The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-10
ny JAMES $. MErcALFE.

BY JAMES s. MErCALFE.
spring and the continued cool weather
are responsible for the continuance Of the
runs Of several attractions. One or two
warm evenings and their already dwind-
ling audiences will melt to nothing. Some
of the best Of the attractions have been
on SO long that a warm spell will brins
to them closings already overdue.
In the producing line there Is a general
apathy. and 1t will take q good long rest
to bring back the vigor to our spectators
in theatrical commodities. The whole
theatrical business is auaemic, owing to
conditions which every theatrical doctor
explains in a different way: On one thing
they all agree-that the growth OF the
moving picture business has been seri-
Gus blood-letter in a financial way Tor
the regular attractions. No matter what
the cause or causes, there Is no question
that there is a plentiful lack of energy
just now in the theatrical business ana
there are few managers who Will not De
glad when this now gasping season nnal-
ly passes away. leaving behind II dis
NAL record of artistic and financial fall
ures. ..-. g.
RosenfeId's Latest Effort.
But It's an Ill wind that blows good to
no one. and the prevalent stagnation
gave Mr.. Sydney Rosenfeld a chance to
find a theater for his THE Charm of Isa-
bel" The play is produced under the
auspices of william A. Brady, Ito,
which is Mr.. Brady's incorporated name
for himself when he undertakes enter
prises in which he wishes to limit his
~"s. According to theatrical chatter,
Brady contracted for the play with
'uthor as medium for the comedy
lies of Grace George. After seeing
7iece it is obvious that Grace George
Vt have carried the play, but il Is
ally obvious that she would have tri-
umphed. not because of the play, but in
spite Of 1t. Chatter also says that, under
his contract with Sydney Rosenfeld. Mr..
Brady was bound to give The Charm Of
Isabel" a production within a certain
time or paw q considerable cash forfeit,
and that at this time Of this season. with
theaters begging for tenants and actors
anxious for jobs, 1t was cheaper to pro-
duce the play than pay the forfeit.
The Charm OF Isabel was produced
before an audience of regular first-night-
ers who, from almost an entire absence
of new productions for the past fortnight,
were considerably less jaded than usual,
and a number Of Mr.. Rosenfeld's faithful
followers who have stuck to him and reg
ularly paid dues TO the numerous So
cieties, clubs, and leagues he has organ
lied to uplift the drama. This Rosenfeld
following is a curious collection of we'll
meaning theater lovers, who think they
know something about the drama and
who must have been bitterly disappointed
when, In response to their vociferous
%h4 pncanfatd
stepped down to the footlights and said
that he would like to make a speech
which every one knew-but that Mr..
Brady had forbidden him to make one.
And there were hardened sinners in the
audience who inwardly offered up little
prayers Of gratitude that Mr.. Brady had
such power in a theater for the time I'M
der his control.
The Girl Who Couldn't Say No.
.eThe Charm of Isabel is written about
the character of a girl OF such undecided
character that she never says no until
her character is developed through three
acts of farcical comedy with quite lot
of cleverness and considerably more
crudity in speech and action As an
author Mr.. Rosenfeld has never learned
to edit his own lines so that they sound
as though they were the natural and
spontaneous utterances of the fictitious
persons who deliver them. And with all
his years Of connection with the stage he
has not learned to tell his story simply
and directly without the confusion Of I'M
necessary material and without constant
ly resorting to the technical devices
which successful dramatists use only In
case of dire need. For instance. in one
of the scenes there is a practical and
constructed staircase which
he uses so often for entrances and exits
that the audience shares the fatigue of
the actors and actresses in the constant
coming down and going up stairs. 1t
would be wearisome TO try to count the
number Of times that Isabelle Evesson,
no longer so sylphlike as she might be.
had to make the ascent and descent clad
in one of the up-to-date narrow skirts
and Misunderstanding corsets. II the
play was in for a long run there is no
doubt that the now matronly Isabelle
would lose a good many pounds of super
fuous flesh.
The heroine's part, originally intended
for Grace George. falls to the lot of Marie |
Her first work is an undress- |
ing and going-to-bed scene which peril |
ously approaches the dangerous, II any
thing on the stage Of today can be con- |
sidered dangerous in the way Of exposure |
and suggestion. This led up to an absurd
situation in which an excitable French |
man enters the American woman's room |
the window at an early hour in |
the morning and. attired in evening |
makes violent love to her at her
bedside, she in the meantime with no |
greater protection than the bedclothes
and a filmy nightdress. An extremely
clever Coincidence might have broughk7
this scene into the realm of exaggerafedI
farce, but Marie Nordstrcm played Il IN
a hoydenish fashion that only intensified 1
It's utter improbability and offensiveness
From Paris the scene shifts to a New
England town, where the author prof
vides some characters and some situal
lions which, il less unskillfully Jumbled