The Washington herald., 1914-09-27

Ter way a prominent place III inc HlSl
may be one's quarrel with his premise.
The theme is one which will assuredly
create heated discussion wherever the
piece is presented: audiences Will be OF
divided opinion concerning the matter or
The Woman's sacrifice o. her pride and
self-respeCt for the sake Of her love, but
whatever the side upon which one's
sympathy is enlisted one must admit
Mr. Walters melodrama the finest piece
Of constructive work he has yet ac-
complshed. and Miss Walkers portrayal
Of The Woman her highest achievement
in emotional acting.
The Better Way goes from Washing
ton 10 Cleveland with the tenderloin
scene omitted. Mr.. Walter spent the en-
tire week OF the engagement of the piece
here in an earnest effort to determine the
advisa hility of such a step, coming to
the conclusion as late as Friday night
that the appeal Of his play would be
strengthened by dropping the riotous
cabaret which was injected into the story
for the purpose OF added color. II had
no vital bearing on the development of
the plot Its only effect was TO fill an
audience with disgust. and Mr.. Walters
has done a most wise thing in eliminat-
ing 1t.
In sharp relief comes Hazel Dawn to
the National this week in The Debu-
tante." q new operetta which was given
its try-out in Atlantic City last Monday
evening.
The production is one Of more than pas
sing interest because it represents an
other combination of the work of Harry
r. Smith and Victor Herbert, and also
because it inaugurates Miss Dawn's first
starring venture in her own right 1t is
true that she made her debut as a star
in The Pink Lady" and has never
since had her exquisite personality and
delightful voice relegated to the back
ground Of the chorus, but during the sue
cess she has formerly achieved, while
star in fact she was not so in name This
week she comes TO US featured by John
c. Fisher as the bright particular lum-
mary OF the new musical piece.
Hazel Dawn is a name which suggests
al there is of life at its springtime and
50 exactly fits the girls blond loveliness
that one must don ones cap TO Paul
Ruhens. the composer at the London
GaIety. in the matter Of his selection
"C such an euphonious title for Mr..
Fishers blith young star.
DId you know that Miss Dawn halls
from Utah. and is rather proud OF the
fact that she is a Mormon? And also
that her disposition is sunny as her
ready smile implies, and her pretty head
nfNllS 4 Oeal OF Philosophy anu OpllUllsInt
a. well Is serious ambitions TO graduate
from the musical show into straight COM
Cdy before many seasons come and go?
Certainly the prospects Of her first
starring vehicle are OF a rosy character,
for the combination between Victor Her
bert and Harry B. Smith is one which
Fas always brought success The first
time that they CollabOrated was when to-
cethor they wrote The Wizard of the
Nile for Frank Daniels, who was then
under the managerial direction of the
late kirke La Shelle. This piece was so
successful that they were commissioned
to furnish the next one for Daniels,
The Idols Eye" which also won popu-
lar favor. Together they also provided
The Serenade" for the Bostonians,
which proved TO be one of the best
opcrettas in the repertory of that famous
crEanization. For Alice Nelson. when
shr was on the crest of her success as
a comic opera star, Smith and Herbert
furnished The Fortune Teller" and later
The Singing Girl" More recently their
joint work gave Christie Macdonald a
starring vehicle in ''Sweethearts," which
was enjoyed here last season, and now
comes The Debutante'' for zeHal Dawn.
Both Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Herbert have
heen prolific composers. the former hav-
ing more than 40 librettoes to his credit,
while the latter has composed the music
for forty musical plays.
Mr.. Herbert spent all of last week in
Atlantic City looking over the produc-
ton Of The Debutante," which was
given its premiere there at the New
Nixon Theater. He will personally con-
duct the first Washington performance
Of the piece tomorrow evening. after
which he is scheduled to return to At
lantic City for the opening of another
new operetta Of his, entitled The Only
Girl
Harry B. Smith and John c. Fisher !
will also be on hand tomorrow evening |
to see Miss Dawn make her stellar debut |
before Washington audience.
The Belasco Theater, which opened its
with FRITZ Scheff in inconsequential |
Pretty Mrs. Smith," was permeated |
with a tense atmosphere all last week |
when Charles Klein's latest revelation !
Of the money-getting methods of the |
financial powers held the boards. The |
Washington engagement OF The Money |
makers" saw several changes in the |
strength during the latter half of the |
week. extending the proof that no man |
walks to happiness and peace Of mind |
over the crushed hearts and lives of his |
fellow-beings
And now, again in sharp contrast. |
comes a week Of pure and simple hilarity !
in Edward Peple's farce. "A Pair of !
Skies" which opens a weeks engage
ment tomorrow evening at the Belasco. |
The history of a play. from the time |
its central idea is first conceived in the
authors mind until eventually the drama
is written, rehearsed, revised, rehearsed |
many more times. and sees the light Of
final production sometimes forms an in
teFesting story.
A Pair of Skies" which established
itself as one of the late successes OF last
season at the Longacre Theater, New
York. was three years in the process OF
termination. The first idea for the farce
was Mr.. Peple's. He had been to see a
couple Of friends who were, and still are.
engaged in mining promotions on Wall