The Detroit times., 1912-01-09
perRoIr OPERA HOUSE.


Strange. weird. mysterious. uncan-
NJ Jet fascinating withal 10 The
scareorow,- which Henry b. Harris
presents In the Detroit opera house
this week. A faify large audience,
weather considered. saw the frst
local performance. Monday night, and
when the curtain fell on the tirst act
they sat In sort OF spell, not know
ing exactly how 70 take II, apparently
They were not sure as yet whether
they liked II or not, IL was such a
departure from the conventional
& drama.
They saw q scarecrow, fashioned In
their presence out or bits or steel ana
wood and straw, with a common beet
Tor q heart, fails for arms and
pumpkin for head, transformed be-
fore their eys into living, breathing
thing, which was christened LORD
Ravensbane and sent out by the
witch, Blacksmith Bess, TO wreak
vengeance on the man who had de-
ceiyed her 20 years ago by making
love TO his much-adored niece ana
winning her. And all this with the
cunning conniyance OF the maleyolent
They saw the Devil. tail, hoots ana
horns, appear without warning from
the most unexpected places, accom-
panied by the fash OF fire and the
odor OF birthstone, and as quickly dis
appear as though the earth had swal-
lowed him up. They heard his voice.
hollow and unearthly, issuing from a
chest on which rested the Bible. AND
when the holy book was opened, his
nendish head appeared TO starSle ana
confound Justice Merton, who hau
come to condemn Bess rs a witch.
Such Is the first act of The Scare
crow" and certainly Ii IS weird
enough to give one the creeps. II 10
small wonder that II leaves one IN
state OF bewilderment But as the
story progresses and the animated
Bcarocrow becomes more and more
human In its actions and less like an
automaton, the interest increases and
one makes up his mind TO sit IL
through. The final verdict is that
THE Scarecrow' is really worm
while. AS a piece OF stagecraft II Is
certainly wonderful spectacle, and
the acting throughout is of superior
order.
To get back TO the story. the scene
OF which Is a town in Massachusetts
about the year 1890, Blacksmith Bess
had, In her youth, been beautiful
girl. Goody Ricky. Back in old Eng
land she had been loved by Gilead
Merton, a gay young blade, and he
had wronged her A son had been
born. but he had died, and Merton
had cast OF the girl This, OF course.
has ali transpired before the play
opens. and when the curtain rises,
Goody Ricky is revealed as the gray
haired Bess, who mixes witchcratt
with the smithy trade, with Satan as
her ally. .... .
To the shop, in the early morning,
comes Rachel Merton, niece OF Gllead.
now Justice Merton, to purchase
magical mirror, called the mirror OF
truth. She is followed by her betroth-
ed, Richard Talbot, rich young
squire, and later by Justice Merton,
and both denounce the old woman as
witch and threaten TO have her
hanged for attempting 10 interest the
girl in her evil practices. In revenge
she summons Satan to her aid and,
together. they fashion the scarecroW
IN the image of her departed son .Id
satan imbues 1t with life, which the
escarecrow," now dubbed Lord Raw
crssbane; sustatns by putting
pipe. ...
Guided by Satan, who now appears
In human form as Dickinson, tutor.
Lord Ravensbane goes TO the home OF
Justice Merton, where he is cordially
received. after the hatteFing introduc-
ton given him by Dickinson. He
makef love to Rachel, who is com
pletely smitten. and Squire Talbot is
given the cold shoulder.
The second, third and fourth acts
all take place in the justices home.
The story. from then on, has TO do
with the events of a single day, and
show the transition OF the automaton
to real man of flesh and blood.
Rachel's love inspires the thing OF
wood and straw with a soul and heart,
hut Lord Ravensbane no sooner dis
covers that he Is a man instead OF
q scarecrow than he falls dead be
fore the mirror of truth, which had
previously revealed him merely as a
scarecrow, and the natural supposi-
tion is that Rachel and Squire Talbot
are now free TO wed in peace.
The Illusion OF the scarecrow in
the mirror is worked out with con.
summate skill and is probably one OF
the greatest bits of stagecraft ever
witnessed on the modern stage. The
part OF the scarecrow makes unusual
demands on Frank Reicher, but he Is
fully equal TO the task and the heights
OF dramatic art is realized in the fnal
act, when he ceases 20 act as me
chanical figure and becomes a real
man OF the flesh. Miss Fola L2Fol-
lette, as Rachel. is splendidly cast,
her conception of the part being dis
finct. She Is a young actress OF eX-
ceptional talent and she invests the
part with womaniy grace and charm
Albert s. Howson's Satan is a mas
ferpiece and mere words cannot do
him justice. The Blacksmith Bess Of
l-enore Chippendale Is another worthy
effort and she brings to the part a
ripe experience. The other parts are
"A all In good hands, aud the stage set
. ting Is an accurate picture OF New
England at the period represented.
The Scarecrow" is here for ali
week, with matinees Wednesday and
Saturday.