The Washington herald., 1911-02-21
THE BELASCO.
sEyerywoman.,

EVeryWOmau.
Henry W. Sayage's presentation of
Walter Brownies poetio-dramatic spec
tacle, 'Everywoman,'' is the only
! truly great stage offering of recent
years. Even as it was seen last even
ing at the Belasco, with much of the
dramatic richness of its several immense
roles still unexplored by players and pro-
Iducers, it is an overwhelmingly beautiful
thing.
Walter Browne, who was tragically
robbed by death Of the qualification of
seeing this child of his brain offered to
the public, has used the phrase, modern
morality play" as the sub-captain to the
title BY this he meant to credit as
the source of his inspiration those me-
| dieval ecclesiastical dramas of which
"Everyman'' was a type. In EVERY
woman" the chief figure and all sub
| ordinate characters are used ale
goricalIy to represent various abstract
virtues, vices, and conditions, but here
all resemblance to the oldtime morality
play ceases. And here, too, the diff
ficuIty of classifying this stupendous
| work by any modern standards OF dram
aturgy begins.
''Everywoman" is more than a drama,
more than a poem, more than specta-
Gle, and more than an opera 1t is
| soul-satisfying admiXture of the essen
tial elements of each. AS drama it
is an absorbing, nearly perfect exposition
| of the clash between a woman's soul
| and the corrosive forces of worldliness.
AS a poem, it has the charm of true
! verse and much of real literary merit.
AS a spectacle, il is so masstvely and
| beautifully contrived and staged as TO
provide an evening of keenest enjoyment
for one deprived of hearing. Its musi-
cal features, provided by George White
field Chadwick, one of Americas fore
most composers, and played by an excel
| lent orchestra of almost grand opera
proportions, bring II to the level of
Metropolitan Opera House production.
In simple, sonorous verse the play tells
the story of Everywoman's fruitless
quest for love and happiness We see her
first in the ripe glory of her unblemished
femininity, surrounded by her faithful
train-Youth, Beauty, and Modesty. We
are introduced to the action by the most
strikingly quaint and ironical figure the
stage has seen in many days-Nobody.
exquisitely played by H. Cooper Cliffe.
F1attery appears to Everywoman in her
mirror and urges her to seek King Love
the First, from whom he brings an ar
dent message. Truth, an old, hooded fig
ure, intrusted to the rare talents of
Sarah CoweTl LeMoyne, warns Every
woman against fattery, but in vain.
In the second act we find E>verywoman
a star in a New York theater. Excellent
satire and much real humor pervades
this act. The two theater managers,
Bluff and Stuff. discover Modesty among
fIeir oh pirlS
is no place for Modesty. and Eyerywoman
loses the first of her three attendant
graces. In this scene EVerywoman en-
counters the lure of Wealth, played as a
typical middIe-aged roue by that sterling
actor, Frederic de Belleville. Here. too,
she mistakes Passion, one OF the players
in the mock theater. for Love, and, sue
cumbing to the wondrous sweetness of
his song, is about to give herself to his
embraces when Modesty. hidden IN the
big scenic rock upon which Everywoman
leans. warns her and she drives cringing
Passion away. Sydney Jarvis, as Pas
sion. has been given two fine songs,
which he sings magnifcently.
The next scene discloses Everywoman
surrounded by a gay company Of rev.
elers, holding a midnight feast in her
apartments. One of the most striking
ployed in this scene. Conscience, Every
woman's handmaiden, stands by the
couch of Beauty, who has complained of
feeling i'll. The revelry is interrupted
from time to time by the still. small
voice of Conscience. singing a plaintive
little old English ballad. Miss Wilda
Bennett, who plays this role, is a new
conner to the stage. She has a remark !
ably sweet voice and is most attractive !
to look upon. One of Mr.. Savage's hap |
piest gifts lies in his ability to make |
these discoveries.
Everywoman and her companions |
continue the carousal with unabated zeal |
until she discovers that Beauty has |
died. The guests are dismissed. Wealth !
lags behind. He offers palaces, yachts, |
and all the other worldly blessings-for |
the usual return. Everywoman, in the |
despair occasioned by the loss of her |
beauty, abandons herself to- Wealth's |
advances. 1t is an intensely dramatic |
moment, worthy of the art of the great !
est actress. Miss Laura Nelson Hall, |
while she does not reach the heights
possible of attainment in this scene ac-
quits herself as ably as any actress