The Washington herald., 1911-02-28
THE BELASC0.

" n1tAm raVersnaIu IN inc y oons
subtly satiric, brimming over with ex-
cehent humor, and possessed, withal, of
lne wild spirit of a vagrant April wind
kissing the green fingertips OF the wood
lanos' Is Edward Knoblaucf's farcical
fantasy, The Faun," presented by a new
and roguish William Fayersham and a
capital company at, the Belasco last
evening For one whose imapination
cannot break the bonds OF steel and
iron, trolley cars, and carbureters. this
whimsical, dramatic cobweb will prove
but dull entertainment. But to those
happy souls whose hearts respond to the
chirp of the first robin and who hear
the pipes of Pan shriIling through the
throbbing stiffness of the twilight woods,
this little play will hold an indeinable
charm.
The atmosphere at the opening of the
play reeks with the prim rigidity of the
British code of reserve. We are intro
duced to a typical English nobleman,
Lord Stonbury, who has lost his all at
the rack tracks and who has decided
upon suicide with about~as much emo
tional fervor as would be warranted by
a decision to change his tailors. His
perfectly correct English valet retires
with a final "Yes, me lord" after hand
ing over the fatal revolver and receiving
explicit instructions as to his demeanor
when the shot should be heard. Enter
Lady Alexandris Vancey in the uniform
of the militant suffragrette brass band.
Lord Stonbury frankly explains his dire
purpose, and milady, who is secretly
harboring an old love for him. cloaks her
real interest in the prospective suicide
with the mantle of unfeeling reserve
accepted by her class as the only man.
rer possible for the truly cultured to
maintain under all circumstances. She
leaves him to his revolver with mat
ter-of-fact "Good-by, old boy and Lord
Stonbury raises the weapon
There is a strange sound in the garden,
and out of the huge urn of geraniums
rises the figure of the Faun. Clad only
in sandals and a leopard's skin, with
little horns protruding from his garland
ed shock of curls, this strange creature
bounds into the astonished nobleman' s
drawing-room with the spirit and agility
Of a mountain goat. Taken for some sort
OF a tramp, he attempts to explain his
true character-a son of Pan, demi-
god of the woods and meadows, who has
strayed to London to see the land Of the
poet Shelley, whom, he says, he met in
a southern land 100 years before. and
from whom he acquired his knowledge
OF English speech.
To prove his immortality the Faun has
Stonbury fire a revolver at him. The bull
NEA Nrnr 20
body and smashes the lamp before which
he stands unharmed. Convinced that this
is the visitation of real being from the
pages of mythology, Stonbury readily
agrees to the plan to garb the Faun in
the clothes of civilization and present
him in society as an Italian prince. In re-
turn the Faun promises to give him the
names of all the winning horses at the
races, knowledge gained through his abil-
ity to converse with all the animal king
dom.
The advent Of the Faun into this coldly
selfish, money-seeking circle offers many
opportunities for delightful comedy-Op-
portunities we'll cared for by both author
and star. Mr.. Faversham revealed him
self in new spirit OF roguery and
sprightIy humor that is most delightful,
and now and then has scenes and speech
es that border on the dramatically i'm
pressive and in which his constantly in
creasing histrionic powers are again DEM
onstrated.
The Faun undertakes to bring the
people among whom his association with
Stonbury leads him back to some sem
blance of their real selves. Into each
one he instills something OF his wildly
natural spirit, straightens out misman-
aged love affairs, leads the truly mated
hearts together. brings the forces of
nature to his aid for the humbling of
his friend Stonbury's enemies, and finally
vanishes in the dawn, while the pipes
of Pan are calling, leaving a group of
real human beings behind him in place
of the soul-stified puppets he found
when he popped out of the geranium
urn. 1t is a pretty conceit, well turned.
Miss Julie Opp plays the role of the
self-chilled Lady Alexandria,
who does not know how strong within
her heart burns the fire of her love for
Stonbury. 1t is she whom the Faun
leads out into the fields during a rag
ing thunderstorm. to awaken within
her a knowledge of her real self. Miss
Opp plays the part with true distinc-
ton. Mr.. Nye Chart, Is Lord Ston-
bury, and Miss Daisy Belmore, as Mrs.
Hope-Clark, a title-seeking parvenL,
are excellent. Harry Redding and lie
gal Robinson make much of two small
parts, and the remainder of the cast
satisfies all demands The play is pref
tily staged and well rehearsed-
E.Rs