New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-05-30
MORE NEW PLAYS.

ii ~ 49, f THE DARK LADY OF THE
soNNETs. With a Treatise on Parents arS
shaw 6d c ismo, PIP. s sis Bfsntanos
LIE GREEN CoCKAToO. AND 9TH
ER PLAYS. BY Arthur SchnitzieI'
translated into English by Horace IS
samuel. limo. pp. tx, l4. chicago A
C.. mcclure & Co. -
THE DRAMA LEAGUE SERIES Or
By Gerhart Hauptmann. Freely rem
dered into English verse by T Thi e
Henry Meltzer. Emo; PIP; lS. Vol, ".
Mary Goes First" BY Henry He Z Ar'R VI,
52 Hsr H IfmG; rs, Wife. BY <. +.
Thomas. l2mo. PIP. x 1856 DouoieuaS'
Page & Co.
THE MODERN DRAMA SERIES: Five
Plays" BY Lord Dunsany:: Emo PIP
xii. ll6 The Widowing OF Mrs. HoI-
royd" BY ID. II. Lawrence lZmo' PIP
\. 1893. Mitchell Kennerley.
Were il not for the inclusion OF
.'Fanny's First Play" this new volume
of Mr.. Shaw's drama, now before US
might well be called q case OF the tai
wagging the dog, There is mighty III
tie of drama in these pages compared
with the overwhelming food OF intro
auctions. "Misalliance, written four
wears ago. is not likely ever TO see the
boards in this country, but II serves as
an excuse for an introductory essay
1876 pages long. on the relations OF
parents and Children" and the crying
need of their revision. 1t is 10 pc
taken. so the publishers inform us, To-
sether with the preface on Poverty to
Lady Barbara and that on Mar
riage 10 Getting Married as a trilogy
setting for the authors views on these
social questions. What M. Shaw has
TO say here on the family has rather
familiar sound; much Of 1t he has SAID
before. IN one form or another, in his
Dreyious writings. He follows the
main stream of speculation upon the
subject. and it is impossible at this
late day to determine what is his own
and what the contribution Of others.
His essay is worth reading as a re-
capitulation and correlation Of current
thought. In the case of THE Dark
Lady of the Sonnets," the playlet may
DE said TO be overwhelmed by the in
troductory pages on Shakespeare's per-
,onality and life. and the identity Of
the Dark Lady. Much of this dis
course is devoted, however, TO a dis
tussiUn of Frank Harris's charge Of
plagiarism, brought some years ago, in
connection with a play of his own,
Shakespeare and His Love"-a storm
in a teapot Of which only the faintest
ripples reached these shores. "Fanny's
First Play" is still too recent in the
memory of theatregoers to require
comment. Suffice it to say that it
agreeably justifies memories of the
pleasures Of its stage production.
II was, if memory be not at fault,
through The Green Cockatoo" that
Schnitzler was first introduced to the
American stage The theatrical eff
fectiveness of this tragi-comedy of the
French Revolution is, indeed far less
local than that of most of his other
plays. which, for their full under
standing and appreciation. require, il
rot always a first hand knowledge Of
Vienna and the Viennese, at least al
understanding OF the modern spirit a!
d, shapes the conception and the con
duct of life among the authors owl
people. That understanding is neces
sary. for instance, TO the appreciation
of the second little play in this volume
The Mate" with its perverse exalta
zion which the truth turns into mock
cry-a study of emotion that harks
back to "Liebelei," but whose reverse
Of thoughtless comedy is found il
"Anatol' Again, in "Paracelsus," out
Vardly comedy of the Renaissance
there is, below the surface, as the
guiding motive of the story. an ultra
modern psychology Schnitzler is al
ways a finished man of the theatre,
"a master craftsman handling his ma
t"rial with unfailing effect, but it i:
Ne seldom that he strikes the wider
note which transforms him from {
curious and brilliantly polished exotic
Al4NO Ailt NOiililibI libSStSSlOll VI us all
Charles Henry Meltzer's version o
Hauptmann's "Sunken Bell" is 81
rarely fine a piece of work that on,
rejoices over its republication as on
OF the volumes of the Drama Leagu,
Series of Plays. The "Maerchen" es
tabnshed it's author among the grea
Ioets Of Germany; its American trans
lator has done its poetic quality fulleS
justice. He has brought to his tasl
more than skill and understanding snC
appreciation. He has borrowed from
the fires of the original a glow thai
has warmed his verse in many place:
into poetry. The translation is pref
aced by a biographical and critica
study. and supplemented with an an,
aiyss of the technique and symbolism
Of the play, which. il need hardly bC
recalled was produced by Il, II. Soth-
,ru and Virginia Harmed in the season
Of 1888 iJOO-"in a spirit unmistakablN
wrong" complains MI. MeltZer-anc
revived by Mr.. Sothern and Miss Mar
lowe two years later, with no better
results. Apart from all the just strict.
ures passed by Mr.. Meltzer upon both
productions, it may well be doubted
however IL the drama is adapted 10