The Detroit times., 1913-12-16
THE STAGE
WASHINGTON.

w III uQtn hS h<tChhai .AFss~s-
and Don" on the bill. Detroit theater'
goers should find this weeks Offering
in the Washington OF more than usual
interest. George Jean Nathan's one
act masterpiece is u problem play OF Il
decidedly different" type, and ad-
mirers of Rudolph Besier will find
Don" no less delightful than form
erly.
The much-overworked adjective
gripping Is no misapplication when
used in connection with The Eternal
Mystery" The play takes hold
from the beginning. and for perhaps
20 minutes the auditor is held almsot
breathless by the sheer force and dar-
ing OF Nathan's lines. IL is not until
the curtain is rung down that one
stops to wonder what il all means.
A young physician. dying from
tuberculosis, denounces God as a
myth, and life beyond the grave as a
pleasant lie. devised by men 10 make
death less terrible. His horror
stricken wife, whose faith Is "as OF a
little child" begs him to believe. ere
il is too late. His answer IL terrific
arraignment OF religion, into which
Nathan seems to have written and
condensed into a ten-minute speech
every indictment brought against the
church by the most brilliant agnostics
and atheists of history, ending with
the bitter cry: IF your great. all
powerful God exists why doesn't He
put something in my mind which VIII
make me believe In Him."
The wife drops TO her knees and
prays that a sign may be vouchsafed.
Her prayer is answered. apparently.
by the appearance ON the walls Of
the room of q shadowy cross. The
husband sees. believes. and dies with
a prayer for forgiveness on his lips.
A moment later little child comes
running In. holding aloft broken
kite, the shadows OF which. cast oy
the sun upon the wall. produced the
apparent miracle.
And here enters the eternal mys-
terry. Has the faith of the wife. which
remained mistaken by the bitterly
powerful denunciation OF q dying nus
acle wrought by broken toy held in
the sunlight by the hand OF child
Or does the author portray the Deity
working through series OF trivial
incidents TO reclaim lost soul?
The agnostic will accept the former
explanation, the Christian the latter.
The wonderful thing about il Is that
either Christian or atheist. after wit
Messing the play. might depart with
his belief strengthened. Therein lies
the artistry which makes this play
different II begins and ends in an
interrogation point.
1t would be hard to find flaw in
Charles Carver's portrayal OF the d.
ing man, and he was ably seconded by
Miss Marie Louise Benton as the
wife.
The ripping comedy don" comes
as welcome relief for the tension In.
dnced by THE Eternal Mystery"
Don" deals with the adventures OF
Stephen Boddington. poet and ideal
list. whose disinterested efforts to save
woman from her Misunderstanding
husband nearly result in the wrecking
of his life, and the lives of his sweet
heart. his father and his mother. or
course. it all ends happily. and the
Quixotic disregard OF established con.
ventions evinced by the hero fur
nishes the groundwork for much clean
and wholesome comedy.
Those who saw Mitchell Harris
rather mediocre performance In tine
Leper" will be agreeably surprised BY
his really delightful portrayal Of the
rather exacting character of Don.
Miss Sue Macmany, as Ann, Don's
sweetheart. has been given a better
part than has heretofore fallen to her
pleasing manner. Harry Lennard as
General Sinclair, the choleric old sol
der, father OF Anne, who Is COM
pletely under the domination of his
wife. the role taken by Miss Harriet
Worthington, adds much to the en-
joyment OF the piece.
Miss Julie Herne. as Elizabeth
Thompsett. the woman whom Don
seeks to save. gives her usual cap
able and consistent performance.
GARRiCk.
a Modern Girl by Ruth c. Mitch
ell, presented in the Garrick the.
pter this week under Shubert auspices.
Is q play right out Of this present day
life OF 1913. II Is commentary upon
the position and character OF the
girl Of idleness and wealth whose
last little pink illusion" is killed in
the debutante days Of her first season
out, il, perchance, II has survived
her boarding school experiences. 1t
shows her calling a spade spade,
not for the sake Of speaking with
frankness and understanding, but in
spirit OF smartness, swapping her fing-
ers in the face OF old fogy notions to
prove that she Is wise"
The modern girl follows slavishly
the dictates Of latest fashions In
skirts and the dressing OF her hair.
They are to her inviolable. In uncon-
scious revolt against the letter Of con-
she breaks over the less
specific but more fundamental rules OF
prcpriety, and In so doing brings some
zest into her otherwise barren life.
Like foolish skater. venturing on
the thin ice. she tries To gee just how
far she can go safely.
The theme of the play and the
appeal that 1t makes are decidedly
rather than emotional
The modern girl Is q daughter Of
John Van Norden, business man OF
the old school. head OF a firm Of long
reputation and reputed
very wealthy. He has little time for
his family.