Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-15
'FEMINISM TARGET
FOR DALE SATIRE
~Madonna of Future" Smartly
Discusses Futuristic Theories
on Sex Equality

THE MADoENA i. or bY Alan Dale. Pro.
ss,irSs ss,csS under the personal direction Of
M oliver MSTos;3 and sa,, Erank'n Underwood
saiie Winborn .'.'' Frances nnpeaW9ion ,ric1
b. MT. ls,S'E5ss 1sn pasen Teresa M"E%S foPSys
Mrs wallinsford ..'''' ah"i''a' ,hesson hn&sS,
MIS- MMr wsiiinSford ii,f colin Campbell
Jack Frellingham .'''' "aroqroUn oUn1as Sa1o Wos.
ReTna'u Miss Fotherinsay's butler.
Act 1-Morniin,g Moi,sron room III '''' '0'''e' '"'"'
home ,iLassme lag nrst as act l. one year later.
sst tt tiI--Irs Van Dusen's drawins room,
1TS The action q q The i,sa,dn play takes place at
rarrytown on the HUDSON
rho ,ress agent in his advance no.
\ 49, ,oid MS that the role of Iris Foth-
.r,nv,v" is distinctly unlike anything IN
..h,cb Miss stevens has appeared. lie
,.,sht have gone further and said Mr.
Il AIRED !. Cohen (Alan pale) has pro-
,sd.d role distinctly unlike anything
anv actress has appeared IN. Inc
rsares, any player has come to the un-
2 usual. even sensational, IDEAS Wnlch
Il ~, nronulgates was her aunt, Mrs.
,,,",,o,he r,s "reminiscences of utterance
= "a asnect are persistent-last season
=, .Erstwhile Susan" In Helen Rei-
,,.rsnvder Martins sheer comedy OF
nharac,er without a thesis the premier
actress of the American stage ny inter
-, and art enunciated crisply. "I be-
H. that every woman, married or un-
married has the right to nave one
child and no questions asked but
n Ms Martin and Mrs. Fiske DID not
NJ NJ ,he intrepidity to put the theory
20 ELLEN Key and the advanced rem
inists into footlght form.
AZ Cohen does-he captializes the fu-
xrristic propaganda of the futurlst pro-
nonents of sex equality. who. having
,,rtua,lv won the vote, seek new words
N conquer and now want TO WIN 'he
double standard-not to aboish II 80
thsr men must abide by the morals
which society prescribes Tor women, put
N force into acceptance freedom OF ih-
cI,nation and consummation for womeh'
". -, curh tho license and lust OF men.
phyt 10 free women from etiquette ana
a,h,cs These short-haired women ana
, lonv.haired men pick as their opJective
n drive on the conventions which cl'hi-
cation has evolved over the ages 10 put-
tress the marriage tie as a ouiwark tor
women and a prot>ctton ana sanc,liica-
t,on for the family. They would oNerturn
In ithe stress and strain OF 'ne presen'
world cataclysm all the ideals for whlch
f,hristianitv has struggled and suffered
Tor two thousands of years. This Is
the menace of the feminine unrest uh-
RESPONSIVE to spiritual reactions tne
sense that victory warrants taNHs
wbateyer spols are desired. 1t Is ataN-
ism. not futurism in universal mean
ing. that is the real significance or this
.ahooI of advanced" feminism. Need
i.ss ~ saw no valid thinker believes the
eternal feminine, which has won not
onIv the respect of the other sex. but
Il sejf-respect as well, Is going to sacrihce
either for the cubists of sex equality. the
faddists who are not sure what tl'eN
wanY-hut II must be shocking. sur
frape IL dominating the world because IL
sives spiritual womanhood, which ma
won social and economic equalty' POM
icaI eouality to conserve and secur" It's
trirmnhs It's victory will better, per-
4 hans eyalt men, never degrade women
An this may be taking Mr.. Cohen's
nlay too seriously. He treats lightly,
superfcially, smartly and commercially
a topic that a Sophocles Molere SNAKE
speare or Ibseh would have developed
profoundly Instead OF an impressive
co-ordination of the biologic SOCIAL ana
philosophic. not to say religious Aspects
| of a notably big theme, into an artistic
drama that would edify yand exalt with
the cleansing catharisis OF the Greek
playwrlghts he has elected no nobler
motive than to draw the laughs OF those
willing to pay the price for entertain
ment that is racily sophisticated.
u II may be argued that 1t is not the
purpose OF art to teach morals, but II
most assuredly is not tire purpose OF
art consciously TO destroy morals yet
Il ffty per cent of our theatres offerings
have precisely and premeditatedly that
effect Automatically great art does not
y aim TO teach or preach ethics, but IL
does not contravene ethics either. That
a.. A. n 20
will carry away from Mr.. Cohen's VEN
ture into the drama. He does not call
II a drama, but satire: however the
satire instead of being fortnight and
keen-cutting at evil, hacks just as sharply
at what good people or even normal
people hold not only good but sacred
One feels that Mr.. Cohen. the embryo
"a playwright is a recrudescence or Mr.
Cohen the novelist of a score of years
ago, with his Albatrossian fctions, "A
Marriage at Zero "A Conscience or
Ice," IAN Old Maid Kindled" and "A
Moral Busybody," in which the plo,
genre of ALBERT Ross was treated In
pseudo-epigrams and paradoxes after
the fashion of Oscar Wilde--a long waS
after
Probably this moral busybody,' re-
{, viewing '"The Madonna OF the Future,
smay not be thanked for saying that II
Mr. Cohen had been ardent with sacri
hcial aspirations instead of keeping one
eye on the smart set and the Other
on the box office he might have writer
play Of supreme interest and value
on his large theme-the maternal in
stinct and how it is to be satisfied undel
the present conditions of society or how
the new conditions OF woman's freedom
are to lift those conditions to loftiel
leves OF the spirit. recognizing purely
the legitimacy of the flesh. but realizing
that the soul Is ALL There are som,
thingc about this play that only Docto
kellogg. our medical adviser. could writ,
about, and he couldn't print them in
journal designed for home reading unde
the evening lamp.
M As for the dramaturgy of the play
Mr.. Cohen, as Alan Dale In quartz
century as theatrical critic. has In
numerably condemned plays superior Il
t'constructions He makes action an,
characterization servient TO smartness o
dialogue. He would rather put al
epigram across the footlights than sen,
winged truth into the hearts of hi
hearers. ". II. NJ.
"a Night in Billet"-William Penn
"a Night In Billet" proved one o
tno most novel aftractiops that hav