New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

q
.,use II is a first night; rather the con-
trarv. l have seen many. Most OF those
:, recent years are devoid Of excitement
rr,ess YOU happen to be interested IN the
.,,bor. or perhaps the manager, or IN
.,-oe one or more Of the artists on the
s,sge So far as stalls and boxes go 1t
{, q hacked audience. But I met lately
=, dinner a dramatist Of distinction who
,,t the case different, and the mors
r5onsntlv because at that moment a
..1, rlsv Of his was being acted for the
first tine He said
There are in the gallery 400 people
IN the pit go, in the upper circle 700
on those $50 men and women depends
the fortune Of my piece. The stalls and
hoxes do not count. If the pit and gal
lerv auplaud, and if the critics applaud
tomorrow morning. it will be sue
cess
asked whether he was not himself
going to the theatre.
Yes in another half hour, when the
third act will be nearly over At the end
of that act there will be ten curtains or
none. and on that hangs the fate Of the
play.
Meantime. he was chatting as uncon-
cerpedly as if not he but another were
the author What he said came wildly
10 mind on Saturday night as we waited
for Sir Arthur Pinero's The Mind the
Paint Girl"-not felicitous title-to be-
Gin We aH thought something was
going to happen. The house was In a
state Of suppressed excitement quite un-
like the usual languid thrill Of a first
night We had been hearing for weeks
that the piece was 10 be a satire on
musical comedy, and even on the artists
OF musical comedy or on some of them
and it was scarce TO be expected that
This would be taken lying down. There
was a front row of set faces in the gal
erv. looking as if they meant business. l
remembered another talk with another
eminent dramatist to whom I had said
] hoped rehesrsals were going well. He
answered:
They are probably better than think
them"
vcus about it. he retorted:
so would you be nervous if you had
spent two hundred days and nights on
q play and did not know whether it was
going TO he worth 80 cents or 100000"
Certainly the front row Of set faces in
the gallery looked more like 80 cents
than any larger sum. London audi
erces. however. have WAYS of their own.
j. they propose 70 damn play they
usually wait till the end then summon
the author before the curtain and howl
a. him. Not so tonight One Of the
company told me afterward that the
moment the curtain went W they felt
themselves in presence of a hostile
house. From the beginning they never
doubted that trouble was coming. Among
the audience there was A similar feel
ir- I sat amid and near many people
whom I knew. some Of whom I talked
with later. Like the actors, they had
rremonirion Of disorder, as If they were
10 see q comedy and a tragedy together.
But the first act passed peacefully. II
ls an act which perhaps no living Eng
nshman but Sir Arthur Pinero could
have nut together. The best criticism
7 heard came from the lady next whom
7 sat.
We know where Ue are as we'll as II
II were the end ~ the third act instead
ot the first"
7 wished Mr.. Roosevelt had been there,
+rat he might see the difference between
MS lnvertebrate, inorganic protoplasmic
"Playboy Of the Western World and the
work Of p real dramatist like Pinero.
or does Mr. Roosevelt really prefer an
srChy N art as we'll as n politics. Sir
Arthur Pinero is no Insurgent. he likes
building on solid foundation better
than on shifting sands The structure
~ his first act Is compact and sym
rnetrical: and whatever the faults thai
come later, this stands as a monument
% constructive skill. Yet II was q chal-
lenge The germ If the play-the story
of which 7 am not concerned 10 tell
lies IN the first act. il is fair notice TO all
concerned that he means TO lay bare TO
The public gaze all there is in musical
irartistic and dangerous. But an Eng
lsh audience does not look before-is
nov 100 quick Al taking a hint-and
waited
Not. however, very long The first act
passes in the heroines apartments, and
50 is more or less personal. and the
aIthor has made IT only too personal by
Christening his heroine Lily. That hap
pens u be the first name also Of the
delightful actress who wears ago. in The
Merry Widow became all at once the
idol of the town: which she has since
remained He now disclaims all refer
erce 10 her but nobody on this first
night had any doubt that Miss Lily
Elsie was intended, and Miss Lily Elsie
his 4 tremendous public behind her,
even though now married and off the
stage Sir Arthur is too true an artist
90 make his caricature repulsive. He has
given her redeeming traits. She is gen
.rous. impulsive, kindly, with due re-
spect for herself and her position;
charming In many ways.
Then in the second act the scene
changes 10 the foyer Of the Pandora
Theatre, and there comes a rush of Pan
dora girls, like the rush Of pretty and
smartly dressed showgirls and chorus
girls on the stage Of Days or Of the
G4iety. The gallery met them with
angry cries, and the tragedy had begun
Supper is laid for the whole band. 1t is
Lilys birthday they are celebrating-she
is never called anything but Lily-and
L.. LII 4 L.. L.. fhn hnl,lnn