Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-22


pressing a great moral lesson;
,,ro u.boIesome. (See book of synonyms
for further adjectives to be employed 40
lib
Tho Interesting part of ii is that every
word is unite true In spite of its merits
The old Homestead has become the
dramatic reviewers, bugbear. III rep
rasents standards which he cannot con-
scientiouslv fail TO commend at every op-
rortun'tv. vet il has exhausted the vocao-
1,Iarv of compliment and the task De-
comes difficult especially so In the at
nosnbere of mild cynicism which play
like The cave Man" carries with It.
THE cave Man undertakes bold ex-
neriment. but ideas which might nave
been utilized as mental high explosives
are employed as harmless fireworks. NE
Gave Man" does not succeed IN oelloh-
stratins the superiority of primal frank
ness over social artitice. He makes, IL Is
true. a wonderfully good showing IN ms
new Surroundings. but not by means Oh
teroisr, or sacrifice or any of the higher
.+v.b,,tae of character He falls into the
drift If his new associations and MS
onlv triumph is being absorbed into the
.,,n,-eutionaIities which his awakened
manhood despsed. Even though the 1as-
tidious Lady Mechanic, fascinated py
his rugged determination and by MS tai
Ont for poster des gins, which as satHlcal
expressions resemble the pictures you
used to draw on your slate OF teachers
Won disIiked-consents to abandon KNIVES
and forks and adopt the standards OF
SIMPLICITY, the conclusion is unconVlnclng-
II won't last. 1t simply can't last. Lady
Mechanic is sure to go back to the nnger
howl habit and equally certain to grow
weary of kicking her husband on the
shins under the table in order to Keep MS
knife from invading his esophagus-
While the play is tremendously satlr-
icaI in spots. il Is not consistent SATIRE.
II selects a few special aversions IN su-
perfciaI custom, and cudgels them mer-
riIv But ii assails no vital folly or tne
time. and in the main devotes itself 10
the same old man of straw, the denclent
table etiquette OF the newly rich. In this
respect it is slightly anachronistlc Up
TOrtunities for sudden wealth are not so
numerous as they were some ten or nj
teen Years age. and the newly rich OF
that period have long since learned which
fork is for the oysters. But it has an ex-
hilarating flow Of epigram, and the title
role is made convincing and strong by
Mr. Robert Edeson. 1t is the first play
he has had in a long time which was dis
tinguished by polished diction and an at
mosphere of critical thought. Even the
lines spoken in the character of the coal
HEAVIER are polished diction in that they
reflect keen observation succinctly and
forcefully expressed. Mr.. Edeson allows
xha
speeches and situations suggest thus
throwing the satire into the background.
with his own straightforward character
study standing forward in interesting re-
lief
When comic opera finds itself in dan
ger of tagging moment the remedy is
simple Merely take your partners for a
waltz A few spins around the stage, and
the plot comes forward revived by rest
and recreation. The Balkan Princess
is a dashing and alIuring entertainment,
which depends upon a libretto which con-
tains familiar features, but which is con-
scentiously constructed, with ciimaxes
falling with well measured effect at criti-
cal junctures The music requires all the
ella borate orchestral Interpretation given
il 10 prevent it's directness of rhythm and
lightness of melody from seeming hope
lessly shallow Louise Cunning is a
charming performer. a passive yet at
tractive figure in her scenes, and endowed
with vocal gifts which render her ambi-
tions for grand opera quite reasonable
from an artistic standpoint. From a
practical standpoint-well. in grand opera
lot depends on the press agent.
PHILANDER JOHNSON.
THE COYNESS OF "JUNE"-Char-
lotte Walker. who enacts the role
OF June. dwells on the fact that she has
made the character June coy. toward
Jack Hale. the engineer, who later edu-
Gates and marries her. Coy in its broad
est sense. for the verb TO coy means to
coax, allure, entice.
Il amt forcing myself on YOU" she
bitterly eXclaims in the scene where she
makes II apparent 10 Hale that she loves
him. and June says il in such way that
there il no doubt left in the mind of her
hero that she had and has great hopes of
coyly winning him. Coyness in the sense
which Miss Walker emphasizes il is OBJ
viously Il trait Of primitive naidens, not
withStanding the opinion that prevails,
that everywhere and always the first ad-
vances were made by the men, women
being passive and coyly reserved.
There are numerous instances, historical
and otherwise. OF coy women. The
Hebrew records begin with the story of
Adam and Eve. in which Eve Is stig
matized as the temptress. Rebekah had
never seen the man chosen for her, yet
when she was asked if she would go with
the servant and marry Isaac. the son Of
Abraham, she answered promptly, Il Will
GO Rebekah lived up to her name; IL
means a moose Rachael at the well
suffers her cousin 10 kiss her at first
sight Ruth does ali the counting which
makes her the wife of Boaz, but then
Ruth's name implies friendship. Poti
phars wife is another case. Miss Walk
er Is confidently quoted TO the effect that
she has endowed June with a coyness
worthy 10 rank with these historic ex-
a-nples-
sung HIS WAY TO FORTUNE
George Purcell who expounds the follies
and deyil;Ties OF Bumerli, the "Choco-
late Soldier has literally made his for
tune with his voice. He was born in the
vale OF kashmir in northern India and
is the OF an English army officer.
He spent the first sixteen years Of his
life at the stations and posts of India.
His grandfather waS one of the garrison
OF Cawnpore during the Sepoy mutiny of
1857. When his father wished him TO
enter the army. George left home abrupt
~ and made his way to the coast with
the assistance of scene Hindoo merchants
whose friendship ne had made in Delhi
Posing az an itinerant singer, he lived
he