Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-05

try of Sir Arthur Pinero's new play.
'Mid-Channe!." with Eth-l Barrymore
Colt in The stellar role. The play, OF
course. is a sparkling work. 1t aim st
goes without saying that Pinero could
not write second-rate play II he tried.
He has a dizziness. an adroitness which
erects him into class by himself as
writer of playable plays: and, Ike all of
his other plays, "Mid-Channel'' is distin-
guished by literary quail y which beau
tffuily dovetails into the actin of the
piece.
The play is I'm four acts. Ethel Barry
mores part is that of woman Ct thirty
seven who, with an elderly, indife ent
husband, surrounds herself with a b it n
of tame robins { he cavalier serventi
of Latin lands) and becomes involved
with one of them. Her husband, from
whom she has been temporary sepa-
rated, discovers this, and in the f-.al act.
off-stage. the wife thr.ws herself r. m
balcony.
It is, of course bad, not to say
messy, ending. But the ira OF events
certainly called fer something f the sort.
1t is meticulC usly shown that the e is
scarcely any o.her way out of the rape
for the discovered vile. And women do
toss themselves from balconies and eface
themselves by other means in such cir
cumstances.
But the end of the play fell like pail
on the audience. The enthusiasm over
the brilliance and the per ect acting OF
the play had been int Sc throughout and
Miss Barrymore was summoned before
the curtain literally dozens of times. But
the huge audience filed out without
word at the finish, and everywhere one
heard -mutterings about the "Sa Inc of
the finish No consideration. apparently,
was taken of the fact that the whole
trend o. this singularly able play dis
tinctly called for some such ttrmina-
ton The audience Injured to happy
endngs,' was dis atisfied because some
way out OF it, was not found for the
trapped woman. There were audible re-
pinings because such a way had not
been found. No thought was gwen to
the fact that happy ending" would
have neutralized the entire effect of what
had gone before and made q maudnn
hash of the whole affair
II should be stated In fairness that
American audiences are not alone in thus
demanding that the most serious plays
shall have cheerful, not to say a c Ply,
termination. This very play. 'Mid-Chan-
nell virtually failed in London, bee ause
of its tragic ending. 1t was taken off
there d ter run of only four weeks.
And yet it is the simple fact that nea ly
all of Pineros plays most of which have
been hugely succe Sful in his own coun-
try, as well as in the states, have had
rather vio.ent end!ngs- This dramatist
has never yielded to the general demand
for a down-stage happy finish: but II is
only because of his remarkable ability
that he has contrived, up to the time of
the production of "Mid-Channel' in Lon
don recently, to score with his plays in
spite of what the average audience
smoothly and snugiy terms defect
1t will be remembered, for example.
how violently and yet how naturally his
play Iris" terminated, the curtain fall
ing upon a terrific scene OF demol ton.
Iris was a great play. and M d-Chan-
nell is a greater, but Iris was accept
ed in spite of Its savage finish, whei cas-
the Londoners would not have the
desperate finish of "Mid-Channel'': which
seems TO indicate that the demand for
the happy ending" IS growing, instead
of diminishing.