New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-22
nS c. MARLOWE AND
GAIL KANE SCORE
actor Furnishes by Far the
sost interesting and Human
play of the New Season
THE MIRACLE MAN
THE CAST.
~ ACTON DAVIES.

80
Ssss Holmes .'''''''''' Frcdegich MAYNARD
nsyij.."..,-.'' DANIEL Burns
Rv ACTON DAVIES.
,s,.,,,v this is still the age of
49, .Is' ;or At the Astor George NJ.
s.S,r the victorious author and com com
vga Of a myriad musical eomeales
~ sutbor. too. of more recent years
= three or four exceedingly cieNer
es5ics and dramatizations, sudden
= S;nped into a new field and achieved
triumph Of his remarkable career
~ T. Packard'S story. The
m-srle Man" when II appeared
!. Nppsey's Magazine last Febru-
WAS instantly hailed as a
sr unusual story. But no one
~ road the story could sec how II
W. nossible 10 dramatic IT, for the
-, rood reason that the one vital
,s,5e 81 the play the healing by the
'HFsitb Healer unkuowingly of y fake
.-s,nle which was instantly followed
genuine cure of 3 crippled boy,
~ nlace in a thoroughfare in the
.,ss,nee Of hundreds of people a
,,.rs which in its intricaeieS, accord
ne 70 the ethics Of any stage manager
vss impossible for production on
ssge. Well. Mr.. Cohan undertook the
49, and last night he accom-
sTsbed it brilliantly in more re-
sosets than one. He changed the
-ovel OF course; that was ineVitablei
nut IN changing il he rose above the
soyelst in every respect. HIS char-
ssterizations were clearer. truer to NE,
~ few new characters he introduced
l,lped the play remarkably ana
h,nnoht 70 IL a kindlier, more simple
so;rit And when II came 10 the mlS-
IL scene Mr.. COhan, in his conven-
tiensl setting Of New England cottage
exterior. achieved all and more in the
v,y Of suspense and climax that the
,vthor had accomplished in his novel.
That was his second act which, splen--
Edly acted in all its roles, awed and
toBebed its audience as no play has
sinee "The Return of Peter Grimm.
Oddly enough, too. this cripple boy who
vas cured bv THE Miracle Man. was
Ais same youthful actor who played
Ae child in peter Grimm Percy
Holtop. But il was in this third act
hat Cohan proved himself ever a
clever dramatist. lie had achieved one
sreeptiongl climax and in the Flopper,
following Mr.. Packard's creation, he
lad given the stage his best comedy
character Of many years, but in the
Aird act he came down to Hecuba, as
were, and wrought out with his five
principal characters an unusual and
most effective climax-a climax so fine
that IL was almost epic In ~
simplicity and completeness and then
here comes the tragedy OF the occa-
sion. he would write another act.
This act was as superfiuous as 1t was
unnecessary. Il hurt the play almost
as much as SamsOn's hair cut hurC
Samson's muscular development. only
there is this much to be said IN
fairness. Just as Samson's past per-
formances were sufficient to embalm
his reputation as a strong man and keep
It even TO this day superior to Shadows,
50 the strength Of Mr.. Cohsn's play
more than survived he superhuity Of
this last act. The task Of trying TO
make these four exceedingly interest
ing crooks happy ever after" was all
wrong. Something should have been
left TO the Imagination, and unfortu-
nately nothing was.
II is in his Characterization as we'll
as in his stagecraft, that Mr.. Cohan
shows development in this play. No
ienderer, more delightfully."- whimsical
sketches OF New England character IN
some Of its more charming phases
could have been shown than the char
aeters Of the old hotelkeeper and his
wife, the Patriarch's loyalist friends.
These two roles were played by Mr..
Frank Bacon and Miss Ada Gilman
with wonderfully simple and natural
touch. The role Of the crippled boy S
Young sister another Cohan interpold-
hon-was played most winsomely by
Miss Genie O'Brien. These, to be sure,
are all small roles in a performance
Which contained many fine perform
anees. But that these stood out so
tnely is only another feather in his
dramatic cap II seemed almost in this
play as though Mr.. Cohan-who,
Heaven knows! in his farce comedies
mas "panned" New Englanders to the
aereest kind OF frazzle-had tried to
snow the other side of the Yankee
shield, as it were.
The crook detachment could not
rave been more admirably presented
they had all been picked red handed
sut OF the Rogues' Gallery. George
Nash played the cynical, cold blooded
aoetor' who devised the scheme which
vas TO make them fortunes at the old
,sth healer'S expense remarkably well.
Earle Browne. as the cocaine fend who
Jaw the error Of his ways, made his
,eie subtle character study, and w.
ihompson's portrayal of the old
NNLflaFrh Il II - 18th tender
sess and dignity.
oUt, OF course, II was James G. Mar
1--WE as the Flopper, the professional
snpple, who ran away with the acting
..ohors OF the play. As % characteriza-
ava ne was unique For that the au-
nor md the dramatizer deserve per-
1pS nan the credit But he played
ne e role lnimitably. For two acts, in
.Hich ne had not more than thirty lines
!, Speas, ne kept the audience in roars
laughter.
~ ms byplay as he sat screwed up in
hNsilds chair was uncomfortable
NJ AFTER the miracle happened. when
H. nsu fallen under the Patriarch S
Ny spell, he made that same audi
~ sIs whieh had shrieked their heads of
go silh treat him with both seriousness
so n.y. ah intense respect. Mr.. Marlowe's
ey,nsysi Of the Flopper S:aS..-.s,,
N;sor1inarlly fac hieStnent
on;."Sa Nall Kane, in a role which was
e-ssil worthy Of Mrs. Fiske, had some
bpt 4. moments. Sh> was good
sornS cannot be honestly said that she
Neu all the depths of her part.
hsvS nreS night performance that we
va ever seen on a New York stage
las, severe stra on the actors as
syn,d sights audience. And, out OF
Las ys.hy' the strain on the audience
resl;. .sAing, too. Never before did We
ahont me truth Of that old saving
which she constant drip, drip, drip
last wears away stone, as We did
been ign Ign, Before the curtain had
the FIRE tank overb y "S ~ Sgi t az
q 81, N " heavy, persistent drops began
l.Ip through one spot in tbe co;I;no