The Washington herald., 1910-09-27
THE COLUMBIA.
"a Fool There Was.

! hNSH huuNdIu hlpilus WTOte his poem,
THE Vampire" probably the most quoted
OF his much-quoted verses, it is doubt
full If he had in mind any woman of the
| type that he depicted there. II is almost
certain that using his prerogative OF
poetic license" he conjured up some
siren-like lady of mythology, some Lore
lei OF the rocks. and made her the orig
inal OF his rag. and a bone, and a hank
| of hair" the batwoman who lived on the
regulations instead of the blood OF her
victims.
And thus It is that Porter Emerson
Browne, the author Of "A Fool There
Was" the dramatization Of THE YAM
pire. which opened a return engagement
az the Columbia last night. found him
self placed on the horns OF a dilemma
when he started 10 dramatize the poem
! He had 20 either make the woman what
the poet pictured her, or make her al
most commonplace. and. with an eye 10
strong play, he chose the latter
course. even though in doing so he made
her impossible.
For "the woman" In the play is impos-
sible, just as ''the man. is improbable.
Is 1t according 20 the rules of logic that
a woman, who has money. position. beau
". and all that a woman OF her class
desires. should turn her whole attention
TO one man. with the sole intention OF
causing his downfall and ruin-moral and
physical? Is II probable that the man.
possessed OF happy home. a wife that
him nd -
only child can. will desert them all for
a woman who has only mere physical
beauty, and will degrade himself 70 the
level OF the beast on her account The
desertion may be paralleled in real life,
but 1t is extremely doubtful II the degra-
dalton is. The man takes 10 drink and
follows every course OF RIGHTEOUSNESS un-
I'll he is cast of by every one but hts
family They alone are loyal 10 him, but
II Is this very loyalty that offers no ex-
cuse for his action. II they. too cast
him of he might have some reason for
his action. but throughout the play they
are consistently loving and willing 10
take him back, only he Prefers the
woman Situations such as these make
strong play-but hardly a logical
one.
And now having drawn attention 10 the
technical faults OF the play-for It is Its
second appearance here. and one natural
~ becomes more and mora critical the
more one sees a play-let me draw atten-
ton to that which lifts 1t far above the
rank and file OF other plays. and that is
the acting Of Robert Hlniard and Viz
Ginia Pearson. in the roles of the fool
and the woman" respectively.
In regard to billiards. acting, no one
who saw him in the role of the road agent
In Belascos Girl Of the Golden West
can doubt for moment the wisdom of
making him a star, and his work in the
last act OF the present play is comparable
10 the best work OF other masters. such,
for instance. as Mansheld's in "a Pa
rislan Romance" His entrance In the
last act al the head OF the stairs. as he
half falters, half falls down the entire
length. crawling almost on all fours for
his coveted bottle OF brandy. is erewsornA
IN the extreme, but II is effective and ex-
ceptionally we'll done. Indeed. Mr.. Hill
4lard's work throughout the piece is OF an
exceedingly high standard. his speeches
TO the friend" to his wife. and 10 the
woman being all delivered in a manner
which brings out every tone and every
thought Of the dramatist His best work.
or course. came in the last act. but the
remainder was also exceedingly well done.
In Virginia Pearson, who has the role
or She woman" the management has
succeeded in securing a worthy success
sor 10 Katherine Kaelread and Mrs.
Henderson-and this is fulsome praise.
Miss Pearson is possessed OF that long
1.-THE, svelt figure so essential TO thu role.
she has a voice and laugh that seem 10
tit 1t exactly, and her acting was all
that could be desired-partieularly In her
rendition OF her two big speeches one
in the second act-the red and white
rose" sDeech-and the scene az the very
last where she returns 20 view the ruin
she has caused
Others in the cast whose work con-
tributed TO a well-balanced performance
were Stella Archer, as the wife: Birton
Churchill, as the friend: Winifred Burke.
as the sister. and Boots" wurster, as
the child.
IN spite Of its technical faults-and the
made-to-order storm. which breaks at the
exact moment, II is needed in the last
act and supposedly causes all the lights
in the house 20 go out-the play is an
exceptionally strong one. and as acted by
the excellent company that Mr.. HiTiard
has with him this season, cannot but
fail 10 interest and please-though il GER
tainly does not amuse. Those who ad-
here TO the theory that the mission of
the stage is 10 amuse. should stay away
from the Columbia this week-but every
one else should go, for a Fool There
Was" is eminently we'll worth while.