Evening star., 1918-08-06
ADJUSTMENTS
National.

u British and German secret service
Operatives clash in one of the most
sxhrilling melodramas that have been
fpresented on a Washington stage
e-Three Faces East" produced at the
National Theater last night by cohan
~ Harris. Brilliantly acted and ad-
Smirably staged. it promises-and full
Fills the promise-ah evening of in
tense interest.
: While the play is in reality de-
Receive story. with the secret service
operatives of England and Germany
tSas the principal actors, and while the
Nscenes are laid in Berlin and London,
sThree Faces East has a war at
smosphere, which makes the interest
ito an American audience more grip
Sping, especially since Americans have
begun to play major part In the
,Ereat drama on the western front.
when in the residence of the secre-
ftary of home affairs in London the
damily and their guests cheer the
passing of the American troops on
their way to the front, while the band
yin the distance plays Dixie" the re-
usponse of the audience was instan-
taneous.
The audience is treated to zeppe-
hin raid over London, which stirs the
Hpulse and makes for better realiza-
-tion of the courage which has been
Smanifested by the Londoners while
the baby butchers" have dropped
bombs upon their city. The dropping
bombs, the answering anti-aircraft
Kuns. the whirr of the aircraft and
the whine of the siren announcing
passed are intensely realistic.
Three Faces East" is said to have
been founded upon actual records of
the secret service in London. 1t
De- ,rr1t LN1h
ary, 1918. when Helene of the German
Intelligence bureau is given her in
structions for operations in London,
and then shifts to London in the fol-
lowing month.
The cast is excellent. Emmett Cor
rigan is admirable in his impersona-
ton of the master spy, and Violet
Heming as Helene of the German
intelligence bureau divides with him
the honorS of the production. Both
have eliminated emotionalism and re-
preston is the order under the most
trying circumstances. Facial express
sion and change of tone are relied
upon to give the audience the true
meaning of the situations.
But the honors of the production
do not go to these two alone. Charles
Harbury as George Bennett. secre-
tary for home affairs; Marion Grey,
as his wife, and William Jeffrey. as
Lieut.. Frank Bennett of the Royal
Flying Corps, his son, took part in
a scene that will live in the memory
of many who have sons and brothers
and husba ands abroad. Frank Sheri-
dan, as Yeats, chief of the English
secret service, is very good. Others
deserving of mention are Joseph Sell
man. Cora Witherspoon. Harry Lam
bert and David L. Leonard. Minor
parts have been given considera ton
and frequently a bit of clever char
acterization was applauded by the
audience.
The play is from the pen of An
thony Paul Kelly. It's situations are
tense. the lines have a punch and
1t would make good reading. even
without the aid of the actors in i'm
personation. The action moves rap
idly. and the climax comes in a cell
lar in the home of Mr.. Bennett. in
which the German agent has placed
a time bomb to destroy at one blow
the entire British cabinet, which is
supposed to be meeting in the library
of the home secretary.