New-York tribune., 1911-11-22
1.-THE LADY OF COVENTRY
Viola Allen in Louis NJ Parker s
PLAY at Daly's.

| The plaYgoers of to-day can hardly he
expected TO feel any interest in the mere
fact that in England in the twelfth century
| Normans and Saxons hated each other, nor
In the fact that in a certain township,
known as Coventry. the Norman Lady
| Dorothea was besieged and conquered by
Leofric the Saxon, and that in order 10
gain her freedom from him and protect
the townsr,en from his oppression and
cruelty she rode through Coventry naked,
and vet finally loved and married this
| wild man" who had forced her to her
terribly heroic deed.
To have real claim upon the interest
of an audience play must have some
vital relation to the times-either in its in
cidents or its characters. There could
hardly be a better proof of this than was
offered last night at Days in the first
presentation here Of this latest play OF
Mr.. Parker's. The Lady OF Coventry Is
POLITICALLY written and constructed with a
sure instinct for dramatic effect. 1t was.
as a whole, we'll acted. But there was no
reason for II. The play was not written
for its characters, as "Pomander Walk
was The Lady Godiva and her IeOfric
and all the others were poem-peope. away
off in the mists of legend. 1t seemed pity
that this playwright who has understand
ing and a genuinely poetic power, should
have wasted himself upon this old tale
sweet as ii Is and full of decorative pos
sbilities. Perhaps 1t was the last that
tempted him. Mr. Parker's costuming Of
his play was really beautiful. The stage
settings were delightful in their simplicity
and taste. The old castle, family sug-
gestive of the grand ruins at Heidelberg,
its interior halls. it's terraces and courts,
formed q refreshing scene. Indeed, the
unreality Of the piece. its costumes and
scenes. the rhythm of its lines. suggested
music. and if some composer chose TO
make an opera of it. the whole play would
leap into life at once II would then have
a reason for being.
Viola Allen as tne Lady Dorothea was not
I in part that suited her Miss Allen is
modern and civilized. AS a primitive wom-
an. a magnificent wildcat" as Dorothea is
called in the play, she did not have the
! force or the spontaneous power TO make the
/ part real. Henry Kolker had five moments
as the half-tamed, leonine Saxon who loved
/ the Norman iirewoman with such wild pas
/ sion. There were times too. when he fell
I bdCR llOUl his lcIL anu MS ilI4tS Sdii'l'N'
! on ahead of him. II is difficult key 20
maintain. that in which Laofric is written.
| OF the others Vincent Stenroyd deserves
! mention for his acting as the Bailiff Of Gov
entry He was more Saxon than any Of the
others. He bore his audience wholly away
from Broadway in the few scattered scenes
| in which he was given "a chance. Jane
| Ferren as Alys and Henry Stanford as
Waltheon played the parts Of two anxious
young lovers with winsomc earnesness.
But the Lady Of Coventry shows that
! a play must be more than finely written
and we'll acted and Interestingly set before
| it can be vital. And many other plays have
| proven a sadder thing, which is that if they
! have the vital something which knocks at
the contemporary heart they are vital even
/ if badly written. badly acted and badly
staged