The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-17
AN IDEAL HUSBAND
SCORES AT COMEDY
Revival of Oscar Wilde's Play
Made With Cast of
English Actors.
ITS KUMOR KEEN AS EVER
An UncOmmOnly Fine Per-
formance With High Degree
of Artistic Merit.


d. Williams aspires to present only
drs mas by Galsworthy, Pinero. Wilde or
Shaw, or such products of the English
speaking stage as are worthy to rank
In this short and distinguished catalogue.
Such a task would to-day be difficult.
The supply is small. The recent dramas
, of Pinero have not satisfied his admirers,
while attempts to revive the earlier works
show that they have dated sadly. Shaw
has confined himself since the begin
ming Of the war to one act pieces with
"A strong tendency in one direction or an
! other and has forbidden for the time the
revival OF some of his earlier plays for
which the managers have been asking.
In the absence of any other work OF
| the kind he likes. Mr.. Williams gave
last night at the Comedy Theatre, which
the Shuberts have redecorated and other
wise relieved of the dank aspect 1t ac-
quired under former tenants, oscar
| Wilde's comedy Of English life called
| An Ideal Husband"
The play, which Is in four acts and
has It's scenes laid in a fashionable home
| in London. Is practically new to the
present generation OF theatregoers. Dan
| lei Frohman during his brilliant i'm
presarioship of the little Lyceum Thea
J tire in Fourth avenue gave the piece
! when 1t was new in London
Presented by Famous Players.
This was on March IL. 1895, and it
! engaged the talents of the popular play
ers in that famous organization. Some
! OF them, such as Isabel Irving, Mrs.
; Thomas Written and Katherine Flor
althOnHh others
such as Rhoda Cameron and Bessie Ty-
rec, have disappeared from the view of
; the public. Herbert Kelley and William
! LIE Moyne had important roles during
the Ave weeks that the public came to
! enjoy the play.
There was little or no demand for
the piece outside New York and prob
ably trial production of the comedy
! in Milwaukee last summer was its first
! hearing so far from the land of its
birth. The Yale Dramatic Club acted
the work several years ago and Frank
! lin Sargent two years ago put the pupils
Of his dramatic school through its PAGES.
! Probab bly, this completes the history OF
An Ideal Husband" as Oscar Wilde
first wrote the play.
The novelty of Mr.. williams's revival
last night lay in the use of the text
which George Alexander obtained for
! the st. James Theatre in London. Prob
ably the occasional efforts to modern
ize the text were the extent of the
changes. There is little or nothing now
TO suggest that the work is not entirely
new. Certainly it's wit was never
fresher. Such brilliant talk of its kind
has not been heard on the stage since
| Lady Windermere's Fan" was last acted
! here.
Perhaps it is the artifciality of this
sparkling froth that keeps it from grow
ing stale. In this respect the Wilde
plays are like the Carolinian theatre. II
never bore any relation to life and the
years do not dull wit that is so COM
pletely the invention OF IT, authors
mind. The Wilde wit is unique. 1t was
| impossible last night not to appreciate In
every speech the vast superiority of the
author who invented this formula
which had come to be lightly regarded
and cyiticised-over his imitators.
Constant Laughter in the Theatre
SO the audience was kept in constan,
laughter. Perhaps Alice Butler as Lady
| Mdrkbcy had the most laughable pas
| sages to recite for the Wilde dowagers
are ever the repository of the authors
keenest sarcasms. But there was the
constant glitter OF the accustomed wit
| or the playwright. ANA the 1act lnat ts
high literary excellence did not in the
least interfere with the constant amuse-
ment OF the spectators may show that
after all the merit of good writing may
still be appreciated. The serious speeches
were welcome contrast to the English
which clothes the utterance of most stage
sentiments
The acting attained a high degree o!
artistic merit. Norman Trevor gave a
splendidly sincere and natural perform
ance OF the statesman who had made q
false step in his youth. Constance Col
lier as the woman who would have ex
posed him played the later scenes with
intelligence and a delicate sense of tn,
comedy in her situation. In the frs
act, however. her acting overwrough
land without finesso, was wholly out OF
key with the performance. Such &
woman must have possessed the ease o.
experience. Beatrice Beckley as tn,
trusting wife Of the statesman gave al
exqulsitely sensitive and natural per
Torrance in addition to presenting {
rare picture of physical loneliness
Julian l. Estranges polished light com
edy acting was another feature OF al
lunconmonly f1ne performance.