Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-28
ut was Mrs. Fiske week in wash
ington.
While she was personally present
at the Columbia. her influence

had not its author had Mrs rlshe
announcement in his earlier career
when he submitted salvation Nell.
An interesting era was entered upon
when Mrs Fiske decided to go slum-
ming salvation Nell was not merely
an attack on stage conservatism. II
was an onslaught. 1t introduced staid
people TO a phase Of life which made
them gather their shawls around their
shoulders and reach for the smelling
salts Mr.. Sheldon has evidently de-
cided that 1t is his mission In litera-
ture TO assemble an audience or HARM
less and respectable people and give
them a thorough shocking. II there
should be any little thing that you
may not care to think about In the
hours you have set aside for respite
from the serious considerations Of hu-
man responsibility. Mr.. Sheldon Will
industriously drag 1t out and shake 1t
Mt you. If you shudder, so much the
better. 1t Is arousing your dormant
intellectually. 1t will do you good
unless you choose to remain away. In
which case you are dismissed from
consideration as "a low brow" low
brow Is anybody who happens to be
uninterested in your particular line OF
activity.
OF course Mrs. Fiske would not call
Won a low brow, unless she happened
to be speaking In the Indiana dialect
which she makes so deliciously humor-
Gus feature of her new comedy. Mrs.
Bumpstead- Leigh"
The author OF The Boss" is much
like the small boy who is the problem
of every school yard. He scorns the
prescribed studies of his age and cir
cumstances and eavesdrops for forbid
den lore. which he retoicingly forces
on the attention of his associates. He
finds a sense OF superiority in his
ability to destroy ideals. He tells
them that there Is no Santa Claus and
delights in the regrets attending his
iconoclasm. He even undertakes to
explain the most occult sociological
and biological phenomena in the crude
vocabulary at his command. and finally
finds himself studiously avoided by all
the boys who are at all well-parented.
No doubt this youngster fmagines
himself a teacher and a sage. But he
is only a nuisance and remains one
until he grows up and realizes that his
alertness of mind has been sadly mis-
applied.
That Mr.. Sheldon should have interested
Mrs. Fiske in his work is not surprising,
for he Is a thinker and knows how to put
his story together in q form that will
retain interest provided sthe auditor can
be lured into giving 1t attention. The
only objection to him is his reckless pre-
cocity.
Two of the theaters printed polite re-
quests TO the audiences to refrain from
making preparations for leaving the
theater in advance OF the final fall of the
curtain, owing to the fact that the en-
joyment of the majority may be ruined
by isolated cases of unintentional dis
courtesy 1t Is a timely suggestion.
American audiences have a reputation for
patience and politeness that should be
fostered. But occasionally they will get
restless and want TO go home: which
would undoubtedly be resented by the
majority, especially IL 1t happens to be
composed largely of the regular attaches
of the company and theater. Cases have
Z been known in which stars, not content
with courteous admonition. undertook to
positively refuse permission to leave the
theater during the progress Of play, but
the experiment was not well received.
The enforcement of such a rule would
compel supersensitive people to provide
themselves with writs of habeas corpus
before going out to an evenings enter
tainment.
Mr.. Holbrook Blinn. who has been rec
ognized as a fine actor. plays the title
role of The Boss with clean-cut force
fulness that makes the character stand
out with crystalline distinctness.
Mrs FIskes new author. Mr.. Smith,
looks like a find worth while Mrs.
Bumpstead-Leigh" Indicated that he has
condescended to study the models &C
copied as standards for English-speakfng
comedy While his work may, at the
outset be slightly hindered by the Sheri-
danesque "reminiscences which IT con-
tains. he has a good paying vein or ma
tive originality, which he attacks IN Z
workmanlike way that gets rapid re-
suits Avoiding the struggle for epigram
he manages to make his lines snap with
vital suggestion, and his character de-
lineations. though In a by no means TN
familiar strain of satire. are irresistib,y
humorous. The play is presented with
unvarying cleyerness throughout the
cast. Broad touches Of comedy are not
withheld where they can be made ef-
fective. They are never applied where
they are not absolutely justified on lesiti-
mate grounds The results which have
attended Mrs. Fiske's explorations in tn .
field OF authorship must be a gratihca-
zion sufficient to compensate for the ef-
fort they involved. Her constant expert
mentation must be regarded as the sheer
est artistic generosity. for there is no
doubt that an admiring public would
keep crowding theaters TO see her play
Tess or Becky Sharp" so long as she
chose TO go on presenting them.
Donald Brian holds a position in the
stage world quite his own. He IL an
actor-dancer. and proficient that he
has elevated to stellar Importance q line
of parts heretofore regarded as essen
TALLY subordinate. He IL a graceful
dgure on the stage. and. though by no
means equipped for the expression Of
tense emotionalism or emphatic humo,.
is always SO dashingly debonair that
his welcome Is assured. The Siren IL
one OF the successful musical comedies
with an opulence Of good looks ana