New-York tribune., 1911-01-10
THE DRAMA
Production OF "The Deep Pur-
pie" at the Lyric Theatre.


was first produced In Chicago the chill Of
terror in the last act froze the lake as
far north as Milwaukee Breakwater.
Michigan avenue sank ten feet below the
,evel Of the tomato cans on which rests
the park by the Illinois Central station
and the Auditorium Tower shifted It's base
All this may easily have been true because
the scene Of action IN this play is supposed
20 bc New York. ChicaEo's ideas of New
York were no doubt highly flattered. It's
response to the shrieks Of the theatrical
calliore driven 10y Paul Armstrong AMI
Wilson MizueT was SO liberal In measure
that local hearts beat hard with this new
assurance that dramatic art can never fade
and die New York has now the oppor-
tunlty to Justify her children. The authors
Of "The Deep Purple" may or may not be
~ her children. but the characters in their
granite cracking veiow-drama are New
Workers. by birth adoption or force, and
wonderful beyond Arabian dreams are
the things that happen 10 them.
The play Is not. a. some have supposed,
a dramatization Of that immortal epic The
Purple Cow" No diagram, II must be said
with regret was distributed for the pur-
pose Of explaining the color scheme Of the
title At the very end Of the piece though,
Gordon Layock SAYS that the virtuous,
sunny. and. II would appear, the easy"
William Lake was born in the deep purple"
II is possible 10 love that man Gordon Lay
lock. he goes about killing people in
manner that is chlidlike and bland His
sweet innocence as he shoots cOmmends
him 10 all tender spirits. How convenient
IT would be 70 have so kind a friend. one
rho would amiably shoot at sight all gem
tlemen of your dislike, Gordon Laylock
has held mp" a train in the West, and be-
fore that. ne killed quite innocently and
Sveetly. one or two or three superfluous
beings-the mere number Is OF no impor
tance, the charming thing is the sweetness
of his kiiinE. 10 say nothing Of the sud
dennesS Of II. And ne goes scot free at
the end iJs, as q cousiderate gun man
should.
Mr Harry Leland does not 20 free. He
is killed, in all tenderness. No one can OK
plain how or why Mr, Leland lived so loVg.
The weight Of his transgressions should
have broken his back He vas a creature
without A rcdeeminC streak OF purple-it
the language in which the authors address
quiverng world Is understood. Melo-
Drama never eXllhlteN ttlN equal III ll''
dark. deep wallovs OF villany II has been
left for yellow drama 20 invent him. Pop
Clark. another crook" has shred Of a
soul and some humor. Connolly. "a hotel
copper is an accOmpliCe OF thieves and
confidence men. Frisco Kate" Is a re-
formed thief the kind that designing play
wrights thrust upon the scene In order 10
drag applause from the galleries. There is
a silly girl. with no brains 20 speak Of,
who IS torn from Buffalo and used by Le-
land and Clark as the bait IL a badger
game. And there are two or three quite
respectable persons who somehow manage
70 live in the atmosphere Of crime. IN
scenes dominated by criminals and IN
which situation" is ladled out upon "situs-
tIou" until the stage can hold no more. The
story is of the dime novel order compressed
into four acts. Some crimes may have been
omitted from il. but II so the omissions are
not numerous and are OF quite a minor or
der. The piece is crude. its incidents fer
fetched its appeal is 20 that vast un-
sophisticated public which applauds stage
stuff that would have been old fashioned
forty years ago. The villanv is Of the
blackest the virtue OF the palest and
pupleSt that can be conceived. and the
heroics are ta- beyond belief. But tho au-
thorS we're called 70 the front, and two ap-
propridte looking persons appeared. The
piece would he worse than The dregs of
emptiness were il not for the acting Of
Miss Ada Dwyer. Jameson Lee Finney
Richard Bennett Emmett Corrlgan and ".
]. Ferguson. Their work is remarka bly,
good. The pity is that their conspicuous
and commcndahle talents have 20 be given
20 d piece so low in tine scale OF merit
Mr. Finuevs study OF smooth rascality and
dwelling Cowardicc is with his death
scene. an impressive II not a difficult piece
o. acting AR Bennett Dy q foolish speech
and raw manner. at the end Of the third
act. almost spoiled the good impression he
had made as William Lake. Mr.. Ferguson
overdid his effect in one scene ny pan
tomimic appeals to the audience. But when
good actors act in such stuff a. THE Deep
Purple" is made Of they do not long escape
the danger that comes or association with
inferior influences. \. ".