Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-19
Bioernson Play Finely Acted,
but Marred by Extremely
Crude Adaptation
HILDA SPONG IN CAST

Iet IlI--rhe following morning.
presupposing that the drama. aged
now about $500 years, is an interesting
,rvald," contemporary promoters Of the
.,ricsl sanitoria are busily engaged In
dsyislng recuperative treatment. New
yorl's Theatre Workshop offers the
lstest cure" This idealistic and nom
,ommercial enterprise aims in the words
N its own prospectus TO furnish
(, ,sort Of laboratory for Experimentation,
I, xhere playwrights, actors and otlter the
s,re artists may get encouragement for
Increasingly worth while efforts 1t also
home, TO develop public taste toward
n,ore genuine appreciation Of good
y DANA by giving adequate performances
AZ standard plays Of different nations.
This last ingredient OF the prescrip-
tIon has the alluring charm of novelty.
Hitherto much of the experimentation
eonducted in altruistic miniature play
houses has been concentrated on plays
rather than acting. Evidence that his
trionsm was not omitted from the latest
tonic was gratifyngly visible at the
Little Theatre last night. The occasion
msrked the Theatre Workshops first
"operation" here. In the broadly gen
ersIizing idiom OF "uplift" the patient
was of course 'The Drama" duly cap
italized. The particular victim was
Bjoernstjerne Bjoernson's argumentative
comedy, "a Gauntlet"
This play, with its gsspel of an equal
ired moral standard for men and women.
dates from 1883. and was once re-
rarded as a startling pioneer in the
realm Of emancipated footlight thought.
That the thrills formerly induced by
dramas of this type-and the earlier
social pieces of Henrik Ibsep may be
fairly included in this deduction-have
lost their quivering intensity may be
Justly ascrbed to the general progress
4 OF that modern civilization which Ger
many has been endeavoring to wreck.
The so-called naked truths" once pas
sionately voiced by the two great Nor
wegian dramatists now seem almost
decorously clothed
Nevertheless, this particular play of
>Bjoernson's. although IT has aged much
more rapidly than the same writer's
profound and mystical Beyond Human
Power" with which Mrs Patrick Camp
bell once puzzled "a Philadelphia audi
ence, Is wrought with strength and ar
tIstry It's character drawing is sound
and vivid and there il even compensa-
ton for its yerbosay in the sincerity
and keen mental acumen display in the
coloquy
I.amentable. therefore, was such pro-
fusion of editorial manhandling as the
play received last night in Osman Ed
wards's ruthlessly condensed version.
Although not heretofore acted by pro-
fessionals in this city. the play between
hook covers has for years been availa-
ble In the admirable translation of Ed
Rinnrknan "A rnnn1r
Ihglsh text with that Of Mr.. Edwards's
win reveal the most pitiless and ineXpert
Blue penciling and emendatons by the
Wofksbop's literary hand" The new
adapter has not even hesitated to intro
duce episodes OF the stalest comic re-
lief Bjoernson solves his dramatic sit
uatlon with thoughtful and logical
rsconclliation of the lovers. Mr.. Ed
4 wards ends the whole problem In a
STACEY Interrogation point.
Happily the Interpretation sustained
the Theatre Workshops ambitious prom
ises Barring certain minor evidences
Of lack of thorough drilling a care
+. fully selected company gave capital
Performance. Hilda Spong. ar actress
3 OF wide experience and distinctive tai
ent, was forceful and convincing as the
mother of the young girl, whose rude
awakening to the moral status of what
Mark Twain called the NANCY human
race" makes a drama out of a simple
betrothal.
AS the heroine, Olive wyndham, who
has finely developed in artistry since her
novitiate days with the Inflated New
Theatre Company, contributed a portrait
yeracious In its emotional appeal and
Instinct with compelling charm. Tie
sketch Of shallow-pated "man-butterhy"
by George Henry Trader was a gem OF
vivid ironcal comedy. Auxiliary TO this
encient trilogy were the noteworthy
competence of Mrs. Thomas A. Wise and
the creditable achievements of minor
players.
The Theatre Workshop, In spite of the
hghfalutn' tendencies of its general
cult is indisputably laudable and ar
tlstically stimulating undertaking. Many
actors of deserved position have in
dorsed it's mission. But the enterprise
should be more respectful of it's dramatic
material before 1t attempts grandly to
rebuild the totterng Temple of Thespis.
II. T. c.