New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-04
By Ralph Block

"Tioer Rose" which David Belasco
presented last night at the Lyeeum
Theatre. is Rex Beach and Robert Ser
vice conversing over the demi-tasse'
II Is the tongue Of the jack boots aga
the corduroy spoken in the low voice
Of the dinner jacket. II has all the
oby;ous earmarks Of melodrama, ana
IN truth the honest Belasco did not
shrink from giving 1t the name on tho
roo-rauue But between the steady
hand Of the producer and the magma
tion Of Miss Lenore Ulrich' VINO
10 the tiger rose herself. there
ara moments at which the play
leaves melodrama behind 1t ana
reaches the point where it presents inc
i,Irsion of life itself. Such moments
orc not many in the theatre, ana IL
would be vain fattery TO say they are
MANY in the play at the Lyceum. But
must confess there were times last
NIGHT when Miss Ulrich was on tne
STAGE when was sorely troubled IL
was none of the implications OF the
situation itself that made me uncom-
Portable. because melodrama' Oeihs
melodrama, is never tragic. But II was
difficult to face any catastrophe to SO
real person as the young French
Canadian girl wos made to become.
So far as the story itself IS con-
cerned, with Willard Mack appearing
both as playwright and player what
chiefly recommends it Is its variety OF
Characterization. 1t frees for the
stage once more what the stage has
seemed almost to have forgotten the
romance of the out-of-doors, Of as
tant places. where adventure stlll ilNes
in the open. where the passions nave
freor swing and a wider range, ana
where men and women step out hrst
and nudge afterward. But 1t does an
this through it's reticences, IN what IL
does not saw rather than in what u
docs Stripped of its atmospheres, the
tolo would be almost as bald as
Dick Merriwell. young french,
Canadian girl, who has been adopted
bv tho factor of a Hudson Bay
trading post, secretly falls IN love
with a Young American engineer. Inc
voungster suddenly finds the man VINO
wrcnged his sister and kills him. ne
escapes. aided by the young woman, put
finally gives himself up 70 save her
from bearing any blame. They wed so
he NAV not have TO 90 into custody a.
Alberta alone. That is Mr.. Mack's plot
so FAR as il may be diagrammed, snow
ing incidentally, how foolish any
mother about Tlots is any way. But
behind the story is rich picture OF
the Northwest, absorbing whether II IS
true or not. The factor, a sentimental
Sco.: the Indians, the young French
Canadian. the priest, the doctor from
the States who is hunting man" IN
the Northwest-types, every one OF
them. but invested by the actors and
the shrewdlv tempered pitch OF the
production with a charm that is rare
In whatever takes on the name OF mel
odrama.
However Mr.. Mack may have drawn
the character Of Rose Bocion. she be-
longs now to Miss Ulrich, who gave the
role a fitness and variety mere writ
ing for the stage could never impart
Rose is soft-hearted. she is shrewd, she
ia devoted. she is tender. she is wilful
and a tiger when aroused. But she Is
not any of these in excess, and with
out the players lightness Of touch. her
hidden restraint, the richness OF char
acterization would have gone for noth-
ing. As it is, Miss Ulrich's playing IN
theSDart presents the first acting OF the
season which rises above mere expected
iourneyman excellence. And by jour
newman excellence the other players IN
the part may serve very well as Illus
tration. Thomas Findlay as the Scot
William Courtleigh as the man from
the States" Fuller Mellish as the
Jesuit father, Pedro de Cordoba as the
Young French Canadian, Mr.. Mack as
ROYAL Northwest mounted policeman
and Calvin Thomas as the lover.
As for the settings and those me-
chanical devices by which the Belaseo
trade marx ia emtlazoned | am not SO
much for them. The spreading dawn
In the woods. the patter Of rain out
side. the flash Of lightnings and the
reyerberating roll OF thunders serve
we'll enough 20 accentuate the action
They aGr to pump the blood little
faste- when the hunter misses the
hunted By a hands breadth during the
Canadian storm But they are after
all devices, and if doing without them
would still the clatter of those who
anplaud whenever the Belasco stage
appears 10 produce the illusion every
stage means 20 produce, would Danish
g. oil