Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-02-20
ARTISTS MASQUE
DRIVES 10 ABSINTHE
Visitors From New Iork's Green
wich Village Even Then Are
Not Satisfied
HAD TO TAKE IT TRAPPED
Dance After Show Was Superlatively
Sedate and Eminently
Respectable
HAD TO TAKE IT TRAPPED
BY M'LISS

The Greenwich Villagers who had come
| over from New York pronounced it bad.
| " holly bad Worse. uniutcrcSting. They
| shook their bohbed heads over their ah-
| sinthe frappcs, which they slipped last
| night in a hotel near the Academy Of Mu-
| sic and in the impassioucd tones Of those
| who had come to gcoff and remained 10 do
! it, piece by piece they picked the Artists
| Masque "SaCCulum' to atoms.
"Dlsproportionate as to color" said one
| judcousy
"Nondescript; thin as to theme" said an
other
They had wanted abSinthe drips and the
| best the hotel could offer was rrappcs This
| was 80 vurry, vurry Philadelphian,
| And when one yearns for the SLOW seduc-
| tive drip and is given instead the sharp
| slap of the frappe, ones critical Judgment
| is apt to he rritated
But there were those presen; who wore
| their hair long and who were not only IN
| digenous to this climate, but were still con-
tent to reside here. who agreed in part with
| the visitors opinion Of the masque whlch
| has become an annual feature in the art life
| of Philadelphia. These were disappointed
| chiefly at the small opportunity given Will
liam Albrecht Young to display his talent,
MIR. YoUNG'S LIGHTS OUT
Heralded as n wizard in the art of get
| ting unusual effects through the complex
| and variegated use of lights, Mr.. Young
! even though he wrote the scenario. was
| relegated to a role in 'Saeculum analogous
to that of BanquO's ghost in Hamlet lie
was allowed to have his name in the pro-
| gram, at least
| The illumination was satisfactory. if not
| unusual Rumors which percolated through
| for the rehearsals had it that Mr.. Young
had he been given free hand 'WaS pre-
Il Ia f1A1t
| the matter of ultraviolet rays and things
but evcrytime he flashed them on Lyman
| Sayen's futurstic drops the effect produced
was so nimical to that peace and harmony
| which composes the soul Of Cosmos that
the light of Mr.. Young's ambition was
dimmed and he Is sun waiting LOT HIS
chance
His scenario too, if rumor is to he be-
Ueyed. Jared badly. Read in the sOnorou.
tones of John Frederick Lewis VINO Wa'
the Voice of Cosmos, it took on all th'
solemn ceremony of High Mass. and wher
one wasn't busy listening to the scenery
il sounded like a composite steal from tn'
Songs of Solomon and Shakespeare There
was complaint that Mr.. Lewis was too
'preachy." Such familiar phrases a
vanity, all is vanity" and eat drink an'
! he merry" punctuated II. Judging non
the remnants, the scissoring that was dom
| must have been aimed at that portion o
the scenario which was original with Mr
Young.
sAYEN FROM SOUP TO NUTS
Sayen was the soup, fish, entree, meat
nuts, wines and ices Of the feast. viewing
his conception of what stage scenery shouI'
be. there were those in the audience wh
wished for n futuristic Baedeker or some
thing. In friendly spirit they groped on
10 understand but a.as the chaotic con
cention of the cosmiC world Was too muc
for them one was reminded OF klpllns
line "spashed on "A ten league canvas VIII
brushes of comets tails Mr.. Sayen III
terpreted big He splashed drunken pyra
| mids. red. white, blue, orange mauN'
/, green purple and pink ones, ana CalIe
them mountains Through them he spite
a white torrent fieckcd with crimson Ac
robatic trees rear views of suns ana ram
hoUs black clouds that moved slowly, pro
oos,ionailv displaying a white Christ-lik
Cosmos. personified by the artist hlmsel
we're other features of the apotheoSis q
, futurism with which Mr.. Sayen out-Matlsse
tba dean of the modern hectic school {
art ,, ,,,,
e The nerformers did their level best
t live up TO the background against whlc
= IT,, were not projected but almost los
= ,rhGse persons who knew the story III au
( vance forgot il. They had vague men
e ory that Soul, portrayed by Walter a.
r trim was to be awakened and heckled
= his five senses and saNen pS ms i''u'''o.l
t and that color bearers and form bearers an
t spirits Of enchantment ana sp,rits po, y, W,
: | content were to be represented by huhel
y ous members of the nine art clubs part
: oipating in the masque. The scenic eitec
3 however, dominated. ,.,..
i AS for the principals, Mr. Antrim lacke
t that leu d'espritNthat one associates VIII
t young souls awakenlng' ~ was
e | ,hougb the scene and manner of his avail
I ening was a bit too much for him ii
}. attitude indicated that II he had been col
d suited at all in the matter he'd nave chose
a a more reposeful, less modern coucn a. .
J. which to be born, As the queen OF u
Golden Thoughts, Mrs. Leopold eeyi.er. @ "a
/, standing. and what must have been a
g exceedingly wearying part -
: A paleolithic, discontented ous' ho"eNe