New-York tribune., 1914-11-23
pJTA JOLIVET SCORES
AS a DIPSOMANlAC
sincere Attempt to Show the
Effects of Drink Upon a Ger
tain Type of Woman.
.w,1.r 1T MEANS TO 4 WOMAN ~
4 rlay by r. H. Gould and +. Whte-
to1sc A. che Lougacre Theatre
Z. HECTOR TURNBULL.

Nv HECTOR TURNBULL.
Do ,. not an uncommon occurrence
f,rs playwright 60 become SO obsessed
,,,l The desire 20 strike the public
f,r IN tho face with the foree of his
.,sssr, that ne ncglects TO observe
,se ,rexorable demands Of the theatre
p, srcb cases the production results m
-.~o.birr like an animated tract, its
.-.e~o.t wholly dependent upon the
.,rsr sDreal OF the subject and the
s4,l,-y Of the Illustrations that illum-
...t, +bc tent. % would be decidedly
rrfs,r TO say that the authors OF
.wbst It Means 90 q Woman" the play
,r,se-t.d Saturday night at the Long
.e-c have done no more for their mes
..ce than 10 present 1T IN bare sermon
Torn, Possibly because there are two
sY.pors instead OF one they have done
fsr more than this. They nave bareiy
missed writing d good play. In thelr
ob,ious neglect. however, OF the fact
hat The play is the thing after all
.brir work loses force as drama wheh-
ever the message is stressed, ana Nhe
mot rosult is. not an animated lecture,
IN he sure. but an intensely interesting
.toro made into q striking but -uncon7
which is that drink has a particularly
,srnicious effect upon a young. -hlgh-
,;voirr pIsv. No one viii deny. OF
.orrse the truth Of their contention
.ririted woman. whose life is without
.srious purpose or pursuits. This IS
,srta.nIv true. They have. however,
rbosen such an isolated case Tor their
.tief character surrounded her with
anon "a rare set OF circumstances ana
-,.rare6 the whole with such dlsre-
.sr6 for dramatic values that thelf
-srv earncstness defeats them IN at
aiming the desired effect without
Rita JoIivet's superb portrayal OF the
gradual degradation Of the heroine the
NAV would have somewhat the same
fleet as the picture Of drunkaro
'iver dangled before 8 schOolroom OF
startled children. With her IN the
role Of the loveless wife the play ne
comes as convincing blJ OF rea4lsiH
ss It's artificial foundation will permit
The authors introduce thelr CHOSEN
victim Of the drink habit IN these
surroundings. She is d young, at'Iac'
i've rleasure-loving creature, uniet-
-sr.f with any interests other than
desire 10 amuse herself and married
TO "a business man who has no ume 10
love her. To be sure, she threw over
a doctor she loved 10 marry the DusI-
ness man. but she thought doctors
didn't have time for their wives ne
couple have no children, but a glrl OF
twelve or so is lugged into the play a.
a ward. why it is not clear, unless 10
show that the wife cared more 4oI
dogs or 10 introduce pretty goNeIheSs'
rre wife dances, bridges and drinks
with the women of her set, and 70
hasten the tale. goes straight INTO nv
d. It's within a year and TWO IhOHSno VI, =
What she lacks. il seems, is Love ne
doctor. who is bulwark OF moraIlIy; ;
win not respond TO her advances ah9
neither will the gOvernessi anOtnef anu
similar hulwark, respond 10 lne Su-
vsnces of the husband, who nnally oe7
rides 90 rid himself of his drlnK-cIS1eu
wife. The doctor. however, out OF love
for the woman and friendship lor tne
husband. cures the wife OF QIlhh il,
..E morths. and sends for the nusoaI"
20 Wow the results. Just before 'hc
husband arrives the woman, VINO mas
made 4, clear that her cure was wroughS
by the hope that the doctor woulu
marry her, discovers that the doctor
viii DO no such thing. Then, when the
husband arrives, she denounces Nun
with such fury and hatred tnat she
dies on the SPOT Of heart failure, ana
ne curtain falls.
As we have said, one feels the con-
e Il. -. rtIargd ny MISS
Jolivet. partly because OF her playing
and partly because the authors nave
pictured the course inevitable TO sucn
a woman in such CIRCUMSTANCES Anu
Derhars IF they had let her die trlhe
further from the footlights her sud
den end would have been "a triumphant
climax 10 their portrait. As II IS, how
ever. even such splendid playing as
Mis-, JoIvet's suffers from such stage
management. The husband was made
human enough by Frank Mills, al
though his role fails 10 call Tor the
sympathy rightfully due such & char
acter Alice John made the governess
more than the lay figure it was writ
ten. and Mary Miles Mlhter, whlle
obviously AN attractive girl, seemed 70
be utterly useless 10 the play as Helen.
Joseph Kilgour is a good actor, ana u
is pitv to see him so mlscaSt as the
doctor. A deal depends upon this role
and Nh. Kilgour doesn't fit the part at
an. Laura Nelson Hall. Catharine Cal,
houn and Jean NcwcOmbe played wen
throughout and did much TO add TO the
interest of the first act.
Just how "What 1t Means 70 Won
an" viii be received by the public IS
Of course. impossible 20 say owing 70
The yagaries of the thcatregoer' VINO
will often swallow sermon cheer
fully If he be thrilled in the process.
" thrills the play has not little, due
20 Miss Jolivet's art, and there are
other and lighter moments, such as
card game a Ia mode and d tango les
son a la cocktail. which should DO
much TO arouse the feminine interest
20 necessary 90 the proper effect OF
The authors message.