Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-10-09
ADJUSTMENTS:
New National.

Another bit Of delicate down fiutters
from tho iridescent wing of Madame
Butterfly" This time it is Tho VIII
low Tree"
The title Is quantity reminiscent Of
is cherished in tho cabinets Of people
who carry a trace of ancestor worship
in their natures. The old willow tree
pattern is quito regular and conven-
tionalixed. So IS this modern drama
touching on tho orient. 1t tells of the
love Of an English-speaking man and
an Asiatic gir1-a love that ends in
each taking the separate way that
leads back to ancestral tradition. THE
Willow Tree" is not Chinese, but Japa-
nese.
The word of the producers, Cohan
and Harris. must be taken for it's cor
rectness as an expression of national
Legendary. To the American eye 1t Is
creation of beauty. with a powerful
or Japanese art in managing an i'm
| mense amount of detail without de-
stroying the effect of simplicity.
Unostentatious as the story is. it pays
guished predecessors. A statue is called
| 70 life at the plea of a lover. The
| Pygmalion last night was the English
army man and the Galatea. the handi-
, work OF wood carver. They met, they
loved and they parted. Their little
span Of happiness was depicted as SO
ideal that the self-sacriflce that re-
stored the man to his duty and re-
turned the woman to lifeless silence
did not seem too great a price. The
story is told with the aid of but one
stage setting. 1t is a work of great
beauty. The use of sliding panels. en-
oelllshed as japanese screen, Is among
the most conspicuous Of many bits of
! novelty. Throughout it's quaintness
| ana fantasy the play puts forward
powerful heart appeal The little story
Is ABOUT a statue carved from a willow
tree. as brought to life by placing a
as a woman s souD on its bosom, and
returning voluntarily to insensate exist
, ence IN order to release her soldier
foyer from her destinations. That is
d az, YET u Is enough to waken an au
olence to earnest appreciation. The
presence OF genuine poetic thought
lends wonderful touch of novelty to
current stage presentation. And this
talizing touch is present in The Will
low Tree eagerly welcomed by the
spectators in sympathy with the theme,
put banning to the superficial estima ties
OF what makes for stage popularity.
references to preceding similarities
inevitably rose. The associations thus
I
ana charm. In reality The Willow
Tree. though generically related to
fyEma hon and Galatea. is as different,
l.naiFidually. as a Greek statue is diff
lerent from Japanese doll
AS TO acting, the interest centers in
ray hainter. She is peculiarly quail
med to enact roles which carry more
or less exotic appeal. She is a tyne.
distinctive and pronounced. with the
emphatic claim to interest that natura
Talents inevitably assert The charm
OF the production rests in great meas
ure on her quaint personality She
conveys the drollery of the character
without sacrifice of pathos and wins
sympathy so sincere that when the
doom OF the Willow Princess is an
nounced by laying an ak to the willow
tree the sound of the stroke startles the
of tragedy u
Mechanical artifce is literally en-
pioyed, even in the dialogue. which
bristles with "honorables" and "au
gusts like chapter from Hashimura
Togo. The play of episode fancies is
constant. Like some elegant silken
fabric of ancient weave, 1t fiutters he
tore the imagination and suggests a
witness of beauty in the dreamiand of
me past The company lends excellent
support to Miss BANTER The respon-
eible approximations are those of NAL
comm Fassett. as Hamilton; Graham
Nelsey, as Nogo: George w. Wilson, as
Iomotada, and Coralinn Wade. as a
blind street singer +