ his humor Justified las ncca- :
s..Htl "xtravaSancie- Doris Mean" a.
fDs ai-ratious wife - the Minister 81 8
: wee Arts. who Described herself - JI~' y
o '''a Wild animal with sharp teeth.
l".",l"d talent for comedy sh. had =
90. "- been suspected 81 possessing.
{ ,v.i her long scenes with charming I,
.-.a.v and whimsicialty. Her personal '
| ..' ness and frank aha ndonment tn the =
s"'. -u"nt u her sceneS we're a powerful ,
factor N her little triumph. Her role was Y
-..'" A. important as any in the play and u
$40 fully shared the honor 81 the two
-
70 vas a relief 20 find all the actors !.
rtsa..a and moreover. Ia observe the
".ru 'akan to make characters Of even
rho .HIrd!nata PARTS effective. Every q
ona 'ad - Individuality. Lewis Massen
~ o.. Minister 81 fine arts. Richie Lang
a. 1" sporting husband q the novelist
~-a~' IavfOrd a. the incidental visitor a.
Id , rnderIck Powell as the observing
30" az A. The ministry contributed
'rr- -har. - the smoothness Of the
70; -ar'ation IN which Gail Kane IN /
'T. -.af episodes showed that new p