Evening star., 1912-11-03
- 70 ponderous themes invited the
M attention Of theater audiences
~ last week.
Like the old-time balladist

thors of stage productions are most
Gus when they apply theiiisel>''
cical endeavor.
e. A ,rofound admiration for the German
e,nnsror as & man who takes tull du
vantage of the absence OF any reiereh-
Avn, or recall affecting his conclusions
"a assume all sorts of initiative was
re,gbtara,s bv the advance announcements
that he considered ''Our Wives the oes.
force ever written" It is thus that an
ornperor should speak. None nut an EN-
-,ercr nav bone ~ ev"rrise the func.ions
~ d~~rna-ic critic without fear or con-
+r,aictiop None hut the Kaiser would
have rndaTtater n constitute himself a
Sra-,a Iaae-,e sor the henest Of the entire
rfvf-t-ed rtrhlir.. not c~'v national bnt
Unconventional The u'terance Is doubt
lees ar.He,tic IT was oroNahlv ~iven
for+h With ne easv oFe-hcrd ro-edenre
which n e The privilege of hereditary
majesty "a feel
-rra rro-,r+roes ,,-'-h which TIE ad-
rance r,,"v, .o~t aS'-~ NO cre ~ rne en-
,aro~'s VOW, ~ e%o,,ra7 f.c-c'',andahia en-
-a-,,risa n-d aso,'-I E+-ra ~ASn'fe for
+he rev;eue-s wtcsa o~'~'ons are 50
aftan rar<ada IN on~Nln1 for~, as tasti-
-,ori,ls NV re,.ia-,. c~->er+'v hand'eS
U,Ip s,.~-sSt q testi~-~r,'a' - the sem
tence ha~rers ia ree7 with a hette~
,,Tot ~o5 .ha*+er oo->-rarv u. 'rioh. hova
rean a GOOD sE70~-- . $40 +ee-lu,oriai arts.
leaves ont eve~~thin~ evrert the last
trree words a.7r. IN exclamation point.
and there you have il.
.sOur Wives ie pEiIosonhic~t first and
funny in s'bo-Tin"te waV. A whin-
sfca' writer once pro7Uced volume en-
-it-e ed ''rssay-s on Falling IN Love and
OTTER More Fract Branches Of Science" !"
He had so~retbipc 90 the same spirit OF
hnmo- - thqt which ani~'a-es the au-
thors OF this IA ces He discussed falling
in love as a part Of natures scheme
s of natural selection. citing grace or
movement. c'earness of complexion.
brightness of eye ard the other attri-
butes thrt charm as evidences OF happi-
+. ness of thought and robustness of ply
sique to guide the human race in its mar
rfages until the day arrives when a re-
liable system of eugenics can be estab
lished to eliminate all the ements of
gJlesswork In SO important a matter.
5 "Our Wives stands pot analysis fair
Iy we'll, and is ingenious in it's contrast
ing of characters and episodes. Yet 1t
does not entertain as lightly and heart
lily as Never Say Die" In curtain
speech Mr.. Henry kolker confided to
his audience, in enc of those outbursts of
frankness possible only when a person
Of artistic diaidence vie ds TO strong
ir,onr hl
be known as great actor than be elect
ed President of the United States-and
this. OF course, without any thought of
+ disp ragement OF the highest Office In
the gift of the American peop'e, etc. etc.
Perhaps Mr.. Kolker is right from a
practical point OF view. The actors sit
uation is likely 10 be more permanent
and censu~e less arbitrary and unreason-
able.
William Collier does not demand recog-
milton as a great actor. II Is his ambi-
tion 10 AUTH: assuming that since an
actor Is one who acts. an author .s one
vino auths. No play goes on with Col
lier in the cast without his name on the
program as co'iaborator. and his work Is
easily discernible. Are you not a good
tor ''Win YOU have a bun?" Yes
drinking on a cocktail viii e the double
meaning of bun penetrates-"in a little
while The play is full of Collierisms.
And while they may not intensity amos
.phere or reach into plot structure as do
The touches of BeIasco, they give piece
distinct quality and supplyy.a verbal vi
yacity that insures entertainment. Mir.
Col ier has no equal in the line of par S
that depend on suave drollery. The sue
cession OF laughs that he insists on hav-
ing is always delight for his audience.
though rather jeopardizing the legitimate
possibilities which seem TO lie SO easily
within his reach.
Madam Sherry though no longer
young as musical careers 60 is still ex-
uberant; not so buoyant as of yore. but
on old friend not to be lightly d. d.smissed.
FHILANDER JOHNSON.
PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION.-
At the time when she was completing
arrangements for her new home in Lau-
same. Switzerland. Nine. Marcella Sem
brich stopped at the post office one day
to collect her mail Beng unknown 10
the postmaster she was told she would
have TO prove her identity. The niger
pleaded that she had no cards or letters.
Really. | am Nine. Sembrich, urged
the celebrated pTima donna.
That may be true, madam, but need
the evidence" replied the oodurate ofh-
cial. e...e --@.--
Several minutes OF arguing We're of no
avail Without warning she began TO
sing "Sempre Iibera" from the first act
of LA Travidta.
The postmaster handed out packet
OF letters and escorted Nine. Sembrich
10 her carriage.
Her experience recalls that Of the late
Charles Bigelow. the musical coined an.
who sought admittance 10 vaudeville
performance in this city. Having no pro-
fessional card he at last sat SIZED the
yigilant box Official by 60 ng to the near
by theater and securing a lithograph
of himself. with his name on ii in large
letters Holding the pictured face beside
mis- own he pointed TO the name, and the
ticket msp was compelled to admit his
identity.
LEHAR'S LOST GEM.-When Phyllis
Parting ton was abroad last spring the
famous composer Lehar told her that the
best waltz he ever wrote was one which
the pubic will never hear.
How is thatT' inquired the prima dom
ma. Surely II Il not right for you TO
withhold the beautiful compos. ton IL you
have rea ly produced your masterpiece.
LetaT smiled and shook his head sadly.
Miss Pennington. 1t happened in IL s
way. While out walking one day In the
woods, and listening to the song Of the
birds. ] was suddenly inspired With a de-