New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-08

By HAYWOOD BROUN


Oswald went mad again last night
and called for the sun, but nobody
had much fun. Ibsen was able TO
shock all observers into horrid
language when Ghosts" was first
produced. and Mr. Shaw is sure things
are not much diferents day. A few
years ago he wrote, "Our own medioc-
rites would abuse Ibsen as heartily
as their fathers did if they were not
young enough to have started with an
entirely incalculated and unintelligent
assumption that he is a classic"
Speaking for that segment of medioc-
rity which we know best, Shaw is
mistaken. The modern commonplace -
and we are disposed to say COM
mon sense reaction to Ghosts" is
best expressed by what Of it,"
Point out to the modern theatregoer
that Oswalds tragedy lies in his over
throw by a malignant and uncontrol-
liable power called heredity and he will
reply somewhat fippantly, "Now that
you know it, what are you going to do
about it?'
There is something TO be said for
this criticism. Il is practically impos-
sible to reform an ancestor once he has
died, and duel between the past and
the present such as in Ghosts" is
hardly fair. Oswald cannot fight back
and lbsen's play lacks that appealing
note of defiance which gives breath to
most enduring tragedy.
IL is not to be denied, of course, that
lbsen changed the whole manner OF
writing plays. Even "Pollyanna" is
just a little different than it would
have been if lbsen had never lived
Structurally Ghosts" is one of the
finest of all lbsen plays. Nothing is
quite so telling as the moment when
Mrs Alving hears the whisper of Re-
gina from the dining room. Yet we
think the philosophy of the play pro.
vinclal and second rate. Mere repetl-
ton by lesser men may have brought
about this result, but it seems to us
that the only timely quality of Ghosts
to-day is the frequent emphasis on the
bad weather.
Undenlably, the play has power. One
man tainted last night. but Billy Sun
day did four times as well as that only
last week with his sermon entitled
The Devils Boomerang; or, Hot Cakes
! Of the Grddle." The subject matter
/ OF play and sermon are somewhat SINH.
lar, we believe. When anybody OBJ
Jects to Mr.. Sunday or Mr.. Ibsen and
says that there are certain things
which should not be discussed in the
theatre he is usually compared to the
ostrich, who hides his head in the
sand. We don't know just what hap
pens to the ostrich when he hides in
this manner. Probably he is kicked
or killed, and yet it must be said in
cXtenuation of his rash act that the
sand is usually nice and clean.
Only two members of the cast at The
Comedy were good, and both were regu
lar members of the Washington Squar,
Players. Jose Ruben gave telling per
Torrance as Oswald, and T. W. Gibson
was extremely successful in gaining
broadly comic effects with jacob
Engstrand This seems a Legitimate
method, for any other interpretation
leaves the figure somewhat lifeless
Mary Shaw was splendid in some thing.
Siit niuf Dub HNA StoNNiNS WNAN
ing. She seemed much too ready tC
sacrifice her money rather than her life
and punctuated the play not infre
quently by thrusting both hands above
her head. We can think of no reason
why an actor in modern play should
reach upward, as Mary Shaw does, un
less it were to light the gas or climb Q
rope. There was some saving also il
the gestures of Miss Shaw. Nocally
she was excellent and she played som'
Of the hardest scenes in precisely the
right tempo.
Arthur Hohl was a distinct handicaI
as Pastor Mandes. He is a good actor
and the part is we'll within his range
but his unfamiliarity with the lines was
distressing. Margaret Mower was AIDE
quate as Regina.
As Hamlet once remarked to a single
ghost who provided somewhat unp,eas
ant entertainment, "Rest, perturbeC
spirit"