New-York tribune., 1919-03-30
Realism Has Special
Thrills of It's O,un

realistic play need by no means be
humdrum and prosy. Language may
be beautiful and poetic without being
highfalutn.
The most serious defect in the play
lies not in it's being too true, but that
in one respect it is hardly true enough.
One character who Is represented as
amazingly intuitive was much too slow
in her Interpretation of the psychology
Of one act OF the dead woman. We
were able to read it correctly long be-
fore the character in question. Our be-
lief in the characters intuition slumped
accordingly.
Miss GlaspelVs fine play is exceed
ingly we'll acted. We have always be-
lieved that while the professional
player is more consistently gifted than
the talented amateur, there is enough
sheer luck, or whatever YOU want to
call it, in acting to permit the amateur
occasionally to equal or even surpass
the professional. Miss Ida Rauh's per-
Torrance, for instance, was magnifi
cent. This was hardly accident, for
Miss Rauh has given enough first class
performances to convince us that she is
splendid player in emotional roles;
more particularly in roles in which the
emotion is designed to shoulder But
though this was by far the best per-
formance in the company, not only in
feeling, but in technique, there were
other effective players. Miss Susan
Glaspell is not so technically adept, but
she plays with convincing spirit and
feeling 0. X. Liveright is also cx-
ceedingly good. His present perform
ance is quite the best he has given
with the Provincetown Players, and he
has been coming up hand over hand all
season. Blanche Hays is also effective.
Jack Reeds burlesquc on the league
of nations, called "The Peace That Pass
eth Understanding" has some pierre
ingly bright lines, but it is not con-
sistently good burlesquc. Wilson is
his chief target and the burlesque is
effective just SO long as the character
is portrayed as being unaware Of the
weaknesses in which he is lampooned.
But when on an occasion or two Will
son is allowed to speak of himself, not
from his own point or view, but from
the point of view Of Jack Reed, the
burlesque loses it's effectiveness.
National prohibition has increased
the field Of romantic drama. Plays
about rum in former years were often
excursions in realism. Now they will
all deal with life not as it is, but as it
ought to be. The stage has a splendid
opportunity to preserve the most en-
gaging quality in the liquor habit.
There is no denying the fact that rum
brought romance into some otherwise
dull lives. We are not concerned here
as to whether the accompanying penal
ties were not too high 1t was always
possible for tcetotalers, even, to absorb
a little of this romance second hand by
sitting around elbow TO elbow with
drinking men. Many adventures
went to gay resorts not to drink, but
to watch those who did, and to thrill
indirectly at the devilishness Of it all.
The stage can preserve all this. AL
cohol is gone, but its memories may
be saved for Us all in plays in which
dark brown substitutes will seem to
have all the potency of the departed
spirits. We trust that there will be
many plays with roaring glees and
much clanking Of mugs and seidels
and glasses. The stage will be
mirage for host of forcibly reformed
folk, and even a mirage is better than
a void.
Thomas Broadhurst's Golden Fleece"
which was given at the Broadhurst
Theatre last Sunday night, did not rise
above its blank verse. This seems
to us a form which must be done su-
perlativcly we'll to be effective. 1t
proved a handicap in Mr.. Broadhurst's
play and definitely dctracted from q
certain number Of scenes which were
spirited and exciting. In the eXcep-