New-York tribune., 1910-02-13

critic who did not say the play Is great
How do you account Cor it?
.P. ST am not the author.
Account for il? 'Tis easily done Tastes
differ. for one thing. and acquaintance with
life and dramatic ar is various, sweet sir
You are rot the author" truly. but YOU
were urder no conpulsion to say so, because
one knows that that engaging gentIennan's
address is from Harlem remote. More
over. ono has other knowledge OF him. But
how came YOU 10 know about the s1,eee a
night and -.uuwards"? Did carbon copy
from the press agent so advise you, or are
You even closer TO The box office? Yours
Is q youthful ardOr May yoc have lons
life. and learn IS YOU live. + Will some
Gay dawn upon you that the tailngs OF p
play ara not an infaIlible measure OF lis
artistic merit and that with this merit or
The lack Of il. not win box ofsicA receipts.
criticism is concerned. Account for ii:
Dear excited person from The northern
reaches OF this isle. do you not know mat
lis most blessed condition TO be some
tines IN q minority. even minority of one:
Consider ONeastie;n's advice: Go forth.
my son. and behold with what little wisdom
the world" (dranatic or o1herb is gov
e1ned Account for it," Why snould
you demand unaniEaily IL criticism aay
more than in political. theological or
scientific writing? And, by the way.
when you. il turn. criticise. do not mis-
represent The present writer 10 whom
/ sou refer. did not say that a the
Theatre is no good" 1t is good
/ enough for somebody TO make money by
its presentation; il IS good as specimen of
what q play should not be. In many wears
! Of critical utterancs the writer Of these notes
has never said thst any play or player is
! no good Account for it, Live. learn,
get a little deeper into things and keep
your temper, friend in Harlem Then, II
you have time and perception, you may dis
! cover that artistic merit is not always
| lated to drawing power: that commerce is
one thing. dramatic skill another. and that
efforts by devious means TO draw public
attention to a mediocre play packed with
/ sham sentiment and sham morality do not
! always succeed.
Two remarkable discoveries concerning
| Mr. J. NJ Barrie are announced this week
I One is the achievement of press agent
! not Bariie's 1t is given out that Miss
/ has become the discoverer of
hidden meaning in her present play
& concealed compliment from
1.-The authorl TO J. NJ Barrie.
! Miss thought she found it in
! speech in lhe first act" IL is further re-
/ lated that Miss cabled to &.
asking if he meant Barrie in this speech
and that replied. Yes. he meant
Barrie snd Balrie's play, Peter Pan"
All this reveals wonderful powers OF pen
etration the part of Miss or
The press agent, considering The fact that
when produced in London.
FIVE months ago. the press there quoted
the lines and commented pleasantly upon
the compliment which . had paid
therein TO Mr.. Barrie and to Peter Pan"
and thai on the morning following the
New York production The Tribunes re-
view of contained further refer
/ ence TO The matter.
I But perhaps the more remarkable Of the
/ discoveries concerning Barrie is that OF
/ writer in The Boston Transcript" VINO
says: In What Every Woman Knows
! Mr.. Barrie has merely given us series
| of disconnected notes; and thus the effect
! which he leaves upon the mind ie in spite
Of the variety Of his appeal, an effect OF
emptiness. This is partly due, no doubt.
! to that kind of anateurishness which be-
! trays itself so often in his work.
Barrie the Amateur. should be
fruitful subject for discussion in any
Boston School Of Dramatic Philosophy.
A n.