The Washington herald., 1919-06-10
The Shubert-Belaseo-I8e
Mask.S

The 8nuDert-Befo1co-I bfAct
For the nrst time In his career A.
an independent producer Winthrop
Ames has dallied with the romantic
DRAMA Perhaps he has forcasted .
new temper on Broadway. and has
elected himself one Of the honorary
paiibearers at the prayed-for demise
Of the present dreary era Of bedroom
farce and melodrama- There are signs
in the air that he has diagnosed cor
rectly the present condition Of the
unsung and unhonored patient. and he
Is not the only expectant and light
hearted mourner among those whose
business forces them to more or less
continuous contact with the currect
'theater.
In "The Scarlet MASK he has suc-
ceeded in gaining q cunning combina-
ton of the thrills which ordinarily re-
side in the Sherlock Holmes detective
school of drama with the favor and
flourish Of the swashbuckling type
with which some of the best traditions
of the American stage are identified.
There Is. OF course. more Of The
Prisoner Of Zenda" and AN Enemy
to the King In THE Scarlet Mask"
than there Is of "Raffies" or Conan
Doyle; nevertheless. the chevalier OF
the mask is a hero whose triumphs
are those of the intellect rather than
those Of the sword. 1t has been some
time since a romantic meiodrama OF
equal calibre has been presented in
Washington. and a large audience at
the Shubert-Belasco last evening gave
unmistakable evidence of its enjoy
ment. despite a certain amount of
first-night crudities which crept
into a first-night performances.
II was with q certain element OF
trepidation that the audience witness
ed this effort to turn its mind to the
Napoleonic era in France. with Its
atmosphere or intrigue and counter
intrigue, but after the second act 1t
was evident that the piece was no
mere Costume play, but q play with
a punch" just as truly as any mod
ern melodrama Of the Three Faces
East school. Never for an instant
was there any doubt that the play was
sure.fire .purveyor of excellent en-
tertainment: It was an adaptation
from the French. and It showed the
typical French cleverness in plot-con-
struction and mechanics of develop
ment. II romantic drama Is to come
back into its own. we can conceive of
no better opening shot than THE
Scarlet Mask"
The challenging feature of the
venture is that Mr.. Ames has pro-
duced II in a way which projects
big scting and q commanding pro-
duction into the public eye. Rich
ard Bennett. surely one of the most
versatile as well as one of the ablest
actors in this country. has . role
which Otis Skinner well may envy
him. AS the chevaIier of the mask
Mr.. Bennett has done a technically
perfect piece OF work. lacking only
in that romantic swing and dash
which Skinner and Sothern alone
could give II. But this. OF course,
will come in time: for nothing is
beyond the distinguished actor
whorp Ames has chosen for the part.
Reginald Barlow does the part of
the police agent Brisquet in q man
ner which convinces us that nothing
better of its type has ever been done
by any OF the brilliant line which has
essayed Javrot in Les Miserables."
Ruth Findlay. Albert Howson, Flem-
ing Ward. and Florence Short were
some Of the outstanding names in a
long and excellent cast
The production Is of the best
Winthrop Ames type. II Broadway
is ready for reaction, here is it's op-
portunity.