The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-25
SINGER In TROUBLE
AS GENTLE WIFE
Emily Stevens Appears in the
Role of Bride in a Jew
ish Family.
HER COUTURE A FEATURE
Gowns Also Attract Attention
With Good Cast of Play at
the Vanderbilt.

| Or. Hotchkios. 80. Charles Hammond
Caroline ..............V Virginia Curtis !
Emily Stevens. who seemed to- be
temporarily extinguished in the back
fire from Alan Dale's witty play THE
Madonna of the Future" reappeared
before the New York public last night.
Miss Stevens had a new manager in
Arthur Hopkins, who is supposed to
be all there is OF the most modern, as
our allies might say Of him, IN his
views and control Of the stage, and in
new play in THE Gentle Wife,"
written by Rita Wellman. who also is
novel in the theatre. So she was in
practically a clear field, or to press
the point, there was nothing to Inter
fere with her artistic repentance II
she felt so inclined. Half Of the new
leaf has been, as 1t were, turned over
for her.
The young Christian studying to be
an opera singer had. with no realiza-
ton Of the fact. married into a Jewish
family. The second generation was,
Of course. touched by the liberal ideas
Of life in this country. The older was,
although rich. still bound by its ira
ditions. Out Of the struggle between
these conflicting elements Miss Well
man built her play. Its three acts
pass in a fashinable hotel in this city
and in a home on Long Island.
The characters that people these
scenes are Jews and Christians The
former were rich. and in their sound
feeling. common sense and qualities
OF heart were so far superior to the
Christians as to win the sympathy OF
the audience from the outset,
So far as their manners were con-
cerned, they seemed no more vulgar
than the school represented by Miss
Stevens, who, as the bride of the
young Jew, snubbed his family on the
general ground that she did not like
families when the women first called
on her and later smoked cigarettes in
! corner OF their Long Island drawing
room while the rest of the family en-
tertained company. Comedies OF bad
manners are specially of Miss
Stevenss art as those who saw THE
| Unchestened Woman" may not have
forgotten.
! In spite OF Its wealth the Jewish
| family was not able TO stand for"
Miss Stevens's decolletage, which was
OF the usual low visibility. She called
her husband by his racial name when
! he repeated the family remonstrance
and he went TO his laboratory to work
= all night on his profession as biolo-
glst. But the family was forhearing.
Not word was said about Miss
Stevens's couture. Perhaps her lin
laws" thought it was merely funny
without being vulgar and therefore
less to be deplored than her dinner
gown. Miss Stevenss hair now recalls
vounv woman an tho swaring canye.
outside the circus tent who usually
was to be seen only at the sideshow
on payment OF an extra admission.
! In one OF Robert Edmund Jones's
most detached interiors the action OF
the second act progressed so far that
a Gentle scientist was embracing the
Gentle wife after a meeting of few
minutes. But he had discovered that
she read Verlaine and had an artistic
temperament which she interpreted as
the faculty OF causing infinite pain.
The furniture of this room was
adroitly arranged to suit the purposes
OF this disloyal scientist. II was
decorated with such things as altar
lights, sacred figures and a pulpit
fourteenth century Italian one eX-
pert called it-and into this pulpit the
man OF science persuaded the Gentle
wife TO enter. Then he pretended to
say his prayers to her while she posed
above his head. In climbing the lad
der she warned her admirer that she
might fall. Judging by the tableau
at the close of the act, her fears had
been justified.
Hc"o" Oh '"e RAY
Frank Conroy played this love scene
with the passionate abandon of q
metronome. He has mastered the DIFF
ficult Hopkins trick Of talking as com
pletely without expression as Roland
Young used to do. Thus does the
Powell plaved the Jewish husband
until