The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-12-20

Mrs. Salo Friedewald, of Scranton,
delighted a fashionable audience in
Miss Browns room at the Homes
dale High school last Saturday af-
ternoon by her splendid interpreta-
tive recitals of ]. M. Synges drama
THE Playboy of the Western World"
and of William Butler Yeats play,
"The Land of Hearts Desire"
II would like to begin with the
"Playboy," said Mrs. Friedewald,
radiant in a fetching and becoming
gown, by way of introduction, that
one play that has made so much of
stir in New York City. Then I'll
give you The Land of Hearts De-
SIRE Bernard Shaw says it's just
as bad to get too much as too little
for your money. You may have a
two or three minutes whispering
recess between the plays.
THE Playboy" is one of the most
beautiful things. 1t is play of the
late j. M. Synge, playwright, and
to some degree an artist who died
at 34 in the midst of career which
he had planned for himself.
This feeling many of the schol-
ars of Ireland had, that unless they
kept up their language and stories,
they would lose their race solidarity,
and be forced to teach English in
their schools. William Butler Yeats,
Douglass Hyne, j. M Synge and
Lady Gregory thought the drama
was the way to put these things be-
fore the people to make the greatest
| impression on the people.
This year Lady Gregory brought
these Irish players to New York from
the Dublin Theatre to present Irish
plays in this country. They opened
four or five weeks ago at Maxine FL
liott's Theatre.
"This drama, The Playboy," was
given at first with mild protest by
the Irish who went Finally the
Irish indignation at having the Irish
represented by such hero culmin-
ated one night in a row, when all
sorts of dreadful things happened.
"They have now taken it off. This
is perfectly delightful little play. !
don't see how any one can object to
it. It's so poetic. Withal the fiery
imagination of the Irish is promi-
nent. Bernard Shaw says there is a
great difference between the Irish
and the Irish-Americans, and thinks
it is in no way representative of the
spirit of the Irish. Synge says he
didn't use a single expression which
he himself hadn't heard the Irish
use. "The Playboy of the Western
World is as clever as it can be.
don't see how any one can take ex-
cetion to it."
In brief, the story of the Play.
boy" is as follows
Story of ''The Playboy."
The scene of "The Playboy'' is laid
on the wild coast of Male. Act
opens in village inn on dark win
try night. Peguine's lover Schawm
comes in, and asks where her faith
er is. Going down to a wake, she
tells him. Peguine, all alone, will
liquor about, is afraid and thinks
she ought to have pot-boy to lool
after the place. She invites her Low
er to stay with her. Indeed, he won
stay. He's afraid of scandal. HI
got special dispensation from thu
priest to marry Peguine, who is hi
cousin. Peguine is disguised at hi
fears.
Just then the door opens and
delicate blonde-haired boy, Christie
Male, the hero of the play, comes in
He appears to be very much scared
and asks for refuge, saying he hal
a committed crime. Immediately al
are interested. "What did you doY'
, they ask. "Were you a counterfeit
er?" "Did you marry three wivesY
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