The Washington times., 1915-01-19
Plays and Players at Capital
Theaters This Week
BELASCO.

N
which Frances Starr was presented
for the first time by David Belasco
before a representative Washington
. audience last evening at the Belasco
TheateA A radical departure from
anything Knoblauch has written.
Frances Starr has presented. or Belas-
co has produced, it Is the kind OF
drama that creates in its audience
spirit Of wonderment that almost
amounts to awe-a spirit that Is
awakened as much by the fact that
such q play should be presented at all
~ by the way the subject is treated
by the dramatist, the actress and the
producer. The playwright has Great
ed an exquisite combination of hu-
manity and holy innocence which the
actress completely realizes, and upon
which the producer pours a mellow
radiance that creates in the beholder
the same satisfied spirituality that
comes from the contemplation OF u
Madonna by some great artist or the
hearing Of a wonderful anthem BY
master Of melody. "Marie-Odile' Is SO
entirely different from anything that
has been offered a modern theater-
going people, SO completely at vari-
ance with most Of the conventions of
the playhouse and yet SO near the
perfection Of the art OF the play
wright, the player and the play-giver.
that it almost defies analysis.
Mr.. Belasco confessed to- friend
while>~cngaged with the production OF
this play that 1t was tho most difficult
thing he had ever encountered-the en-
tire difficulty lying in its simplicity.
That Is perhaps the great @ feature or .,,, the
plicity might be the reason for its tali-
ure to be generally understood, though
that seems absolutely improbable IN an
age when the value of the jewel ct
but by the garishness of its setting. the
exhibition of simple purity In the theater
may not satisfy with the kind Of com-
pfeteness that is measurable by tox
The story Of the play is an idyllic
poem Of Innocence. The good sisters OF
the convent Of st. Odile. hidden in an
Alsatian valley. in the late sos. find a
mother superior takes the child in and
names It st. Marie, for the Blessed Vir-
gin. and Odile in honor Of the patron
saint Of the convent. The good nuns
child so that she will know absolutely
nothing Of the wickedness Of the outer
world. She never leaves the convent
~gates. Her days are spent in work
and prayer for the sins Of others She
meet. only two men-an ated peasant.
who IL gardener. and an old priest, who
comes to the convent once each week
TO sing the mass; She grows into a
beautiful young girl. whose one ambi-
ton is to be admitted to the sisterhood.
She 10 allowed to become a novice.
Then Mother Veronica dies. and q new
eother superior comes. Mother st.
Dominic is a strict disciplinarian and
In Sister Louise dear friend And SYM
pAthiger-but the change in the author
ity over her brings dreams of the out
side world. especially curiosity regard
ing men, She wonders II they Are like
Naming sword.
The tide Of the Franco Prussian war
sends tiny splash into the quiet AL
satan countryside. The sisters ,iy to a
place of safety far away. They call
Marie -Odile. but she ls in hid'nS and
wtllfully refuses to answer. When they
are gone she emerges from her hiding
place, and running from ROOM to rctin
In search OF them comes upon a ;Jhlan
trooper standing with drawn sword in
the refectory. She falls on her knees
and prays to him as an incarnotion OF
Meissner.. member OF small re-
connoitering party. which now enters
the convent They want food ard
amazement. supplies their wants. Cor
poral Melssner protects her from the
insults of his comrades. He is struck
by her innocence and her simplicity
as are they all. He kisses the little
nun. He remains at the convent after
his comrades depart-spsnds the night
there. in fact. A year later when the
sisters return. they find everything is
happened. Marketable tells them. Ths
dear God has sent her a baby, a little
Michael. The mother superior is horri-
fed. Sister Louise boldly declares the
ylnolA tnt~ A.. l. - go,
sisterhood-they should not have tried
such q dangerous experiment as rails
ing q child without knowledge OF this
world. The pleas Of the good sister are
useless. Marketable and her child are
. That is the story. The. ending is not
sad-it seems really a triumph. though
the child-mother Is turned out Of the
That is the best reflection that can be
given of the sincerity Of the prescnta-
ton of Marie Odile' by Frances Starr.
There are few moments during the
not on the stage: The whole play. IN
fact, Is Marie e-Odile. with the others in
the cast simply to contrast her char
acter or work up the climaxcs. The
art she has an entirely new character.
And she completely realizes what must
have been the Knoblauch ideal. II the
play does nothing else It Will add one
diadem of, fame-for go truc was the
work of the young actress that one could
not tell where the author stopped
and the artist began.
Second to Miss Starr WAS the setting
by Belasco. There was but one set for
the three acts-the refectory Of the
convent. It was a fine piece Of work.
manship to the last detail-even to the
worn hollows in the table where gener-
ations OF nuns had sat at meal time. But
the most remarkable thing about the
production was the warm. mellow light
that seemed to radiate from. as we'll as
illuminate. the figure of the little nun.
Wherever she happened to be on the
stage the light was there-it seemed
actually to come from her. for no other
source was visible. In the first act
there seemed to be Just little too
much time consumed in getting the
proper atmosphere over the footlights-
this is really all the first act Is for.
The work of the cast which supports
Miss Starr was excellent in practically
every respect. Jerope Patrick made a
convincing soldier OF Corporal Meissner
Marie Wainwright seemed to slight the
part Of the mother superior at first but
she gave good value to her scenes later
on. Frank Reicher made an excellent
old man in the part Of Peter, the gar
dener. and Henry Vogel was blustery
and robust as Sergeant Otto Beck