The Washington times., 1913-03-26
Whiteside Play Brings Atmosphere
Of the Far East, Says Julia Murdock

ITO q surprising extent the Orient.
redolent with the mysticism and
symbolism Of the East, has fig
ured In this seasons theatrical
presentations in Washington.
Early in the fall came a foretaste of
what was In store in Miss Nina Nor
ris' 'The Yellow PERIL the one-act
secret service play presented at Cnase's.
Then came THE Yellow Jacket"-one
os the supreme novelties Of this or any
other recent season-and last week
there was The Daughter Of Heaven,
a massively mounted and superbly pre-
septed drama Of the China Of other
years.
Now We are visited by fourth drama
Of the people Of the Orient, their
strange faiths and stranger loyalties.
their patriotism at any cost. But while
IL 'I'he Yellow Jacket and In The
Daughter of Heaven the actors were
Chinese. in The Typhoon." presented
at the Belasco this week. the Japanese
are the race depicted. 1t Is their
Vaccinations and schemings which hold
the interest-with what breathless in
tensity only those who have sat
through the drama can testify-and it
il from the love Of Nippon that the
play takes 1t main theme and principal
plot.
Although laid In Berlin. the locale OF
the play Is almost entirely in Japan.
Only one set-a particularly massive re-
production OF the main room Of a suite
occupied by Tokeramo. a japanese spy
is employed. but the atmosphere Of
Land Of Cherry Blossoms Is so ever
present that the audience almost be-
lieves that the play Is laid in Japan
itself, instead Of in the realm of the
Kaiser.
The greater part Of this impression Is
due to the atmosphere created In the
first act an atmosphere so strong and
permeating that It is never really alb
piece.
Tokeramo receives a number Of his
japanese friends in his apartment In
Berlin. As It is May s. THE Feast of
Little Children" the spy. who has been
sent to Berlin to pick UP what the Ger
mans have learned Of civilization of the
twentieth century and send It back to
Nippon, declares that he and his friends
will transport themselves back to their
beloved country" Out go the lights
and, In a dim twilight effect, punctuat-
ed by the half-musical, half-harsh cron-
ing of centuries-old Japanese songs, the
entire setting OF the room is changed
to represent the interior OF a Japanese
home. Flowered screens mask the win
dows. a concealed shrine Of Buddha Is
ln =
In front of the lamps, and mating rugs
are thrown on the floor.
Tokeramo and his friends then as
sumo their native kimonos and the illu-
sion Is complete.
The story of THE Typhoon" Is far
from complex. Tokeramo. dreamer
with a little more of the sentimentalist
I'm him than Is common to his fellows,
has fallen in love with 1llona. demi-
mondaine, whom he describes as an
"European geisha girl" The woman
fascinates him. but when his friends
noint out how she Is inturing his
chances of obtaining what he has set
out to get and is hindering him from
fulf,lling his vows to the Mikado, he
turns her out Of his apartment.
lust as she Is leaving. however,
Tokeramo relents-his love OF the
woman has mastered his love of coun-
trv and he bids her stay. Seeing that
she has conquered, Illona no longer
cares for the Japanese and casts him
off, crying out that she ''is going to a
man." and completing the TRADE with
An illusion to your dirty little Japan.
a yellow blot on the map" Enraged
the Japanese throttles his mistress. He
then is saved the consequences of his
crime by the self-sacrifice Of one Of his
companions. who assumes the guilt of
the murder In order that Tokeramo
may not be hindered In his work