The Detroit times., 1912-10-22
THEATERS
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE.

There's tidy little bunch OF
adages, In and out of the old-time
copybook. that will be brought to
mind in thinking over the moral In
"The Woman" the play of contempor-
aneous Washington life, which Will
liam c. de Mile wrote, and David
Belssco presented to large audience
In the Detroit opera house, Monday
evening. Perhaps the most apt Is:
Chickens come home to roost" The
play concerns a little game OF politics
in which the dishonorable means used
by 6 coterie Of machine" politicians
to discredit the acknowledgement lead
er OF the lower house reacts upon
themselves. Therefore. In comes ali
tn practical proverbs, including les
son on the golden rule.
In the audience, Monday evening.
we're several wellknown local lights
In the political horizon. and 1t Ii to
be expected that they left the theater
Ia little bit wiser on some points OF
the game. 1t Is to be hoped that the
moral OF the dramatist found lodg-
ment. Anyway, the story and incl
dents In "The Woman" offer the best
kind Of an argument in behalf OF
playing the game OF politics on tho
square, and that 1t Is dangerous busi-
ness to attempt to force disaster
upon a man in public life by raking
up purely personal matters In his pri-
vate life, especially incidents OF the
past.
In addition to the politicians at
tracted to the theater there were any
number OF hello" or TO be more up
to-date. operator" girls, In the audi
ence. You see, the central feminine
figure In "The Woman" Is switch
board operator In a Washington hotel.
And. leave 1t to Mr.. Belasco, there
was no fake" about this young per-
son or her switchboard either. Wan
da Kelly, as presented by Miss Mary
NASH, 10 a true type of the girl to- be
found at the telephone switchboard
In the lobby of almostAny large hotel
in the country. The first act of the
play Is placed in the Keswick hotel
lobby, Washington. and Mr.. Belasco
shows his usual master touch In
evolving every perfect detail Of the
picture he wishes to present. The
same stagecraft genius Is shown In
the setting Of the second and third
acts, the private sitting room In the
apartments OF Congressman Mark
Robertson. of New york.
IL is Mr.. Belasco's own company
from his own Republic theater, In
New York. that Is presenting the play
and, 80. Il Is almost needless to say.
that every character is acted almost
iawlessly. Miss Nash Is entirely ef-
fective as the phone girl, and Miss
Jan: Peyton, as the only other woman
in the play and "the woman" makes
the most Of a part that has not much
about II to appeal. Among the men.
IL individual honors were to be dis
tributed. they would probably be cap
tured by John w. Cope, as Jim
Blake, representative from Illinois, a
characteristic picture OF political
boss. and Cuyler Hastings, as Mathew
Standish, the reform-insurgent leader,
the latter refreshing departure from
the usual type OF the wild-andwoolly
political insurgent drawn by novelist
and playwright.
In spite OF a rather thin story upon
which TO seek TO wreck mans repu-
tation, and many defects in drama
making, the genius of Mr.. Belasco for
making strong meat out of watery
soup, has sent The Woman" along
a successful public career. As Mr..
Belasco has dressed her. The Wo-
man" is mighty interesting.
The highly capable company. aside
from those players already mentioned,
includes Edwin Holt, as Congressman
Robertson; Harold Vosburgh, as Tom
Blake; Carleton Macy, as Ralph Van
DYKE. New York railroad and cor
poration lawyer; William Holden, as
Tim Neligan, congressman from
Pennsylvania, and Stephen Fitzpatrick