Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-24

s9TNHE plays are not great" Oscar Wild
L once confessed in moment o
humility. 81 think nothing of them, but l
you only knew how amusing they are!
Most of them" he added "are the results
Of bets!" Thus adroity focusing his owl
vision on his own art, 1t is conceivable thai
the dramatst IL alive today, woulu es''
mate the worth of "a Woman of No 1mpor'
tance" from very much the same angie as
our contemporary public The quest o'
amusement has undoubtedly inspired 'he
excellent patronage with which Margaret
AngiIn's efforts at the Little Theatre h"Ne
been rewarded this week.
Scratch Bernard Shaw" runs popular
verdict, "and you will find Whistler and
Wilde" Naturally also the repute OF The
Gentle Art of Making Enemies" and the
highly admired Shavian banter nave
prompted playgoers with a taste FOR orig
inal sources to trace the beginnings OF a
favorite type of footlight persihage. strict
comparison of Wilde, however, with the
famous American artist Of the past, with
whom he so delightfully."- fenced, or with Mr..
Shaw, who supposedly lights the lamp or
brilliant paradox in each one of his now
very numerous stage offerings, should DEM
onstate the unreliability of favorite snap
judgments For all his assumption of ir-
responsible fncisiveness, oscar Wilde, IN
most of his writings, was seldom bitter as
whistler was. and never n propaganda as
Shaw invariably is The author of Can
dida" and "Androcles" can NO more resist
pointing a moral than he can writing an
explanatory preface.
Wilde, at his best, notably in The I'm.
portance of Being Earnest is dellciously
and airy immoral When he does develop
a thesis 1t is usually trite or else so typlcal
of current problems of his day that only
a technique superior to that at MS COM
mand could prevent his opinions from grow
ing stale The condition of affairs is strik-
ingly manifested in "A Woman of No Inn
portance."
At the time of its original production
1S93-the conviction that there should not
be zone moral law for men and another for
women possessed the souls of several lead
ing playwrights. Pinero eXpounded 1t with
magnificent sincerity and power In The
Second Mrs Tanqueray," Today the merit
OF that play survives, not because or the
novelty or radicalism of its viewpoint
theatre patrons, indeed, have long Deeh
bored with the overfamilar 1heme-nut pc
cause the eXpertness of the Cramatursy mas
permanent value
This is untrue of the Little Theatres cur
rent bill. The piece is a curious mixture
of Wilde's best and worst characteristics.
The strong scenes are mostly claptrap.
Mrs. Arbuthnots reputation of her be-
trayer savors of creaky, old-fashioned
melodrama. The craftsmanship is clumsy
and II Is hard to dlsabuse oneself OF the
belief that Wilde employed his thesis mainly
because It was a popular topic of his period |
But the old Oscar charmlngy shines forth |
In the lighter passages. His verbal fire. |
works are of an emphatically distinctive |
type. Occasionally the manner recalls the |
Congreve of THE Way OF the World" but |
oftener the flavor is wholly personal and |
inmitabe.
Perhaps the leading feature of wilde's |
colloquy is not SO much flashing brilliancy |
as it is an unbrdled comic nonchalance an |
almost lazy humor. polished but SEEM |
ingy indifferent sophisticaton that evolies |
mental ripples of ne~riment rather than
outward manifestations. No one but Wilde |
could have written this passage:
Mrs. Alionby--we are only going to look at
the stars, LADY Hunstantoni
dear; great many.
1t is gems like the above that still make
"A Woman of No Importance" glitter after
The lapse of a quarter century. 1t is the
run Of hearing such lines that renders
worth while Margaret Anglins interesting
revival The suggestion of writing such
comedy "on bet" is altogether engaging
What a pity that the gay spirit of such a
stake did not inspire the whole of the play!
MISS ANGLIN'S presentation of the
AVA piece has many virtues. To the stacy
role of Mrs. Arbuthnot she brings a rich
emotional equipment that lends authority
to scenes requiring the most expert
The footlight version used has been et-
ectirsiy arranged. Wilde's loquacity some
lines ran away with him. The first act Of "A |
Woman OF No importance" Is as motionless |
4s Shaw's Getting Married" Condensation
ould unquestionably have bette-ed that So |
allied play But cutting G. b. S. is certain !
o raise ructfons with the peppery, propa-
amidst. Specifically, at least Wilde was
ess paternal with his bet-born brain chill
lren. 1t is highly likely that he would
ave indorsed Miss Anglin's compIete
imination of the character of Mr. Kelvil. :
With his now antiquated reflections on Brit
sh politics. The line describing American =
ovels as American dry goods" has also y
cen excised. 1t used to win laughs in
,ondon. Batting Uncle Sam is not so nom l.
lar in civilized Europe now as once upon :
time.
Rose Leclercq In the original English y
reduction is said to have scored a de-
erved triumph as the chatty and sweetIv I
ynical Lady Hunstanton, by far the hest
'ritten part in the play. It Is not easy
D imagine how her Interpretation could
ave surpassed that now submitted by the .
elightful veteran actress, Fanny Addison {
lit Her reading of the character is pre-
sely In the best Wildean vein.
To the task of vitalzng the wholly un-
'nvincing Lord Ilingworth Edward Emery
'ntributes intelligence and taste but the a
lrt still refuses to adjust itself to life. 4
quite got the best OF Beerbohm Tree. C,