The Washington herald., 1914-11-15

eide IN q London hotel The doctor who
attends her gets from her her history.
He ID away up IN the profession and
friend OF the other doctor Who was her
drBt husband and has the custody Of their
daughter. Surviving mother love and the
desolation Il brought were the causes Of
her attempted suicide. This wins the
sympfthy of the attending physician. and
he sets about giving her an opportunity
to see and perhaps know her child.
II We insistea on publicity In our plays
there wouldn't be apy plays This i'm
probable project is aarried out and the
ex-gay lady finds herself In the lux
urious home a. companion to her dauxh-
ter who has grown to marriageabIe a<s.
In the man TO whom the girl is be-
trothed. the mother recognizes q COM
panion IN her former career. She uses
her knowledge 70 good advantage IN Sc
curing happy ending for the play. with
herself presumably married to her ad-
miring doctor and her daughter headed
In the direction Of some young man
without Wildcat record
II Is difncult ts choose an angle from
which to Judge NazlmoyEs work IN this
or any other role. II We take that Of
the dillets nte society people who dis
covered her down in q IitfIs East side
theater playing in Russian. and then
brought her uptown to act In English.
announcing their rescue Of genius from
ooscurfty, with the metaphorical whoops
and yells that 90 with that kind Of q
discovery made in that way, II would be
possible to be only enthusiastic From >
the point Of view Of the usual theater-
goer there must be much Of her that n
not understandable. both In her tupsr-
feet English and her peculiar msthods
She Is regarded by many az having
neither charm nor art
In fact Nazimova has considerable tai
ent. which she enhances IN some evaa
and minimizes in others by her ingrain-
ed artificiality and theatrieaHsm. She
can sustain the interest In q character,
but rarely touches the emotions or sseun
to go very far beneath the skin q the
character she portrays. In the case OF
this Diana Laska in That Sort she
gives US In her first aspect q vivid and
Interesting portrayal Of the woman Who
has gone the limit and has Determined
to- end everything. Her foreign speech
and looks are in character. for the woua-
an has lived her life on the Continent.
But with all the tragedy Of the 1T
uation she falls to awaken our sympathy
because she fails to make % actually
realize the love Of her child, which IN
the root OF her remorse.
Later on she Is more Convincing, WhGa
her Slay intensity makes real the hatred
she feels for her former lover who IL
about 70 gain the love Of her daughter,
brought up in purity. and in the attend
ant scenes with the girl where she 10
manifesting her love for her child. the
atrical exaggeration again robs her of
the power to convince or to move us. If 4
Is not that shs Ii q foreigner OF Ghaf
she was educated in q foreign school Of
acting, that accounts for her lack Of this
power. Other Foreigners with equally
foreign methods have had IT In dealing
with American audiences. The answer
seems to be that with Nazimova, tha-
atricalism fails to take the place Of the
human quality which In the artist makes
itself felt no matter through what me-
dunn It expresses itself