The Washington herald., 1919-06-24
Beia.ee-~He and sAe."


Miss Rachel Crothers latest lecture
to the freshman class in sex psychol-
ogy. rather thinly disguised under
the title of 'fHe and She" was de-
livered at tho Belasco Theater last
evening to q air attendance. The
lecture demonstrated very clearly
that Miss Crothers has no scruples
at all against what Hank Menckin
describes as boob bumping:" in fact.
It demonstrates that, regardless OF
how good or how bad an actress she
may be. Miss Crothers Is downright
apt at the business of persuading
her audiences that they have wit
messed a drama.
''He and She" is the type OF play
that would probably cause Prof.
Brander Mathers many a sleepless
night. 1t begins with a time-worn
thesis-the superiority of the child
bearing female ever the woman Of
genius who dares' to cheaper the mar
ket by assailing the heights of art
istic accomplishment-and with the
assistance of one almost intermnable
wait between acts. 1t manages to
llStiI OUT SldIZdSs
Secondly. 1t drags itself through
a first act that Lou Dougher said
was marked by very little hit
ting" The same second act man
ages to finish with the aid of lib
eral injections of ethereaIized ho-
kun. while the third act obtains
its interest chiefly from the NOR
bid "sweetness. long. drawn-out"
inltarnnt n In Tho dfannnnantad Stn
of a school girl who. the audience
suspects, is about to tell the story
OF her fatal error. She disappoints
them. however. which isn't fair.
Add to this a cast which, in part,
should find its real sphere in the
home and not behind footlights and
you will have a fair idea of He
and She" judged from the stand
point of drama and storytelling.
And yet, we should be among the
very last to predict anything but
hilarious success for this latest
Crothers product. II we had any
money, we'd be glad of the chance
to buy an interest in He and She"
because it Is perfectly manifest that
before that piece is much older.
Miss Crothers will amend her cast.
dump in a few more shakes Of
wife Observation-Disclosures" jazz
and fall to wondering why people
are so easy.
The plot of He and She" is quite
standardized. She throws a mean
piece of clay and wins out over
hubby in a great art competition.
Question: Has she succeeded or has
she endangered her future as a
woman, a wife and a mother.
Miss Crothers had the answer
ready last night. 1t was all in
favor of the danger argument. In
| attaining success. Miss Crothers'
sculptress nearly made her huG-
band hate her for beating him to
the prize, she nearlN lost her
daughter through the wiles of a
natural nobleman who drove the
seminary motor. and she couldn't
even get her friends to admit that
she'd done anything real. In other
words. Miss Crothers issues Il
, solemn warning to her congregation
that a career" is one of the most
dangerous of all playthings for u
woman and the only woman worth
| while in this green world is the
woman who believes that a home.
husband and little children are use
! enough for any woman's brains and
| genius.
Naturally. Miss Crothers finds
ample opportunity. in the expand
! ing of this theme for liberal out
groupings of dialogue which fgur-
atively pat upon the back those
! fine. noble souls who have done
nothing in life but cling to the old
reliable formula for happiness and
prosperity-to-wit husband, home
and babies-and to utter damn. on
! the other hand. those feminine up
| starts who dare. from time to time,
to permit a man to enjoy the fruits
OF their companionship without
making him pay the uttermost
| farthing therefor.
And those same kindly souls. with
a horror in their virtuous hearts for
a woman who dares to aspire to-
ward the cold, grey heights, will
1 applaud the idea riotously for the
next few seasons, fill Miss Crothers