New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-30
NE CVAnACTERS
By Ralph Block

Given a wife and two husbands, one
of whom the lady owns in fee simple
and the other in rather more eX'ra
legal sense, one of the gentlemen thus
involved is bound to be recovered or
otherwise macerated before the end oil
the last act. This is tradition OF the
stage which dates away back even pc
yond the time when the faithless oiy-
temnestra caught Agamemnon in the
bathtub and stuck him all full OF niue
holes with a pitchfork. Nowadays the
ladies are not so we'll bent to the pur-
pose, and it is usually one or other OF
the gentlemen who thus bloodies the
boards. have no fault TO find with
Michael Morton's new drama. ION With
the Dance which was disclosed last
night at the Republic Theatre for It's
fidelity to this honored scheme, except
that the shooting should have peen
done somewhere in the first act rather
than in the next TO the last. In fact' II
the characters had all met as violent
a death as the playwright administers
to the spectators expectations OF lliu-
sion the result would have been more
satisfactory all around. Beyond this
have nothing to complain OF. ,,..
The obvious difficulty with "on WIN
the Dance" is that II beats a pr0heh
drum. What with the several soorle-
ties that have come in the wake OF war
and the fact that dancing as genera
and widespread form OF dissipation mas
by itself come to a natural end, play
that bases its progressions on the dew
ilish sinfulness of dancing Is an an,
achronism. ! would as lieve expected
to hear Mr.. Bryan deliver an lmpas-
stoned address on free silver on one
corner last night. with a Liberty bond
speaker and a pacitist on another. but
even as an echo from long retired and
only vaguely remembered past, I'm
With the Dance" fails TO evoke any OF
that interest which responds when the
fortunes of credible human beings are
involved.
Nina Lawrence loves dancing, not
merely the innocent ecstasles OF whlrl-
inc motion. but all the glitter and ex-
element that in its day went with IT,
her husband hates dancing, wants
wife That does not entirely escape home
ties. and is grouchy through most OF
the four acts Of the play because nina
does. Enter the rich oldster marked
with the Wall Street faint. lie LEADS
the lady on, kisses her behind her nus
bands back, "speculates' TO the tune
Of $4,000 for her, steals her away 10
dance for ? mythical gold cup, ana
gets shot by her boorish husband IN
dancehall That gentleman leaves IN a
daze, and, hidden in his bedroom al
lows his wife TO convince the usuai
police sergeant that 1t was case oI
suicide. Which is all, and enough: ..
lust why Nna's husband didn't
shoot the reptile who entered his Eden
when he discovered what kind OF man
he was along in the second act isn't
unite clear. As IT is, nothing happens
sf,er the second act which ought 10
arouse arv more righteous anger than
the information he receives in the sec
ord act itself, that the Wall street
bonsebreakcr is only pursuing ms
usual procedure preliminary 70 break
inc into the home The information
itEelf comes from one of the victims
who was presented last night as the
az too. was once young ana pure inc
Won" with more than ordinary sKill py
Miss Julia Dean. John Mason was me
burglarious malefactor, and piayea the
part as shrewdly and with as hueh
rr"nrine as it allowed, though it can
not be said Mr.. Mason was particularly
successful in creating any illusion OF
the joys of dancing. William NS %il.
was the unhappy husband ana M,ss
Eileen Huban the eccentric Iaay aoou'
whom the piece revolved. ., -.
II was with something like regret
that I watched Miss Huban through the
four acts of the play, because, despite
the fact that she was not entlreiy un,
successful in making a figure .out, OF
N tTenes anq the " fine shadow Of the Eileen
Huban who played "The GrasshpoPer
last spring was always upon her e an
rosing by its very presence how cheap ear,
and undeveloped is the part she now
49, Grace The stage has actresses
a cI y who can undertake the roles OF
s6phistication; too few who are able
when properly disposed, to play the
parts of delicacy and reserve