Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-04-06
THE THEATRE
Another Vivid Part
for William Faversham
THE HAWK. 4 drama from the FRENCH OF
Francois de Croisset, translated by Marie
Zane Tay1or. Lyric Theatre

TIE AwS 6ossea a s2 Si 'n Sy Marie %
Zane Taylor. Lyric Theatre.
Conte George dc Dasetta. ... MIR. Faversham
Nrie RTason @ @Mr. waips Irainps t;3se2 tfsT
Rene de TierraShe. he..s...... Mr., conway Teare
Charles buperre. ..'....''.,s;. MI Itichard nix x
De ssnaTelair Mr. Harold MeltSsT
Nine de TlcTache 49,. Miss Grace Henderson
BsSa BsSatrlce Ducos Miss Pauline line Whittson
Mme de Sanonelalr. .....; Mise Tthel Yves, West
Nine. de Lnmarre.........Mi Miss Bertha Cozens
raeehe. Rue "S De Bao SrH Paris Act ft-Dra wins
cSp in act poYy dsm RG months on nn'pS 2eJ 2" $ts S&S
7 room In Drskons suite. The Ritz. Paris.
There are q great many more kinds of
| French plays than the American theatre
! goer guesses. lie knows only two. one
of them is composed OF an amorous diff
! Guilty and innumerable doors; the other
| OF an amorous difficulty and innumerable
| questions. II usually takes two French
| men to write the farce; Mr.. Bernstein
can account for one of the other sort all
| by himself, and sometimes for a great
many that he doesn't write
THE Hawk" isn't by Mr., Bernstein,
but It does boast one of those middle
acts in which the husband worms out the
secret OF his wife's love by series OF
the "You say-and yet" cross-examina-
tons tnat seem StHTtllnBly natural anu
exciting anywhere but in a courtroom. In
the play at the Lyric, the Comte George
de Dasetta learns the truth in the usual
thrilling fashion. decides TO leave his
wife to her shame, instead of killing
either wife or lover. returns, drug-ad-
dicted, to consent to n divorce, and ultl-
mately carries his wife off to new
start toward happiness.
But there is something else in Mr..
Croisset's drama, something that we
don't ordinarily suppose French play
wrights are acquainted wIth-pquant, eX-
otlc. vivid character II might be the
American business man who wanders
through the play, looking like one or
the old gentlemen that investigate socks
with such satisfaction in the Saturday
Evening Post but, as matter OF fact,
biting off tenpenny nails, buying chateaus
and STRENGTHENING out troubles with equal
zest and facility. The character, how
ever. who animates The Iiawk' is-the
hawk. The fact that he is also the hus-
band makes the Bernstein element all
the more exciting. But first some eXpla-
nation
One of the Comte de Dasetta's forefath-
ers was a Hungarian King. Another was
a red rover, Corsair. eve may ignore
for the moment the surmise that a Hun
garian pirate would seem as rare an
avis as the seacoast of Bohemia which
The inspiration is there, and that is
enough. For Dasetta takes to the very
interesting life Of wandering around the
world with his beautiful young wife and
winning her costly gifts and rare gar |
ments by cheating at cards Aristocrats' !
then and now, he thinks, proved their |
contempt for money by SELLING any that !
came their way. 1t Is all a question Of |
knowing how. So, no! for a debonnaire !
life at the gaming table,
The natural result of so lively and ro- |
mantle a character in the Bernstein play |
of infidellty is still further complication
and excitement. The lover learns of the |
cheating ana confronts one with accusa-
tion. the other with contempt. In the
circumstances. Mr.. Crolsset seems to eX-
ercise unusual self-restraint in develop
ing the dramatic possibilities.
\ better result. however. is another OPP
portunity for Mr.. Faversham to display
his active personality and his singular
gifts as an actor. He combines with the
modern technique of reality quality of
febrile romance which no other American
actor equals, and only Pedro de Cordoba
suggests OH its more poetic side. His
Dasetta Is a man of gaiety, ease, court
liness with rugged strength behind. He
takes his lovemaking and his cheating
with equal zcst They both express the
man. Very subtly. by ntonation and
phrasing. by gesture and glance. Mr.. Fav-
ersham suggests the touch of the East in
the hungarian, The ending of the last
act, when the wife sees him take a hypo-
deTmic and finds her love driving her to
succor him, the actor gives a range and
power II might sorely lack. The tragic
daze of his abstraction is only to be
compared with the catalepsis of his
Herod.
An excellent cast lends its aid. Emile
Polini plays the wife with an admirable
hold on reality yet rises to the emotional
possibilities of the Bernstein theatre
Frank I.osce, Wallis Clark, Conway
Terle and Grace Henderson discharge
heir parts as becomes them. OF the
three excellent settings by Joseph lIar-
Icr, the first won an unusual perfection
in the simple suggestion of atmosphere.