The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-24
Atmosphere Of Midsummer
Nights Dream in Dram
atist's Latest Effort.
Dear Brutus"-A. the Empsr. 1h.ssr..

Everybody interested in the new
| play by j. NJ Barrie. Dear Brutus,"
must by this time know that 1t was
inspired by the lines from Shake
| Speare.
The fault, dear Brutus. is not in our stars
But IN ourselves. that we are undsrlinGs.
And they appeared on the programme
OF the Empire Theatre last night. Mr.
| Barrie developed his idea in a play
that was Barrie-ish TO the nth. And
there was rather an attentive audience
| there to welcome the new work, since
! a play with Sir James Barrie's name
Is one OF the few things worth while
that the British theatre can send US
| to-day.
Perhaps expectation Is not always
fulfilled in complete measure. But the
voice of child has not yet called out
The king is naked" although more
than once that proclamation from Il
youthful seer might have been ex-
pected. Indeed 1t seemed last night
uneasily near.
In order to show that we are not the
victims Of any other fate than our own
characters the playwright calls into
existence Lob. who is no longer Lob
Sit-by-the- Fire, and he invites TO his
house party of more or less world
weary and disappointed men and
women. II is when they wander in the
wood-an enchanted wood not unlike
that in which the characters of "A
Midsummer Nights Dream" moved in
| their slumbers-that their real natures
| are revealed and the philosophy OF
Shakespeare justified TO the world.
These were the adventures OF the Sec
ond act following an introduction
which was only odd in its revelation
of the Barrie quality and rather dis
couraging. -
In the Land of DeIusions.
1t was in the mysterious grove on
Midsummers Eve that the artist.
drinking himself to his destruction and
longing for a daughter. finds himself
with this dream child and brings into
the play one OF the most prolonged Of
| all Barrie's studies OF youth; his wife,
| once regretful that she had not mar
ried certain man Of title, is a beggar
| in this fairy wood; the simpering aris-
tocrat does not disdain on the Mid
summer Eve the suit OF the offering
butler who has now grown into a cap
tain OF finance and has only in the
process exaggerated his dishonesty;
| the philanderer in pursuit OF beauty
finds himself her husband, while a
gentleman of no regrets il one OF the
few persons entirely satisfied with mat
| ters as they stand. II is in the magic
wood that life is thus revealed as it
| exists.
The third act finds this group "corne
TO" as it were. after the decisions of
the preceding night. Only the daughter
Of the painter is absent since she was
creature OF the imagination. But
she is more easily remembered than
any OF the other figures not only be-
cause she is sensitively and POLITICALLY
| embodied by charming young Helen
Hayes. but because the author has
made the scene between the FAINTER
land the imaginary daughter the pre-
| dominating episode OF the act.
Dialogue witty and FancifuI.
This dialogue IL indeed stretched to
| incredible lengths. Much of it is
witty and fanciful just as much OF the
rest OF the play Is whimsical and
Fantastic in the familiar Barrie man
| ner. But the extent to which this
liberal allowance OF the Barrie talk
will interest the spectator will alto
gether depend on the degree to which
he reacts to the present Barrie
| formula.
Certainly the sort of fun contained
n Dear Brutus" is not for all mar
kets. None OF the fantasy is more
successful than the survival OF Lob as
the guest OF the country party that
| undergoes these adventures in the
mystic wood. On the other extreme
Is the man of middle age so well salts
| fed in real life that he goes capering
through the second act to the music
OF a pipe with nothing in his past life
| to change.
The representation last night was
In every respect admirable. William
Gillette Is such a popular actor that
his portrayal OF the artist may delight
| his admirers, although there will al
ways be those to whom II seemed hope
lessIy far from the ideal OF the char
acter as Barrie must have conceived
it.
The other roles were unlike those
which fall TO players in the usual pro-
auctions, but they were equal to
/ visualizing them quite as effectively
as IL they were. Sam Sothern's easy
and graceful acting as the philsnder-
! ing husband was an agreeable feature