El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-04-08
'"The Geisha," a Tuneful
Old FavOrite, Is Repro
duced With Star Cast.
L Emorv b. CaIvert.l


FEW YORK, n Y, April s.
N Spring is naturally the season
OF revival This period Of gem
eral roiU~enation is applied to the
theater as much as to other things.
-.---. ere at present about q half dozen
old favOrites Of the rosy past being
presented to Broadway audiences ana
there are more to come. Many are re
viTed but few survive. The theater
going public has greatly chang I'd
within the last decade and they dis
cover to their sorrow that the rOSeatC
memories which cluster about the DID
pIa-S do nos revive with the revival
so TO speak. Of course that is not
alwa IS the case Many of the old
pieces are just as Acceptable now as
when they were first produced, in
fact more so. because they a1tOr1
such a blessed relief from the many
arid things which have been fOisted
as plays and musical comedies Of late
years
One of the most prominent managers
on Broadway stated that If he could
find acceptable new plays Of suIfi-
cient number to keep his theater go
ing he would never think Of putting
en- q revival THE attitude of most OF
the other big managers is the same
From this the only conclusion to be
reached is that the native playwrlg hIs
are not living up to their OppOrtuni-
ties. and that every revival is, in
Ann Boyd" is a dramatization +
VIII y. Harben's novel. one of the
finest studies Of Georgia life, which
is his special province, he has written
The turning Of the book into a PLAY
was accomplished by Miss Lucille La
Verne. who explained to her audience
at Walacks that she had first sug-
Eested the dramatiza ton to the late
Clyde Fitch, but the latter died before
he had time TO perform the task Ih9n
she tried George Broadhurst ana
Charles Klein, and because they did
not have time TO do ii she went 70
work and made the dramatic version
herself. 1t being her first effort it
was necessarily amateurish, and as in
many instances before 1t the drama
fell far below the standard Of the
It is an interesting story. Ann
Boyd mas been married five years TO
her farmer husbaRd- She is happy
and contented- But Jane HemenWay'
her one time rival. has never forgiven
her, even though she has since been
married and widowed and has
daughter. Jane artfully arOuses JOnn
Boyd's suspicious in regard to mis-
wife. He leaves home OStenSibly Tor
the night. He returns unexpectedly
and finds Ann in the arms Of Col
Chester, Of Chester Mansion Although
she was in reality repulsing the am
OrOus colonel her husband, Of course,
does not understand. He throws the
intruder out of his house and Wrings
from Ann the confession that the man
had wrOnged her in her early youth
He obtains a divorce. Jane Hemen-
vvav furnishing most Of the testimony,
and leaves the place, taking his little
son with him.
Fifteen years have elapsed when the
curtain rises on the second act Ann
Boyd has become the richest woman
in the neighbOrhOod. Here the play
shows one of its faults. It is not ex-
planned how Ann acquired her fortune
although it is made perfectly clear n
the book. She owns the largest and
richest farm, she controls the stock
Of the cotton mill the flour mill, and
the bank She is tolerated on account
of her wealth but is Ostracized from
society. And Jane Hemenway is still
active in her persecution Of the hapless
Ann. AS a comfort in her loneliness
Ann has adopted a boy who is now IN
Atlanta learning to become a Journal
ist There has been clash Of wills
for - years. But not the dramatic
~-N5oh lends itself to the stage.
Ann BOyd's opportunity comes at last
ns that the son Of the man
VINO betrayed her has persuaded Jane
Hem enWays daughter to Visit MIN AT
night at the Mansion. Sc will let the
girl go to her ruin and triumph at
last over her enemy. But at this
juncture her adopted son arrives and
cOnfesses that he loves the girl where
upon Ann starts in haste to save her.
The third act is the most dramatic
OF the play. 1t has something which
resembles a punch" and a decided
comic relief in the persons Of two
drunken visitors. The fourth act Of
course. brings a happy termination to
this rural drama.
The character of Ann Boyd was
played by Nance O'NeilL The un-
happy feature about this was that Miss
O'Neill is a woman Of too much power,
in short, too great. for part that was
written in an almost commonplace
manner. Miss O'Neiu has wonderful
strength and scope, but her role did
not afford her an opportunity to show
them. Lucille La Verne as Jane Hem