New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-03-25
81 ARTHJE RIIiI.


b. ARTHti ri M.
NJ shs1's now llay. "Pygmaliou. not
vet seen co. English. even in published
form, vas produced for the first time IN
this courtrr a. the irving Place Theatre
last night
Mr.. Shaw. bciug one OF fcu men ion tho
world clever enough 20 do anything me-
wants 10. decided. apparently. TO amuse
hmseir V',h his British public bV offer
ing them q fiec" which had FIRST rad the
approval OF the Continent. 40 sooner said
than done. "Pvcma,iou' VJs translated
into German before the critics satrzed
in "Fanny's First Play" had the chance
10 say anything sarcastic about IL, and
played with great success i'm Vienna. II
was then played iu Berlin and il now
on tour in Germany. It viii be produced
shortly in English in Logdon. II is the
German version Of course, which ie
PLAYED here.
The PygInalion or he playa charac-
terist'c Shavian farce-is an eccentric
student Of human speech especially Of
the dialects Of London. Tho instant
person speaks he can tell, within eight
kilometres what part Of the United King
dom he comes from. II the speaker Is a
Lordoner born and bred he can tell with
IN three kilometres the ncighborhood In
which he was born.
One rainy night while group Of peo-
We are waiting for bus and meanwhile
lodging as best they may the importuni-
ties Of a cockney flower girl. this Mr
Higgins happens along, and is promptly
fascinated by the barbarous accent OF the
yours woman--particuarly her name
Of saying "A-a-a-o-o-u" lie whips out
his notebook TO tot down her sounds. &C
cordmg 10 his own system Of shorthand
uhouetlcs. and the young woman. sssum-
Ing from her somewhat limited worldly
experience that the eccentric amateur OF
-ncech is detective bent on securing
evidences Of indecorous behavior on her
part promptly makes the welkin ring with
nrotestations OF her honesty and AYERS
Tint she was dom nothin' but arsk the
gentleman u he wouldn't buy some yiole's.
Or at least something like that she
would doubtless say were MI. shaw
original cockney flower girl to be seen
instead Of her Berlin equivalent.
The contrast between the two points OF
view here suggested-thc wholly intel
lectual scientist looking At the comely
Eliza merely as a specimen for his dla-
lect laboratory, and the entirely ignorant
young woman. suspectinS assaults on her
virtue, simple as a Hottentot yet with
a certain urban craftiness and sharp eye
for the main chancc-makes most OF the
comedy OF the FIRST act. and its develop
ment is tn. main business Of the four
acts which follow.
40 a sort Of avocati ton 10 his more
purely scientific work, Mr.. Higgins makes
his living. 1t appears. by training the
socially ambitous-Amerlcan heiresses, for
instance-so that IN six weeks they con-
verse with the grace and elegance of a
We're de We're. The dreadful Eliza could
be turned into a duchess I'm that BRIEF
time. he says. and the next day the
fower-girl apears AZ his house having
come thither, she would have him know,
I'm a taxicab. and promising 10 pay him
for his pains. demands that he take her
as his pupil.
Such is the Galatea OF this meticulous
pvgmalion. or such at least she turns out
70 he when. after the allotted time, she not
only talks like duchess, but meanwhile
has acquired feelings 10 match her mel
lifuous speech. and is no longer content
10 be treated as a mere soulless object for
experiment.
What 10 do with her is then the ques-
ton. An ordinary playwright would
bring in his happy ending" OF course,
and the blooming Eliza would fall into
the arms Of the critical professor. But,
Of course neither Mr.. Shaw nor Mr..
Higgins could quite stand for that. AS
originally written. the professor remains
obdurate TO the end, in spite Of the in
creasingly appealing pathos OF the lovely
but dumb-headed Eliza And when she
at last announces, with a glad shrek.
that she. too, will turn expert and teach
others. az he has taught her, Mr. iiS-
gins as enthusiastically replies that
milestone has been taken from his neck
and that Eliza and he and his friend,
Captain Pickering date OF the Indian
service. who has been party to the
transforming OF Eliza, will form sort
Of linguistic partnership and continue
tho good work together.
Here with = sentence about Elias buy
ing him some gloves. which might or
might not mean anything, the play as
originally written ends. with the profess
sor standing alone on the stage. cheer
fully jingling some coins in his pocket. AS
played last evening Eliza ran back rather
intimately 10 ask what size Mr.. Higgins
wore. and here and all through the latter
mart OF the piece there was an evident
intention to inject sentimental interest
and lead I'd 10 the matrimonial conclusion
which the audience WAS presumed 70 de-
sire.
The keen. sharp shavian favor vas
JuIled here. as. indeed it was throughout
the play. interesting as il was. a. an eN-
neritnent TO see Mr.. Shaw's thoroughly
English wit through the medium OF an
alien speech and foreign point OF view.
This loss was particularly felt in the
part Of Eliza, herself. played by Miss
Uansi Arnstadt in wholly German
hrosdcomedv manner wholly lacking IN
that curiousy amusing hard Cockney
aavor felt In the original lines IL was
81, again in the deliciously droll part OF
- father. a thoroughly Shavian creation.
who. solemnly and with perfect logic, Ia
,,erted his unsought for elevation from
tho ranks Of the "uhdeserving poor" 70
,,,. RESPONSIBILITIES Of the leisure class.
lie was a garbage collector by trade
,c~e his rise with a gift Tor senti-