New-York tribune., 1919-05-04
By Ralph Block

oy A\SAikiA A~AOSHA
All literatures that have come
deeply from the hearts of the people
for whom they spoke have had tale
about lowly one who was raised after
many trials to high estate. Vulgarly
this is now known as the Cinderella
story. Scientifically it is viewed as
the expression Of every human beings
suppressed desire to be raised to high
estate, and his unquenchable belief
that life will work out for him to that
end. Beggars want to be kings and
kings aspire to sit on the right hand of
God. Senator'S want to be Presidents,
and everywhere there is the blind as
piration of living things to climb sun
ward. Some of the most prospering in
stitutions in American life, such as
George M. Cohan and "The American
Magazine" have built their prosperity
on RECOGNITION of this human faith IN
the accumulative betterment OF life.
"Shakuntala," which is being pre-
sented nightly at the Greenwich VII
lage Theatre, on Sheridan Square, ap-
nears tn he the Hindu dramatic version
of the Cinderella story. Here are all
of what have come to be accepted as
the familiar and essential elements;
Youthful human being of patriclan de-
scent cast into an humble environment
bv uncomfortable circumstances, be-
loved by kingly visitor and won by
hin as his own only against the odds
scs up by a jealous elder. The pattern
in the Hindu mode is the same, with
light variation Shakuntala is
maiden, daughter of a nymph and an
aiventurerous vanderer A forest her
nit is foster-father to her. The king
meets her and loves her, but because
her mind is taken up with love she
fails to greet some older wood god as
vas his won't to be greeted, and she is
cursed for it. She has a good deal of
trouble. because of the curse, convinc-
ing the king shat he had promised to
we'd her. and then TO make it doubly
ard for him she is snatched away up
i-.o some one o. che various countries
of the heavens. After much penitence
on the part OF the king they meet in
scene that has much of the atmospheric
favor of Little Eva's elevation to the
skies. The version used at the Green
wch Village Theatre is much abridged,
ard in some places the dramatic com
u.ication seems to have been neglected.
.uc il Is workable for all practical
c Aderella purposes. No middle-aged
sentimental persons have any cause
Tor gloating over the exquisite pathos
e. this piece under the impression that
hey have never seen it before 1t is
essentially the oldest nursery story in
,he world
There is every reason for making
something fine and beautiful out of
this. It is not clear that the players
thc Greenwich Village Theatre have
nsde the most of their opportunities in
IL direction. The invasion of an art
fHaf is alien and archaic, for dramatic
presentation. may have several worth
while reasons behind it. 1t may be. on
tno one hand. for illumination of a
people and their time. To do this re-
cures, Of course. the most painstaking
s'rdy and fidelity TO factual and spirit
ua detail. 1t may be assumed offhand
that the players at the Greenwich Viii
lage Theatre did not have this in
mind. Their production bears none of
that meticuious care for detail, which
is the less entertaining as it becomes
the more instructive. Obviously, they
nave aimed at beauty primarily, which
IS an extremely commendahle aim in
the theatre, never overburdened with
H. Yet somehow in the production ap-
pears lack Of understanding of the
particular kind of beauty which was to
Da created.
II is plain in a time of sophistica-
ton such as ours that only the deepest
simplicity can move US any more. This
IL one Of the interesting contradictions
Of human development. In very
special sense the Yellow Book aesthetics
were more Victorian than anything
about them, their extreme complexity
was TIE natural and to be expected re-
volt away from the inanity of their
timo. Hero and now art is at the other
Side Of tho swinging arc, and in the
msdst Of imaginative subtleties the
only twings that 10 to be gotten any
where Is from tho astonishingly nat
ural or the studiously naive. The
drama OF Kalidasa falls into this last
category. Anything that comes out Of
the simpler consciousness Of an earlier
Time La strange enough to US now to
De richly rewarding In an esthetic way.
~ 10 90 strange az to be stimulating.
shakuntaia," az it Ia being played,
'"es not bear the marks of this recog-
anon. Separate scenes that may be