New-York tribune., 1918-09-10
By Haywood Broun

A real person in an unreal play
transcends his part But this time it
was her part. Alice Brady was able to
make "Forever After" appealing at
times last night when the Central Thea
tire opened with a new play by Owen
Davis. Miss Brady is better known
recently from her work for the screen
than on the stage. Seemingly, the
movies do contribute to the art Of act
ing. Sidney Drew came back to the
tor than when he left it, and last night
Alice Brady displayed newly found
skill.
Perhaps the hint which is learned in
the studios is not to move around too
much. After all the scope of the
camera is limited in the interior
scenes and much of the useless cross
ing back and forth is eliminated. Miss
Brady took all her big moments last
night with minimum of movement.
She managed to let her heart break
without walking a quarter of mile,
things with her hands or her voice.
But there was plenty of expression and
feeling for all that. Some of these
things come with training One gift
belongs to Miss Brady by heritage. She
has quite the largest smile On Broad
way and every inch of it is engaging.
Not as much may be said for the
play as for the chief player. Owen
Davis has attempted to combine the old
style college play and the new style
war drama by making a wounded man
remember things in his delrium. First
the hero is on the battlefield and then
he IS back under a balcony making love
to siXteen-year- old miss. Thereupon,
the play cuts back again to No Mans
Land, only to return after a little to
a spot just abaft the Harvard boat
house on the eve of the big race. The
area indicated by a drop of broken
trees . and Scared meadows was deslg-
mated on the programme as No Mans
Land, but the description seemed even
more fitting for that part of the play
which occurred around the Harvard
never dreamed iA'" of il in "cs cambridge. ( ,lsta
Friends and relatives annoyed and
made love to the members of the Grim
son eight in spite of the fact that the
big race was only fifteen minutes away.
the stroke a telegram not two minutes
before he stepped into the boat. Worst
of all, the captain of the crew, who
was some forty or fifty pounds over
weight, kept telling the stroke not to
hit it up in the race even if he should
see that the Ellis were ahead by open
water. The captain neglected to say
just how the stroke might bend his
neck about to catch glimpse of the
oc oIj
boastcd that he "stroked number three
in the Harvard boat" but it was ex-
planned that he had been out of col
lege for thirty years.
A senior remarked "If it's really
like you say" but it is possible
that under the stress of boat race the
most pertinent lessons of English
might be forgotten. Not all the play
is as false as the bit of college life
in which Owen Davis delves so unsuc-
cessfully. The final scene of the play
has an excellent pull to it. Miss Brady
does some of her best work here. There
is also good deal OF amusing writing
and playing in the first act, which con-
Germs the lovemaking of pair some
where in the neighborhood of seven
teen. 1t would be even more effective
if the comparison with Harrington were
not inevitable.
1t is perhaps needless to say that
the play comes out all right in the end.
In fact, that is the motto of the play.
"It just has to- the heroine explains,
and when the final curtain comes down
with the heroine kneeling by the bed
side of her beloved in a hospital in
France there need be no doubt that he
will get well all right. Already she
knows that he loves her, so there
seemed to be no reason to doubt that
the princess would live happily "for
ever after"
They might have been happy much
earlier in the evening if he had not
been so deucedly sensitive. He was
poor and took it very hard. In spite
of some good work by Conrad Nagel
it was most unprepossessing part.
Young men like the hero who are
forced to clerk for living or engage
in other undistinguished jobs have
three philosophers open to them. They
may be pleased to accept the condition
of life into which it has pleased God
to call them; they may set themselves
to the job Of getting ahead; or they
may cuss the capitalists. All three are
effective but undoubtedly the last is
the most fun.
This young man was different. He
just went around snivelling and being
ashamed of his overcoat A poor young
man may be pardoned proper shame
for his parents or his wife or anything
like that, but personally we find it very
difficult to work up sympathy for a
healthy young fellow merely because he
is shy couple of buttons and can't af-
ford to have his shoes shined.
Everybody else seemed to be dis
tressed by the overcoat. Certainly this
was no picture Of New York society.
We once knew poet who has since
grown so popular that we never see him
and he always lent his collars to a
friend to have them worn for the first
three days.
The only performance in "Forever
After except that of Miss Brady, |
which was worthy of particular atten-
tion was that of Frank Hatch, who did
nicely with a kindly old man part.
The new theatre is attractively deco
rated in French gray and old rose.
with just bit of dull gold. The audi
ence last night gave every indication
of liking the new play immensely.
which should be encouraging to the
management, as there are fearfullv
large number of seats which people
could stay away from in the Central