New-York tribune., 1910-01-20
DRAMA
"The Faith Healer" at the
lSaUog Theatre.

Last night Mr. William Vaughn Moody,
with the assistance of Mr. Henry Miller
and other actors. expounded his ideas upon
faith healing. Mr.. Moody may have given
profound study to the subject, but he does
not appear to have done SO. His work is
very honest, very earnest, most high-mind-
ed. but all the honesty. earnestness, high
mindedness in the world cannot, of them
selves alone, transform a two-hour SER
mon into a good play. Mr.. Moodys idea
of faith healing is primitive in its form
and application: II holds that faith I'm
something outside ourselves, something as
strange and distant as the skies, is essen
tiai to the healing of the flesh, and coupled
with this is faith in the proclaimed healer
This he regards as fundamental. He has
the faith healer do all the work. He seems
not TO have heard of any school which
teaches that the body is the Temple of the
Living God. and hence that within ones
self abides the healing power. This school
will at least dissent from Mr. Moody's
presentation of the subject. and perhaps
some dissenter will write another play for
the purpose Of setting forth the teaching.
1t may be thought just as well to leave the
discussion to experime1ters in dramatic
handling of the theme, but, if plays are
performed to this end. the critics of plays
may. If they choose. voice their own
thoughts on the matter
That task, however. is not chosen by the
present chronicler. who. if he is to consider
faith healing, mental healing, Christian
Science, or whatever name may be given
10 the teaching, prefers 10 study under pro-
1essed practicers of the methods rather
than under the professors of footlight
presentation And so. one thinks. the pub
a. Will r,rafa-
hglon astronomy. mathematics. aerial
navigation, and so following, from the per-
sons best qualified to impart the truths.
Mr.. Moody's play is called '"The Faith
Healer And the faith healer, one Ulrich
Michaeis, is impersonated by Mr. Henry
Miller, whose performance is very good
one indeed. If IL may be said that a per-
1ormance is very good when it does not
convince To be sure, Mr.. Miller convtnces
ms audience of his own sincerity as one
who is trying TO convince certain plain peo-
pie of Missouri that he is a faith healer
but his acting does not convince the audi
ence that Michaelis heals by faith He
thinks he does, which is quite another mat
ter Again. he thinks he does not, which
is more to the point
MlchaeIis appears at Missouri farm
and the mistress Of the household, after
having been an invalid for several years
and unable TO walk, is suddenly cured
through her faith in him. All the ailing
of the adjacent population assemble and
ask to be healed But Michaelis has looked
upon woman, d girl Of the household,
whom he has known only three days, and
his power of healing departs from him
He has looked, and nothing more, but even
this he considers sinful. His patient the
farm mistress. falls into a relapse, and his
mission seems at an end. But the girl he
has come to love confesses herself "a lost
SOUL and through his tender forgiveness
OF her and his now openly declared love
he nnds grace again, his healing power
returns, his patients recover from their
reiapses and he goes forth TO heal the
throng Of sufferers. His day has come.
When Mr.. Miller first appears upon the
scene he comes with a hang-dog look
This one conceives to be q mistake for
dramatic reasons. For the actor az the
start strikes the keynote of hopeiessness
not hope, of faithlessness, not faith. He
has the appearance Of a hunted man who
has committed some crime. He Is not
clear-eyed and self-relant. nor reliant upon
the God he breaches. How any one so
gloomy and lacking in control could per
suade others TO believe in him as a healer
only CnS aCtOr ana the play writer can
understand. But it is clear enough that
certain persons OF the play do believe in
him, and by their faith in him are made
| whole. As their faith in him wavers they
decline. II this is faith healing make the
rcst OF it. But precious little can be made
OF it for stage purposes. The audience
feels q good deal OF sympathy with the
farm patients skeptical husband and sis
ter-1n-law. They appear to have been
brought up on Darwin and Herbert Spencer.
whose portraits hang upon the walls. Al
one time the portraits are removed This
is when the farm mistress walks. When
she relapses the portraits are rehung. This
may be symbolism, or something. But
why drag in" Darwin and Spencer?
AS sermon The Faith Healer may be
considered with some favor by persons
who like sermons on the stage. AS a pIav
it will scarcely commend itself 10 the thea
tregoing public, even TO that section which
prefers other forms of healing to those
practised by the medical profession Some
thing better had been expected from Mr..
Moody. Even Mr.. AIillers art does not
make this work play. 1t is a discourse
Other opinions will doubtless find expires
sion, even in the magazines. The moral
the uplifting purpose, will be praised. But
moral and uplifting plays need not be
preachments and need not be dull. After
all, a play should have some dramatic
interest; The Faith Healer has none
There is no development of character And
after the three acts things remain about
as they were. AIichaelis has healed before
He heals again. He gets a wife, and ex-
plains the reason for his choice. But
nobody cares very much, nor do his ex-
plantations carry conviction TO the audience
A poor specimen of humanity mentally
and physically poor. is exhibited as man
raised from the dead" by Michaelis The
creature had been better left dead And
as for Michaelis as an entity in drama-he
is as feeble a person as one could meet in
d weeks march. He dispes faith on the
instant of his appearance. And such
catastrophe is not the purpose of play
writing. Even had Mr.. Charles Ram Ken
nedy not been in the audience with
Miss Edith Wynne Matthison one would
naturally have compared the spirit skill
and firm handling OF his Servant IN
the House" with this play Mr.. Miller hav-
ing produced both works Mr.. Kennedy's
play was interesting and convincing AR
Kennedy had the ART TO sound the right
keynote in his principal character at the
beginning; Mr.. Moody strikes his note too
late. long after one has lost faith in his
faftb baaIar and his School OF healing Ti,.