Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-08

Occasionally. not often. a play is produced
that battles while it cntertains and bores
that Is both inex,ricably excellent and de-
plorable There are such plays, compact
of "A splendid fury Of emotion and lament
able lack of other things They defy you
TO put your finger ON the whole fabric OF
the piece and say: This Is wholly lmpo}si.
ble," or "Ths is entirely rraiscworthy'
"'Ception shoals" ~ that sort. When It
is good, it is very. very interesting, and
when It is bad It is awful. Two of the
three acts touch the pulse. one tries to
touch the brain and fails But. whether
its course he toward the straits of BrieuN
or the safe port of vital. vibrant mClodranld,
it has this one quality: intense vtrlity
known in the movies IA red blood
It is easiest in discussing 'Ccptton
Shoals" tn separate tho dramatic sheep
from the goats. Taking the goats frs, 90
may be remarked that Mr.. Adams, the
author is apparently the victim of the idea
that is fixed and will not bulge, His par.
Ucular obsCSsiou is that parents should
teach their children "the facts Of life Yet
after an exposition Of this not entirely new
thesis lasting two whole acts, he has not
even the courage of the convictions Of him
self and others. but brings the curtain down
Oh the disclosures that the second fcmi-
nine Lead is making to the star, This en-
| tire attitude of the play is distressingly
same. Every one goes about talking sex.
| sex. sex, until even the most sef-udulgeut
! ibertine in the audience must cry out aloud
| for "Pollyanna" and Christmas panto-
mines Mr.. Adamss very righteousness
| defeats its own purposes through the ham.
mcr strokes Of identically nodded dia-
| logue There is the modern sncer at
| morals and moraists Worse yet there is
| the allegorical complex. Life and Freedom
| and Liberty are written in very large capt
| tails in Mr.. Adams's dictionary, and every
| thing In view gives him symbol 40
sooner does he see lighthouse than his
| imagination is on fire; he denotes in 1t
| Moral Tyranny Ana So on. isn't life
| stranger" says a Wronged Lady in Act l.
| Perhaps 1t is, but not more SO than girl
who has never seen man except her
| father; who announces that she was born
! long after her mother died, and who says
| so in purest verbiage and impecCable
| grammar.
But on the whole the dialogue while re-
| petitive is not without the SAVIOR of the the
| atre. It is always cleverly written. Some
| times it reaches heights of great dramatic
| effectiveness approNimating tragic dignity
| and terror OF the last act. with its antiph
| ony of moaning wind and laShng sea, this
| is most true Nor is the first act devoid OF
a certain wild poetry and certain driving
| belief by the author in his people and situa-
| tons. In the second act he bctrays himself
into proliXty.
| When the worst has been said, "'CoptOr
Shoals iustifcs itself by curious, naive
| compelling intensity of feeling. IT its po
| lemics are stale, its sensations are genuine
| These sensations are well brought out by
the company. Nine NazimovaS depletion
| of the unwilling virgins madness and dcatt
have the ring of acting not often seen here
| Nothing more frantic or frightening rs NJ
| exhibition of hySter& has been visible il
Philadelphia since Mimi Agugla and the
| Scian Players. The actress stlll says
| "pozzible" and don't tsChundan," but hcl
English is generally clear and picricing, Sh,
has an admirable grip on her authors inten'
tiOnS
The best piece Of acting is supplied by
| Henry Harmon. as the Puritauical father
character nicely conceived by Mr. Adams
and represented with much skill, force ant
| sincerity by the player The lines usually
| devoted to "the rest of the cast must b,
| given here to the scene painter ana stage
| management. The latter is rarely illusiv,
in its placement flight and shadow.
| p ID.