Evening star., 1912-11-10

could not be found convincing
either as an entertainment or a
philosophy.
II IS one of the unintentional promoters
of musical comedy, leaving the consclen-
tious auditor who seeks 10 follow its
complexities of reasoning in a state OF
mental discourag cement. ready to admit
that ragtime may be his limit. after all,
The stage at present assumes to be
more than the mirror held up to nature
II is becoming the reflector which
throws light into the dark corners OF con-
science The picture of virtue rewarded
and guilt punished is not sufficient. Per
plexities of mind are depicted. wh1ch only
supreme intellgence could stra1ghten and
the hopeful disciple is left cropping as be-
fore. In The STRONGER Claim" the drama
tist is as confused in motive as some OF
the characters themselves Duty as an
Instructor clashes with love of art. The
stage seeks to be an educator, out IN
trying to render knowledge palatable puts
too much sugar on the pill The confec-
tionery counteracts the medicine ana
often renders it more threat to d1ges-
ton than a cure.
The play which undertakes to guide
popular thought into lines of abstruse re-
search usually writes its own criticism
within its plot. THE STRONGER Claim,
after laying down as it's subject the aues-
ton of authority between church and
state, shifts from that to the question OF
parental tyranny and bad faith and at the
conclusion, like a discouraged student OF
mathematics, tears up the entire cal
culation and throws it to the winds
with the sentence. do what you think is
rightr' Plays of this philosophic kind
survive as in the case of 1bsen, but not
because of any light they throw on moral.
obligation In Ibsen's case that phase OF
his writing will afford material for vol
umes of controversy for generations to
come They survive in theatrical presen-
tation because of their close sympathetic
ANALYSIS of human thought and emotion:
because of the poet that is in them and
not because of the pedagogue. The
characters live because they are true to
type and are accepted with interest apart
from all purposes of prejudices Or per-
suasion Shylock lives today not because
of the Ella aborate scheme 10 delight the
mob by buffeting and humiliating a
rnonev-lending outcast. but because he is
human.
Unfortunately, the characters in The
Stronger Claim" are SO involved In
contradictory motives that they are not
permitted to be consistently human
The performances of most admirable
company are rendered futile except IN
the minor personages of the play. who
proceed with their own crude methods
of thought TO positive convictions to
which they give resolute adherence
The chauffeur and the maid We're fortu-
nate in not being conveyed into the
rarefed attitudes of theory where .hu-
man interest was gasping for breath.
A far more expert endeavor to make
theatrical performance fulfill dou-
bic mission Is 'Kindling." which per-
haps failed to attract many people who
would have enjoyed its exceptional
merits had it not been most conspicu-
ously advertised for its element OF
least worth. Its drama is superb; its
sociology is devoid of practical help
fulness The theories of eugenics and
Malthusianism as well as the relations
of landlords and tenants are introduced
only to be lost sight of in admiration
for the art displayed by Margaret IL
lington in presenting the one greatest
theme of all drama, the woman whose
love is the unselish outcry of her
whole being.
1t is the biography of Maggie Shultz
that holds attention. even when inter-
est in the protests against things
which need remedy and not further
diagnosis begins TO lag. The play
points out it's own inefficiency as an in
structive influence. An auditor after
being brought face to face with the
picture of tenement conditions feels
that he would he morally justified in
taking the law into his own hands to
square things up with the landlord or
the civil authority who compels him to
pay for the privilege of dwelling in
surroundings of noise. dampness or
sewer gas But the average auditor has
learned to be patient and prudent.
Maggie Shultz does take the law into
her own hands as the result of her eff
forts to be guided by theories which
she accepts as inexorablc laws. The
pitfau into which she stumbles is that
Of faith in undue pretensions of su-
perior wisdom. Scientific specrlations
which are as yet hardly strong enough
70 make their ways out of the class
room and the text book became, as she
understood them, a demand of su-
preme authority for human sacrifice.
Her one defense for her offspring is
secrecy and she denies herself the as
sistance that is so freely and instantly
offered when her need is known.
The superciious middle-aged lady is
not dealt with in a spirit of exact JUS
tice. The story has no place for her ex-
periences in ingratitude and indifference
as she went about the homes of poverty.
As soon as she recognized Maggie in her
true personality, she met her with wom-
anly sympathy.
Having aroused resentments only to
soothe them by the reminder of the pa
tient charity that is striving to meet the
conditions concerning which the play
draws so harsh an Indictment. the per-
formance leaves as it's one pre-eminent
impression a masterpiece OF character
representation. study in nature in
which the actress makes the authors I'm
agination TO move and speak as life it
self. PHILANDER JOHNSON.
sOTHERN'S SATIRICAL SCHOOL,
f. H Sothern has devised an Ideal
School OF Acting 1t is Mr. Sothern' $
opinion that the present method Of teach
ing acting fails to touch on a number of
details of practical Importance.
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