The Washington herald., 1912-01-07

ISIS o. COMEDY no less a parsonage tnAn
Margaret AngIin, than whom there is nc
more euective emotional actress in
Americs. AS comedienne Miss Angiin
is at first likely to meet with dubious
reception from the public. particularly
from that unimaginati1e public which In
sists upon combining the successful ac-
tress to single range Of roles. and
which always demands personality
rather than art when It enters the play
house To this public II will seem i'm
possible that the Ruth Jordon OF four
years ago, and the Helena Ritchie OF
last season can essay the sparkling
metier OF Hight comedy. but II is exactly
this public which Miss Anglin has set
out to conquer. and which she will con-
quer-ultimately.
II should not be understood that Miss
Angltn has burned all her bridges behind
her. She attempts comedy OF the type
OF the A. Z. W. Mason piece, Green
stockings" which she presents at the
Columbia this week, partly to broaden
her powers, and partly because she is
sick TO death Of the weepy, heavy
Bernhardtesque roles In which she es-
tablished her artistic reputation FoT
the past four years her supremacy in the
so-called 'emotionaI'' parts has been SO
clear that he who runs may read. From
the Gay that she shared with Henry
Miller the honors OF The Great DIVIDE
II was apparent that none Of her rivals
could plumb the depths with sincerer
or more effective note than she, and
since then she has gained greatly in tech
nique and power. II became a matter
OF real courage. then, when she shifted
the base CT her Efforts and aspired to
the honors Of the comedienne-a quix-
otlc, suicidal courage, some OF her friends
called 1t. but they were wrong.
80 II has come TO pass that Miss Anglin
like Mrs. Fiske, is demonstrating that her
art has many facts ana cannot be dwarf
"a and stilted merely because IL would
pay her better TO do so. To-day she will
essay comedy, tomorrow PLAYS of deeper
cahber' until she has built up a roper
toire Indeed. she has already a new
play In rehearsal written by no less a
dramatist than Henry Arthur Jones, who
provided her with her nrst great success,
Mrs. Danes Defense and whose place
among English playwrights is second only
TO Pinero. If the new play succeeds DIT
will probably be placed before the pub
lie within the next four weeks Miss
Anglin will have the foundation for an
excellent season Of repertoire next year.
Rehearsals OF the new piece will progress
during the present week in Washington,
with the distinguished playwright direct.
inE them Mr.. Jones has had an unior-
tunate experience with New York
premieres, including the We Can't Be as
Bad as All That" fisscU of last season.
and the equally unfortunate Evangelist
of three years ago. but he is confident
of better deal from Dame Fortune this
time.
Ye hosts Of vaudeville lovers, hear ye,
that this is Chase's thirteenth anniver-
sary week; all must perforce join in the
celebration of the event! Thirteen years
OF fun and prosperity. of big and Joyous
audiences. In that time an intensely
loyal following has been built up, a den-
mite policy has been established, and the
term polite vaudeville has come to
mean something. May many more an
niversaries OF the same kind be ceIe-
brated!
Mrs. FisSe, who will shortly appear in
this city in the comedy, Mrs. Bump
stead-Leigh." a satire on certain phases
Of metropolitan society, has been fortu-
nate in securing the new Rudolf Besier
comedy. Lady Patricia for an early
production in New York. In London
Mrs. Patrick Campbell appeared as the
amoTous pOetsSs and precieuse.. The
piece is largely a satiricaI farce of me-
chanical structure, but ready wit II
lampOOns the cultivated" woman. Lady
Patricia writes verses on veIlum and
reads them aloud. Occasionally she |
quotes from other poets. Her favorites !
are stephen Phillips and Swinburne. She |
also enjoys herself in a filtration with a |
young boy named Bill O'Farrell; while /
her husband is pursuing similar course |
with a girl named Claire. Meanwhile |
they both fear exposure; for each thinks |
the other still true. Then bill" discov- |
ers Claire. Frantic at the manner in |
which the married couple pursue them, |
they ultimately fan into each others |
arms. Lady Patricia and her spouse |
chsstened by disillusionment and con- |
fession, return happily TO conjugal bliss. |
Mrs. Fiske should have very good time |
with the poseur who utteFs as her final |
lines the words: ''Ah, under the great |
rose window in the south transept our
pew is now full of purple and amber |
lights and shafts OF chrysoprase. Shall |
we not sit there again together? Re-
pentance is very exquisite. and how
beautiful is forgiveness. Gomez
Still more troubles descend upon the
Imperial Russian ballet Owing to dis
agreements over many things-ranging,
one may suspect. from terms Of salary
TO the comparative failure of the organi-
zation-Mhail Mordkin and Bronislowa
PaJitzais, Mr.. Mordkin's wife, will quit
the company. On January Is they will /
appear at the Winter Garden, New York,
in ballet advertisements. The 'ImperiaI' /
Russian ballet is to continue on tour
with Mr.. Volinine as the principal male
dancer.
Thus speaks Mr.. George Tyler, whose
activities are assuming greater proper
tions with every season, and who ac-
cording 10 Arthur Ruhl, Of Golfers,
combines commercial efficiency with
that broad-mindedness and sensitiveness
20 beauty which the audience has fondly
grown TO think is theirs alone:
Where there were $50 so-caIled first
class companies In the country six years
ago." he said, there are probably l5Oo
now. Expenses of every sort have in
creased enormously, at the same time
that the available public has been cut to
pieces and scattered all over the place.
Any little play costs $500 a week now. |
You could carry II for 1880 a few years
ago. Suppose a man has S,000 Pouf-i
gone Ike that-unless the piece scratches
the first night! The scramble for any,
thing that viii please has pushed up
salaries absurdly-if an actors any good
at all he won't look at you for less than
$50 or 500 or 500 week. And even here
IN New York, with what you call a stand
ard success. the bottom drops out much
sooner than II used to. You can't any
more bring standard favorite into town
and, IL the play doesn't succeed, put on 4
revival Of some earlier success The pub
lie won't have IL They want something
new or nothing at all The whole busi-t
ness seems to me absolutely chaotic Some