The Washington herald., 1915-12-08
By JULIA CHANDLER MANI.


Doubtless the greatest dramatic event
OF the current season occurred last even
| ing at the Belasco Theater when David
Belasco offered his most gifted player
| in a new drama from his own pen for
| the first time on any stage, the artist
being David Warfield and the play Van
| Der Decken"-described by its author
producer as "a legendary drama OF
the sea"
| From every possible angle the premiere
| was an artistic triumph.
| To begin with the play itself-Mr. Be
lasco has taken the familiar legend OF
| The Flying Dutchman; fired IL with his
marvellous ina gina ton; touched il with
! romance: dominated il with tremendous
/ faith in reincarnation: saturated il with
symbolism and tuned it to the call OF
every human heart for love and home.
As he so beautifully expresses the mat
ter in couple of verses which follow
the names of the players in the pro.
gram:
hold that when q person dies.
His soul returns again TO earth
/ AI1zyed in some new fesh disguise
Another mother gives him birth.
! With sturdier limbs and brighter brain,
/ The old soul takes the road again.
| Such Is ny own belief and trust
| This hand. this hand that holds the pen.
| Has many . hundred times been dust
! This is the dominating thought that
controls the strange destiny of Van Der
/ Decken. the Houander whom tradition
claims delied God and the elements in
a by-gonc yesteryear, swearing that he
would double the Cape of Good Hope il
it took him until the sound of Gabriel
trumpet to accomplish the feat. thus
! bringing upon himself the awful curse
of the wandering Jew of the sea, who is
forced to beat forever about the Capv;
/ buffeted by storms; enveloped in fog: un-
accompanied save by crew that time
stamps with senility while the Dutchman
remains physically unchanged: desolatior
eating at his vitals: cursed and hope
| less wandcTer over the face of the wa.
tiers whose lips can never frame the name
OF God.
| Mr. Belasco's eXQuisitely spiritual yer.
sion of the legend offers hope TO the wan
iderer in the promise that if. during any
one of the landings he is allowed every
nine years. he finds woman whose love
| is sufficient to induce her to sail with
him for nine years more without putting
into port. the curse will be lifted from his
ship and. he will be allowed the COM
mon fate and blessing of humankind
the touch of Death-with the hope OF re.
incarnation under happier conditions.
The first act of the piece finds grouT
of superstitious sailors aboard the Three
| Gulls'' on the wharves of a northern sea
! port town in Holland century ago
In the midst of their varying version.
| of the fate of the Flying Duchman'
| the staggering company is interrupted
| by the appearance of the accursed cap
| tain, who recognizes in Trintie Stats thu
soul of the wife of two centuries gon,
| by, reincarnated without loss of formel
tastes or departure from physical type.
! The girl is the 1S-year-old daughter o.
a seaman who is about to force her into
marriage with an antequated captain
| She has no memory Of a former exis
| tence, but is so attracted to Capt Var
| Der Decken that she makes promise t.
visit him upon his ship which lies anchor
ed at sea in fog and waiting to sail with
the setting of the sun.
| On board the Batavia" in Van Del
/ Dickens cabin. the HoIlander gently
| touches her memory: reawakens the Low,
| she has bourne him as his wife in hel
former existence: tells her the true story
! of that tragic sail which won for hin
| the curse of heaven, explains that it wa:
the unutterable craving of his heart fol
the feel Of her soft arms-a sight of tn,
new baby at home-that drove him 81