New-York tribune., 1913-11-18

THE CAST.
Kate MacMasters. ............. .Saran NC lcker
Narv .................xnn Annie Buckley
Clara Hemingway ....... Lois Frances Clark
Cora whitman .......... Frances Whitehouse
John Hemingway y.............' 'Cnarles NdulVn
Mrs Hemingway. .....''''''''.'s cara No'i ,LI -
Walter Hemingway. 'Alphohs EthseI
Inez de Pierrefond. ............E Elsie Ferguson
charlie Abbe bbe..................H Hugh Dillman
Nav ArmstroIg. ....... George Drew Mendum
Henry MacMasters. .'otto r, ion,nann I,n
Mrs. Able. ......'..'''''''''Si 'SirS' rei'N 'i0'''
When Inez de Pierrefond came from
Paris. France, TO Delphi, Iowa, TO be IN
spected and approved by the mother OF
John Hemingway ere she married him.
she was regarded by the natives as
very fancy young person. indeed. And
no wonder. She is thus described In the
stage directions of Mr.. William Hurlbuts
play. THE Strange Woman which was
presented at the Lyceum Iheatre last
night:
There is about her the atmosphere OF
perfection-the last word OF the Coh'i-
mental woman Of intellect, smartness ana
temperament She radiates an exotic VI
tally; there is a sensuous ailurenieh.
about her, but tempered by intellect ann
underlying all her nature Is felt the steer
of her WILL that can fuse into "hito
heat Of passion. Very feminine, pliah'
and keen humor, and about her always
as intangible as an odor, the magnetism
Of her charm"
Such was Miss de Pierrefond In her au-
thor's mind, and such Miss Elsie Fergu-
son very finely made her on the stage last
evening. She was, indeed, an orchid IN
bayfield,.
THE Strange Woman might be de-
scribed az sort of retort to Mr. TarHlns-
tons THE Man from Home" Mr.. IarK-
ington took the ideals Of Indiana TO Eu-
rope and caricatured the periidous aris-
tocracy to make easier and more vivid
their complete undoing. Mr.. Huribut
brings the ideals of Europe to the Middle
West and caricatures the inhabitants OF
the town Of Delphi in order to confouhd
the provincial notions OF Iowa. There Is
something to be said on both Sides OF
course. and Mr. Hurlbut puts the anti
Iowa side very amusingly.
Mr.. Harrington had convictions about
his side OF the case and carried them out
without surrender. Mr.. Hurlbut appar-
emily is a trife like the young man In MS
play. who had lived both I'm Paris and In
Delphi. and could understand and SYM
pathize with both points OF view. for
two acts the Delphians are compelled 70
bite the dust, and then the victorious
heroine sees a new light and Is bowln8
her own proud and extremely indlViouai-
istic neck before the curtain fails.
Miss de Pierrefond had particularly
fixed ideas about marriage. She had hdd
one tragfcally unhappy experience III
marriage before. and II had left her Win
n loathing for what seemed 10 her the
"mere words OF the conventional mar
rlage ceremony. Not only to herself ou'
10 the hosts Of women who were ehuul-
ing. because OF these words, the same
humiliations that she had once sufered'
did she believe that she owed duty III
her marriage with John Hemenway-
whom. by tho way, she had met In Paris
while he was studying architecture AT the
Beaux- -Arts-neither OF them would be
hound by anything but their own love
and self-respect.
This was one of the reasons for her
coming to Delphi-the matter had 10 be
broken gently to Johns mother, VINO
idolized her son. And so she came. with
her accent and exotic clothes ana all
the rest, and Delphi proceeded to rise
as one man to repel the invader
The first act. with its clever exposition
both Of the Delphians themselves and Of
the strange woman about to come into
their placid little prairie town IS well
made and thoroughly entertaining. Ihe
American types, with the exception or
the mother, are caricatures, TO be sure,
hut they are amusing caricatures, with
good deal of truth and intelligent satire
shining through them. They are no more
grotesaue, perhaps. than were the aristo-
cratic figures in ''The Man From Home
although Of course, they are likely 10
seem so to an American audience, ana
Mr.. Hurlbut has as much right TO this
means OF showing the reverse side OF the
case as had Mr.. Harrington TO show MS
Needless to say, the keen and exquisite
Miss Pierrefond vanquishes them all ana
their gossip. and shows them up as cack-
lirg. pinheaded hypocrites. with Wit ana
coupletely Then she starts to tell Johh
rother about her novel ideas OF marriage.
The mother starts to talk about John, and
In a monologue rather lengthy, even lor
dothing mother. shows how conpleteiy
her whole married life has been sacrince
for the happiness of her child. AS Miss
p,srrefond listens she grows remorseful
ond melts. Her individual notions faoe
away. she begins to feel that consistency
10 only obstinacy after you have discoV-
cred higher truth, and the end OF all OF
il Is that John and she are married the
very next day by the same service used
nv Johns father and mother.
More or less profound observations
might be made in the plausibllity of Miss
p,errifond's conversion, especially about
her remarks on self-sacrifice, but II
scarcely seems worth while to make
them. Mr. Hurlbut is apparently trying
70 write an amusing comedy. rather than
seriously to argue any particular theory
and Miss Pierrifond' advanced notioQs
have served their purpose. perhaps, when
they have brought her to Delphi. and
served TO show some of the weaknesses
and crudities Of Its people.
For two acts Mr. Hurlbuts comedy de-
yeloped with undimished interest. Miss
Pierrefond's cony ersion took place at the
end of the second act. and the third was
scarcely more than bringing together OF
loose ends The one scene. a sitting room
in the "early General Grant" period. was
excellently worked out. and the different
In