The Irish standard., 1917-12-15
Supplementary
Bulletin On
Current Plays
Catholic Theater Movement Give,
Candid Criticism Of Latest
Stage Offerings.

Catholic Theater Movement Gives
Candid Criticism Of Latest
Stage Offerings.
A Few Of These Commended, Most Of
Them Are Pronounced lnane and
unwhoIesome-1he Criticism 10 In
terestino to All, Whether Patrons
or Not.
The Supplementary Bulletin Of The
Catholic Theater Movement, dated
Nov. 5, contains the following criti-
cisms of current plays on Broadway:
"Anthony in Wonderland" A whimsi-
cal comedy with slap at "The
Movies" by Monckton Hoffe.
To Anthony Silvertree, a settled
bachelor, has been bequeathed great
fortune, but only on the condition that
he marry within three months. An
thony is perfectly willing to do this
if he can but find woman who meas
ures up to his ideal. He and his fam
lily having exhausted every effort to
find such paragon, finally in desper-
alton enter into secret contract with
a professional Adjuster of Difficult
Matters" who agrees, for considera-
ton, to find an acceptable wife for the
over-particular Anthony. This, he fin
ally succeeds in doing, by the aid of
moving picture outfit, staging play
for Anthony's special benefit. Ingen-
ious and illogical as is the play, it has
the merit of novelty and is clean and
amusing.
"Barbara." A Comedy by Florence
Lincoln.
Barbara, a very unsophisticated
young girl, living alone in the country
with two faithful old servants, be-
comes so imbued with the instinct of
motherhood, that looking into the fu-
ture she pictures herself the mother
of three children, on whom she lavish
es all her affections.
TO her fance, who has been absent
in the West, she gives but little
thought, her mind being entirely con-
centrated on her fancied children, to
whom she has already given names.
Hence when he returns and awkward
ly breaks the news that he intends
marrying another, Barbara sees her
visions of motherhood, vanish and
promptly faints. In falling her head
is severely injured, and when con-
seriousness returns it is found that her
reason has fled. Perfectly normal
otherwise, she firmly believes that she
is a wife and mother, and that her
children Jane, Dan and Elizabeth, are
actually living in the flesh.
There are one or two pretty scenes,
and while all presumably comes out
right in the end, the play is rather
doleful and pathetic, if not silly,
though otherwise entirely unobjection-
able.
"Broken Threads" BY Ernest Wilkes.
Again we have the melodrama that
cannot free itself from the stain of
the sex problem. Harry Wynn is the
hero who falls in love with a cabaret
singer. The latter is not handicapped
by definite morals; so Harry had to
fight one of her former lovers, Dick
Brenton. Dick is killed. Harry is
sent to prison but the song he heard
at the cabaret that night stays with
him and sustains him through all the
years, and finally he again meets the
cabaret singer who now saves him
from prison and marries him.
"chu Chin Chow" BY Oscar Asche.
This play is what is commonly
called "a popular spectacle" The
story-there is none to tell. The pro-
duction has no literary or dramatic
merit, and it's artistic qualities are
really of the most primitive sort. The
opportunity taken in these produc-
lions to show women scantily clad, to
present immodest dances, is highly de-
plorable.
ION With the Dance" A new drama
by Michael Norton.
When the dance craze was on In
New York, there might have been
some possible excuse for such a
hodge-podge melodrama as this, but
even assuming that the authors in
tention was to point out the dangers
associated with the sO-called Tango
Teas, we have yet to learn of one
instance wherein the exploitation of
evil produced good. On neither artis-
tic nor moral grounds can ION With
the Dance" be recommended.
"Pipes of Pam" BY Edward Childs
Carpenter.
pipes of Pan" is futile endeavor
to turn back the past. The author at
tempts the impossible and makes him
self ridiculous. The man has a grown
daughter, and the woman an adult son.
The man is widower; the husband
of the woman still lives, but that
makes no difference to the modern
playwright. In the end the woman Is
brought to her senses and her grown
son comes to bring her back to her
unromantic fireside. The play lacks
every element of dramatic interest.
"Romance and Arabella." BY William
Hurlburt.
Romance and Arabella" is a very