The Washington herald., 1919-12-16

DNtt~--p A&y
Fslx nd....---...........,.Gsorges RsnaFent
INC Boz Ezra Walck
tere kndre Ciemeut..........-...,Jo seph 0reene
Nelly DaYentry.. f1ske
CeorEes Dtrsnd. ............,.. HAmilton Rsyelis
Meianie Cardanne.. Gertrude Chase
scENb-An Old Garden % S. Charles 81.
TTME-A few years ap.
ACT I-L,ate afternoon. Mardi GaA
ACT II-EEening Of the sane dsy. S.
ACT III-Dawn of the following day.
Tne Play Staged b. Harrison Grey Fsks.
By EARLE r. DORSEY.
The faciie machinery OF the theater
RARELY functions to produce so de-
HghtfuIly atmospheric and wholly ar
tistic 3 result as mis- Nelly Of Nor
leans" the Laurence Eyre play which
gives US another glimpse OF Mrs. Min
ME Madden Fiske. that accomplished
and shrewd old lady who still fiaunts
deflantly the banner OF q dwindling
artistic generation.
The play itself Is sound enough. as
plays go and II even betrays. here
and there, a CLINT of hard, consistent
effort, but Mis- Nelly OF NOrleans"
Is. essentially, vehicle for Mrs.
Fiske and all its wealth OF atmos-
pheric charm and Its deliberately care
full artistic development change II not
a little. Mis- Nelly OF N'Orieans'
is Mrs. Fiske and from her perfor-
nance does It draw its chief dis
tinction.
There may be heard a suggestion
that Mrs. Fiske's supporting east
seems hardly to attain the standard
of the piece itself. One might even
suspect that Mrs. Fiske has de-
pressed her support by way OF
super emphasizing her own per-
Torrance. But all such doubts aside,
Mrs. Fiske Is an actress - q very
great actress-and it would be diff
ficult, in this day. to ind for her q
play which would require q COM
plete outpouring Of her art.
She appears. in this work, first an
elderly lady who has returned from
twenty years In Paris to revisit the
scene Of her nirtatious NOrleans
triumphs. There Is a broad hint Of
scandal concerning that long-ago de-
parture and there Is mention. too, of q
suddenly shattered engagement and q
hurried leave-taking for Paris on her
wedding morning. But Mis- Nelly has
returned and she makes II clear that
for all her 1s-year-old heart she Is
trying desperately to grow old grace
fully. Her neice OF II, however, has
complicated the situation rather badly
by tumbling for a youngster whose ia
Their happens to be the man who sud-
denly broke his engagement to Mis-
Nelly twenty years before.
Act 1 closes with Mis- Nelly about
to interject herself into the situation
by assuming her fiirtatious role of
1885, and act finds her not only
NAko Al
mantle niece but actually captivating
her niece's lover. It Is in this second
act that the more swiftly-moving bits
Of action occur. though Mrs. Fiske, to
I our mind. seemed more impressive in
the Introductory scene. From act ?
to the close, we find her a dashing
belle of the sos, captivating, ir-
resistible, wholly charming and II
would be merely tiresome to repeat
the unfolding course Of incidents
which clear up a supposed scandal of
| twenty years before. reunite the
| yonng lovers and make Mis- Nelly
wholly mistress of the situation by
marrying the man she loved SO long
| before.
The action Of the piece is laid en-
tirely in the courtyard Of Mis- Nelly's
home in New Orleans. The scenic ef-
Ifects are delicate and beautiful, and
the merely suggested carnival atmos-
phere of the Mardi Gras Is conveyed
with faultless skill. Hamilton Revelle
! has the most effective supporting role
as the lover of then and now. His
Interpretation Of the Creole patois
seems particularly fine, and his role
might easily become more forcibIe in
support of a less dominating star
Dorothy Day, as the niece, seemed
rather niscast.
Georges Renevent is a bit abrupt
in his manner, but his deliheatior
Of the role of the niece's lover is
acceptable. Joseph Greene might
have been more forcible as a priest
who loved Mis- Nelly in days gone
by. and Clarissa Stem scores as g
quadroon beauty. but Eva Benton
carries of the character honors oil
the evening with a negro imperson-
alton that deserves high praise.