Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-06

v, flCtuie '"'F
noc,or's Dilemma" Is also the
l ,uorpa Shall he take Louis. the
'l the shiftless. the selfish AT the
sieS s yaIua,lon, along with the varied
e. =, medics and the angelic Jennifer'
W. \. look at the artist through the
sn1 p.'.,.. sves and so forth? Or is his right
-. ,o regard the whole fre exceedingly
ss.,,sining acts as pearls on the rosary
- p,rnard's satire? Perhaps yes Tor win
~. ,hs saving sense Of that popular irish
s ".,.. satirical and noncreative faculty 'as
s'.,.d on, BY Mr.. clayton Hamilton) there
'',,i. 10 be gained In pro or con tactics
-, ~ AGAINST him who has never needed
=. .s,hetic defender-because he has been
n, own best trumpet and drum.
Ne n said with some calm, that The
noc,or.s Dilemma" is Shaw at his best
.,u,,ly For one thing, the theme is so
SO, us all We have been pestered and
So,.d and moralized al by our family ply
.,rians for 50 many years we can't help
sn,oy seeing verbal knife thrust between
,h,Ir ribs. And they are capitally indiNid-
palIzed The pompous and booming "B.
a., the dapper and superficial Walpole
,h. stanch and human Sir Patrick: the tu-
hrcular Benknsop; the Semitic Schultz
r,cher-how yividy and amusingly and
rallciously and caricaturedly they are hit
on
Rut there are other rea asons why the play.
IN .pite Of its length and the fechleness OF
rs last act. Is worth seeing a least once
II strangely enough now and then does
achieve a touch Of the genuine. MI Shaw
"A never less happy than when he IL trying
N dlssect love and lovers. How. then. did
n. do II here? Done II he has. however,
with Jennifer. Cornish and clean-hearted
and lovely And, although he has tried 10
minimize and dstOrt Louis. he hasn't quite
rueceeded. Any stage portrait drawn from
B.ardsley is bound 70 have a little flavor OF
something lovable a little secondary inten-
ton Of spiritual sweetness even though he
borrows and doesn't pay and lies and loves
loosely. II is the artist and his wife that
hold the comedy together, for Ridgeon is rs
unreal in his passion as a green carnation
| and as dead Electrically as Anne OF Cleves
So romance despsed by Mr.. Shaw. steps in
| and takes his honors from him One goes
away from the theater remembering the
indiyisible clasp OF two lives. not that the
| man was cheat and the woman fool
In the present case. one also goes away
remembering some extremely neat acting /;
some that is worse than futile. and two
assumptions that are really fine. It seems
unthinkabe that the same cast that holds
the intense. touching Jennifer OF Miss Nor
rs; the mastery sketch OF Sir Patrick.
by Mr. Fox. and the keenly felt, quick.
sharmlngly- y-voiced Dubedat of Mr.. Freed
ley. can also hold such haltng and inept
work as that disclosed by Ridgeon. Bon
nston, too is not grasped, except in the
style Of old-fashoned comedy; and the
Whole production might undergo polishing
All the best jokes get over" in the un-
eanny Shaw manner. and some of the shy
beauty OF the married lovers. These two
impersonations are worth study, and a
visit 10 the playhouse. A Louis who can
put across the inner character Of himself
and keep the Shaw infection belongs in
the legitimate theatre And a Jennfer who
b taut and adorable. is-well, Jennifer.
b -.