New-York tribune., 1910-09-23
THE DRAMA
Henrietta Crosmanin Percy Mac
kaye's New Play at the Garrick.

q --~
companies show Broadway a thing or two
in the way of entertainment worthy par
ticular mention. This is one of the times.
for on Thursday evening Miss Henrietta
Crosman came to the Garrfck Theatre with
a good company of players and farcicai
comedy by Percy Mackaye. Miss Crosman
Is one of the very best condolences on the
American stage. She should. by good
rights, have for her acting local habita-
tion as well as a name in this city. But
New York. like the other provincial places.
keeps her travelling. Which is a pity.
Miss Crosman returns in a piece called
Anti -Matrimony," a rather unfortunate
name since literal minded public will be
likely to think that II means a play sup
porting some kind OF propaganda against
marriage To the myriads of literal minded
then let it be said that Mr.. Mackaye's play
is as stout an advocate of marriage and
polisher of the domestic hearth as they
could wish for. And let II be said, at once
that Miss Crosman Mildred Grey is as
captivating she was when PLAYING Sweet
Kitty BeIlaIrs
Mr. Mackaye has written a very f,,nnv
play, which satrizes the ''modernists" who
flnd emancipation in revolt against re-
ligion, marriage, health. good nature good
iun common sense and other useful, IL
ancient. accompaninlents of life. Nietzsche
lbsen and any number more of the apostles
OF modernity," or perhaps of their ex-
travagant followers. are made sport Of to
any extent. Thus to the home of the Rev
Elliott Grey, In q suburban town I'm Mas
sachusetts. come his younger brother. Nor
ris. and the iatter's bride. Morris has
been living in Paris and has become a
modernist prig. Paris usually does not
make prigs. at any rate not out of native
stock, but there is no telling into what
curious form of life 1t may transform a
passionate Puritan. Morris's Yankee brain
is stuffed with the froth of new philoso-
phies, dramas, poets and penny-whfstles.
His sense of humor is destroyed, a result
inevitable with Yankee natures which make
the dismal error of abandoning themselves
TO cults which European natures take
more lightly as the dessert of the meal Of
life Morris poses as a being wholly freed
from American crudities, one who has be-
come completely Europeanized. He calls
himself Maurice. He says that he is not
married to his lovely companion, who, by
the way, Is q sister OF the minister's wife.
And the lovely companion says the same
thing. The Old World has emancipated her.
And she prattles all the cant of the ernan-
cipators and has beautiful time deceiving
herself. However. she deceives no one else,
nor does that trying person, her husband,
for husband he really is, as the minister
and his wife soon discover. The Rev. FL
lott Grey and his wife. Mildred, put up a
game on their insufferable relatives, pre-
tend TO be converted to the anti-matrf-
monlaI cause, and in doing so lead the
precious pair into pretty round of ad-
ventures, all in the course of day. They
out-Ibsen Ibsen and leave Nietzsche tame.
Maurice, the emancipated. is writing play
which he calls "Hosmer's Home, or The
| Love of Bee" He follows the teachings
of 'the masters" and goes them ten bet
ter. He thinks he has converted his broth
er wife to his idioucally extravagant doc
trlnes, and 1t is here that the fun comes In
as Mildred carries on her campaign of nom
sense in order to bring sanity TO a pair OF
romantic young fools.
How they rant these wild ones, about
marriage being "the living lie OF love-; ;
how they prattle about "a little community
of natural lovers how they abhor (or
pretend tor persons who are ''hopelessly
wholesome" and fail to find anything
dramatic in men or women who are not
diseased! Mr.. Mackayes ingenuity in
| coming phrases. and in twisting lines from
some of the depressing gods OF the stage,
| and in burlesquiug familiar situations in
| some famous depressing plays, is admir-
able. But there is something too much OF
| 1t, and a good deal of 1t is likely to fly
over the heads of New York audiences,
whatever may be the case in other parts
| Of the provinces where the play has had
run. The American public Is not very
| fond of satire. But perhaps Mr.. Macksye
does not care very much about that point
| He has had the pleasure of writing his
| play Those who have had the pleasure of
seeing It and listening to IL feel that they
| have had rare sport. And besides this
| they must be grateful to the author for
giving to Miss Crosman so delightful a
| part 1t is impossible to think that this
| play could be produced without her. II
half an hour were cut from the lines mot
| from Miss Crosman's lines, thought the
plav would gain immensely in favor. There
| Is now an excess of repetition in its four
acts.
The players touch their themes in just
the right way, although Mr.. Johnstone
might In the first act, substitute hghtness
for his present very serious heaviness
| there first rate instance of quiet I'M
pretentious acting IS seen in Miss Hol-
cornbe's case. Miss HolCOmbe plays an
old New England mother, the mother of
the minister Her dear bewilderment at
the queer goings on of her household is
worth watching. Miss Grace Carlyle as
the bride who pretended not to be a wife
WAS highly commendable- Mr.. Greene as
a youngish minister with sense of humor
Was the right man for his part AS for
Miss Crosman-well, the marvel is that she
ever gets away from New York, except
ing in the hot weather Or 1t would be q
marvel If New York really cared as much
for a first rate quality of acting as 1t pre-
tends to care. A better play can be
ina gined. but no better comedy acting than
Miss Crosman's when her vein is suited
can he imagined, much less seen. And she
is perfectIy suited as Mildred Grey. In
cidentally Il may be asked why perform
ances do not begin, on first nights at
least. at the advertised time Punctuality
is so exceptional in New York theatres
that when 1t is observed 1t is worth pro-
claiming. The present writer Is inclined
tn proclaim ii when he finds IT AT
present It is far to seek. But let all who
wish TO see a most accomplished come
d,enne attend Miss Crosman's performances
She is worth a regiment OF the usual
STARS" Mr.. MaclSaye has capital idea
for his play He might be gently reminded
that brevtty is the soul of satire A. w.
CAST OF "ANT-MATRIMoNY."
The Rev. Elliott Grey Waiter Greene