The Washington herald., 1911-12-10

OF the younger English writers who
are devoting themselves partly to the
novel and partly to the drama, none Is
more conspicuous at the present tuncture
than Arnold Bennett, whose creative
range runs between the old wives
tales" and what the public wants
What he has to say on the subject OF
the theater re-echoes the well-establish-
ed fact that the so-calIed literary man,
in invading the field of drama, is going
to open a new PandOra's box OF mis-
cries for the manageable manager OF
the type who never could understand -
and of more or less bewilderment to
the public-the public which Mr.. Bennett
describes as possessing the vast lethargy
Of a universe that hat change as
schoolboy hates soap.
Since Goldsmith and Sheridan" says
Mr.. Bennett, the literary genius of the
English race has turned away from the
theater In summing up the artistic
achievement OF the nineteenth century in
England a critic would not dream of men
tioning its theater. The best creative
minds among US do not actively realize
that the theater is a possible vehicle for
them.
What is the origin Of the present dis
turbance in the theater, a disturbance
as marked in America as it is in Eng
land? It was calm and contented enough
ten years ago. Cultivated people ignored
II as much as they could. and it ignored
cultivated people entirely. The Profit
gate was greeted as a daring master
piece, and THE Second Mrs. Tanqueray'
as another daring masterpiece. by habi-
tues Of the theater. Everybody was
happy Why should the bland happiness
of the theater have been upset? Well.
the blundering intruder is the general
creative spirit which, after having turn
ed its back IN the theater for more than
a hundred years, has veered again to-
ward it
Mr. Bennett scores effectively when he
says that the highest technical skill in
playwriting is not vOuchsafed to more
than half A dozen men or so in gen
Grafton. 1t IS idle to expect that every
dramatist OF the future who wins sue
cess with plays of distinction will have
the technical equipment of a Plnero
The continuous quest for a higher grade
Of dramas. written by men who possess
imagination and ideas, does not mean
that the public demands the touch OF
the greatest techniCians before these
plays are to be accepted. Barrie's sue
cess disproves that, as does Parker's
and Shaw's. While every playwright
must spend long and weary years In
learning his craft, some of them will
he sufficiently original and spontane-
Gus to f1out the rigid rules of play
construction, and thereby give freshness
and charm and novelty to his work.
What is most needed now is not the
play which eXcels in craftsmanship,
but the play which projects an individ-
ualty across the footlights. There has
been tendency to build a Chinese wall
around the stage, to recognize only
those writer's who live almost entirely
in the Broadway zone. \ classified
property room of plots and scenes is
given these men to draw upon. In the
future il is quite conceivable that the
realistic play will develop in Elasticity
of form. and that the present technical
code will be an OutwOrn creed.
Henrietta CrOsman. who shares with
Grace George the distinction of being the
leading comedienne of our stage is 10
he seen at the Belasco this week in an
epigrammatic comedy, The Real Thing"
Miss Crosman is a far better actress
of plays than she is a judge of them. but
her latest production, like 'Anti-Mat
rimony." is a real tonic to those who
are seeking some new note in current
plays.
Nat Goodwin. Of Broadway and Raw
hide, New, will appear at the Columbia
this week in The Captain" a comedy
by Broadhurst and Dazey. Mr.. Goodwins s
new leading lady $ a subject on which
he wakes enthusiastic.
Both THE Wedding Trip and Over
the River" seem destined to be metro
politan successes. The former has a gem
uine musical distinction for the de Ko-
ven score is one sufficiently rare to COM
mand attention in these days of Sloanes
and Hubbells, and the Shubert produc-
tion is commensurate with it. Eddie Foy
is Eddie Foy, and over the River fits