New-York tribune., 1911-03-19
THE PLAYG0ER
Laurette Taylor in a Queer Play
About a Girl Without a Soul.

cial matinees Tuesday and Wednesday
last week, in the Lyceum Theatre, IN
play called Lola" written by owen
Davis lola" is not much of play.
Perhaps nobody. not even the author
thought it much of play. But MISS
Taylor saw an opportunity for proving
T. a troubled world that she is capable
of acting more important parts than in
conues and roguish girls. She estab-
lished her proof. And being. it is hoped
p reasonable as well as a very attrac-
tive Young actress she will not take
amiss a remark TO the effect that while
her acting was very good, her under
standing of the character in which she
appeared was superficial to an exaSper-
ating degree. This is not a contradic-
tory statement. An actress may easily
get a wrong idea Of a character and she
may very ably express that wrong idea.
Mr.. owen Davis has notion accord
ing to his play, that a person may lose
his soul and live. eat. drink and be mis-
orablc. Lola was most Internally
miserable after she had lost her soul.
She lost il i'm a motor accident. To state
il bluntly. she was killed. In few
minutes life was restored to her Ihe
mechanism of her was set a-soing again
by the application of electrical dls-
charges. Without any physical INJURY
she resumed her place in the world she
had. however. some time between the
bIow and the resuscitation. lost her soul
Nobody suspected this. least of all Lola
although the lady shreked mysteriously
~ ANYBODY used the word soul in con-
versation Why she should shrek at the
word is q mystery which Miss Taylors
acting left unsoved. But having sus-
tanned the peculiar loss referred to- she
shrjeked louder at soul" than at any
thing else. Miss Taylor knows all there
is TO know about the gentle art OF
shriekine. Cold shivers ran from orches-
ira to gallery when Lola shrieked. Then
Miss Tavlor was like a ward of Bedlam
turned loose.
Mr.. owen Davis's ideas of what soul
is are worthy of the flint age. He is
sure there is no difficulty in living with
cut soul if only your heart can be
started UP and kept a-pumping after
YOU have died It is just as we'll not
&c bother with Mr. DaVis'S early pagan
ideas of soul its nature and purpose
They content him. But the soul of his
heroine having fed. the young lady be-
comes very lively. indeed. Before she
lost her soul she was the most charm
ing creature in the world. and the sweet
est and best-stated another way she
was Miss I.aurette TAYLOR in an ingenue
role. But having lost her soul she is no
longer charming. We pass now from
the author to the actress And the
actress. as will be seen in a moment
does not agree AT all points with her
author.
Having her soul. Lola was dear
delightful girl. Having it not she be-
came in a couple OF months a creature
about whom d's can he arranged in quite
another fashion. The author does not
ask how the ego could inhabit and still
be LOST from the bod. nor does he tell any
one how the marvel may be brought
about He merely changes the charming
ladv's character. Miss Taylor goes even
further. She finds that the loss of Lola :
soul makes Lola dress her hair in hor-
rid sort. Lola from being pretty be-
comes ugly; from being good becomes
evil: from being whatever she was be
comes quite the opposite in all ways.
She loses everything but her memory.
But YOU must not ask Mr.. owen Davis
70 reconcile the loss of the ego with the
retention Of being, the loss of character
with the unimpaired memory. For il
Mr.. Davis began TO answer such trifing
inquiries as these he would have no
play. 1t is demonstrated, though, ac-
cording TO his fancy, at any, rate ac-
cording 10 Miss Taylor's. that if you,
having been the most refined and low
able of persons. lose your soul you be-
come vulgar, bad tempered, ugly. look
like a fright. do up your hair with one
Of those hrst-aid- injured band
ages now affected by the youthful fair,
and take heartily TO lying. thieving,
drink and all the lusts of the flesh. You
yearn for what alleged modern" young
ladies in certain progressive modern
plays" call seeing life You see il.
Lola, having turned ugly. bad tenn
pered, bad hammered. hopeessly vulgar,
becomes the darling Of millionaires leads
them a dance, and dies. Just what is
running through Miss Taylor's mind no
one i'm front can fathom. How the glow
ering, vulgar. screaming, lying Lola
could attract any one but the police
or the alienists no one undertakes to
tell Miss Taylor does not present a
plausible case. And she does not agree
with the author. because a famous
physician and old friend looks into Lola's
eyes and says to her father: "No, | see
TO sign of nervousness there" And all
the while Lola is twitching and staring
and swapping like a drunken maniac.
Miss Taylor does these things extreme
~ well. But why does she do them at
all? She makes Lola, after the return
10 life. an odious. hideous creature.
Some little reflection might have per
suaded her that her audiences would re-
sent this. The play has four acts. al
though the programme mentioned only
three. Through two of these the terrible
Lola fills you with horror. 1t would have
been much cleverer of the actress had
she permitted Lola To retain her charm
OF appearance and manner and perform
her odious deeds and tell her appalling
lies with every look and attitude of in
n"cence. The dramatst may have meant
something of this kind, for he does not