The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-15
DRIVEN NOYELIST'S
PLAY, is AT EMPIRE.
alexandra Carlisle Appears as
wife. the Role She Played
i'm London.
TT HAS WOFrL HUSBAND
..n-i,e,'--N the Empire Theatre.

n,-h,-a............... Haidee wright
,ioi,on. Observation-Disclosures. Rita Otway
10 succead Diplomacy" which has held
49,. s,as. ~ the popular Empire Theatre
t,r some time past and was assuredly the
,o,k Of "a playwright whatever may ne
,h,irhf 81 its ethics nowadays, Charles
rrobman brought from London "Driven'
.ticb 4. lust assuredy the work of
,oy-ust-of T. Temple Thurston,
s,orso,e-. who. with the collaboration
=, his wife during her lifetime. wrote
~rhe Masducradcr" and other popular
he.t .ellars diplomacy" II some thirty
- aid. which is one of the respects In
which IL differs from this latest product or
,be London theatre. II Is difficult to think
~ "uriven" twenty years from now. MIR
rroNniS acquired the American rights to
Mr. Thuretou's play after witnessing Alex
an'ra carlisle act in London the same
role she played last night at the Empire
Theatre
II is not always clear Just who is driven
anil whittier or whence the driving Is being
Sono and what the impelling force is. Hut
II Is perfectly certain that the youthful
wife Of q middle aged NJ. II. is bored 60
death with the gentleman. The fact that
she has overheard the physicians say that
she is condemned to die within short
disease does not tend to diminish her avid
I,v TOY pleasure. Inevitably she selects
partner for the Joy which she So fever
ishlv seeks as contrast to the affection
which her husband showers on her as he
would ON A spoiled child. This partner in
her pleasures is an army officer. tie re-
turns TO her after an absence or six
months and their companionship IL but
rarely interrupted by the presence OF her
husband. Bu, he does come to suspect
that her relations with this man, to whom
she has said nothing OF her illness. are too
clos,. lie decides to appeal to the man.
The audience sees this wife. who Is
struggling TO crowd so much In the little
~ life that Is left to her. in the rooms OF
her lover and then observes her retire
ment when she discovers that table has
been set with a place for her, implying
her lovers certainty that she will remain
there She resents this but is willing to
return the next day prepared TO elope.
But In the meantime the husband has told
OF his wife's condition. and rather than
part a dying woman from her husband the
soldier surrenders her. II turns out that
her health has by this course OF happy
living been entirely restored So IL may
b. that she was driven to health. The
audience also feels certain that she will
now be driven to happiness with her own
husband, even IL he be her doting senior.
However successfully Mr.. Thurston
may he able to thrill his readers. that
quality is not yet within his power when
he selects the stag a. his medium. Some
y. the scenes in Driven are wei writ
ten. although 1t was not always easy to
reconcile the ear to the persistent use OF
like for "as." Then the writing was
never in the id!om of the theatre. Per-
maps that advantage would have availed
little. since the story was unfolded in
narrative fashion. with no suggestion OF
theatrlc quality anywhere. The dramatic
was. Of course, ever absent In the lack
Of action every device Of the producer
had been used to produce movement.
but even that effort was unsuccessful
Driven succeed ID chiefly IN affording
the drowsiest evening that New York
theatr 60, RS have eXperit need this year.
II seemed at times as II the actors Were
moving about in a trance, 50 lifeless was
the w1o,e AFFAIR. Then the spectators
began TO fear they had fIllen asleep and
'1r danger point was reached.
Charles Frohman had provided an ex-
celleut company for the play. and there
was nothing that lay within the power %
the manager that had not been well done.
Hut Driven j. a hopeless stage perform
snco. The most stubborn insomnia would
certainly yield To- sufficient dosage OF It.
Il occurred To- some in the audience that
result OF having seen so many rehedrsals.
feasibility was added To this theory by
The fact that She began to recover as the
IlaN reached lis end and was pronounced
out Of danger when the curtain was about
q fan
II" heroine had more failn-s than tho
two years sentence hanging Over her head,
Whom the hero asked her to sing IN the
f-st act ~ ungallantly heard about two
bars and then said he would prefer To
hear HOY rccite. In the third act she con-
a'sed tu a devastating hunger, grew en-
iGus.aStic over the Salantine and peaches
and then left tho food on the table be-
cause there Were too obvious evidences
= preparations
She also ,cft the wine, and the specta-
tors grew dlshcartened when the cham
rtgD. was left untasted on the table
The hopes Of listeners We're centred on
re possible results II that bottle II
champagne. Il could have done wonders
TOR Driven properly applied TO the
CHARACTERS that needed 10 most. In the
last ar, the heroine. in full possession n
'r health, started 20 take poison and
&c. oW learning that her husband loved
Dor aHd mad not read the letters she
wrote 10 ne other man accepted a
."k'eese dog from him and evidently
o"-ded live happily.
There Wer" few other things in Driven
- I'' liitl as the heroine, ana II is
misfortune for he piece that she merely
Latj "rci to he peculiar without being
rEnF II was not the fault OF Miss
carlisle" who played this part, that snl
W, N".l0vedly monOtonous from tho
rN' i..' She spoke until the last II
' 'h. that she spoke in a monotone
''r0Ha 800. me play, hut the fault Law
y OH. ,.Hrlctor So lIaidee Wright, q
h"-' 'E.r,. u. actress. seemed rather
'.'- los the interfering sister-in-law
~. from ner acting but because the
sTh1r had done nothing for her. Actor
"r" .r' 30 be- blamed for their inahllitS
>" nf . any impression in colorless. un
ri't.' o- Impossible characters.
Leslie Faher as the lover seemed tho
mos "ITlu ~ all the figures In th'
Gloon and for that reason the spectator
wore -rosol 10 show him the creates
'HVI rtllrs Bryant. however playe4
". ".' f, 1000. ic'or could he neglcctfu
M's..-I whu .pYld 70 70 Parliament bu
''.#s .s wife a PeklnEese In the end.
49," DRIVEN is not of the theatre
r. VlN uv dangerous to hlzard any
n' '. .4 10 where T. ought to be put
tN' stage IL not one Of the places.
In New York To-day.
ts Association, luncheon, I!cte
'. BOO T. NJ
Political Union, 3ddreF- ~
I Nff1.rl anil Mrg ATfhiI