The Washington herald., 1912-01-30
THE COLUMBIA.
Helen Ware in ."rhe Price"

Helen Ware In ''rhe Price"
Whether 'aThe Price" finds its roots in
''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray," or
whether the echoes Of Pineroan origin
IN its warp and wool are more apparent
than real are not questions of Immediate
import in considering The intense and
hectic drama which Helen Ware pre-
sented at the Columbia Theater last even
ing. Beyond any mooted point as to Its
derivation is the fact that II is one Of
the most expert acting machines Of The
period. 1t is, indeed, an acting machine
rather than play. Nothing more COM
pact, more technically fiawless, more
positive in its drive" so to speak. has
been devised by the gentlemen who write
for the stage in lcng time.
Stripped OF verbiage, THE Price" is
melodrama applied to certain phases Of
the sex problem. George Broadhurst is
the author Of it, and he has cunningly
constructed a complex tangle. involving
marital mismating, the Nemesis-like ven
gesnce taken by a Xantippe type OF
widow on the woman who she believes
first stole the heart and then took the
life Of her husband. Throughout the
play there are striking surface touches
Of sincerity and fidelity to certain phases
OF modern existence. In the end, how
ever, all attempts to epitomize THE
Price" will be fruitless, because II is so
perilously near being a strong, sincere,
brilliant play that one is continually
under the temptation to describe II as
such.
The true significance of THE Price" is
that Helen Ware is playing the central
role. As every sophisticated theater-goer
knows, Miss Ware is a genuinely ef-
fective actress in parts demanding the
release Of a strong and sustained stream
of emotional interest. She proved her.
self abundantly in The Third Degree
and The Woman" and The Price"
simply corrobOrates the high regard in
which she has long been held in WASH
ington. She does more than play the
role Of Ethel Toscani; sne makes II seem
vital, sincere, real, in spite of the fire.
uuent touches Of Broadhurstian pathos.
There is probably no actress now before
the public. II one excludes Miss Anglin
and Miss Starr, who could have done as
much with II.
Her splendid work in the third act
struck just that right balance of repres-
sion, Of gripping speech far removed from
elocutionary formulae, Of poignant emo
ticnal thrust. to carry the scene TO sue
cess Only in the comedy touches does
Miss Ware lack fiuency. There is also
a brittlenes in her love scenes more or
less grating. But the essential fact is
that Miss Ware dominates the play, gains
the heart throbs." in the popular jargon.
and makes the artifciality Of The Price"
a minor issue. The flaw which the public
will fnd in the play is not that it is not
true, but that il is somewhat morbid.
But there has always been a large and
enthusiastic public for the emotional
actress since the days OF Clara Morris,
and IL is this public which will find in
The Price the type Of drama # has
been seeking.
The supporting company is almost all
that the fastidious could desire In the
role of the Nemesis-like wife, Mrs. Dole,
is that veteran actress. Jessie Ralph, who
brought a true and telling method to
many. a scene in which technical pitfalls
were certainly not fewer than emotional
opportunities. She played the role bril-