The sun., 1919-04-06

of the actors art II there were only
his technical skill to admire in the rep
resentation. or only his facility as a
comedian. there might be no more
than the conventional words of praise
for what he does in the play. But
there is a depth to his acting which
eiinobles the scenes in which he ap-
pears. and may perhaps suggest to
the authors that once in a while the
actor comes near to proving that the
part may be greater than the whole.
Mr.. Mann's expressions Of paternal
affection and grief impart the dignity
Of the noblest tragedy to parts Of the
play. He has put q superb dramatic
performance to his credit.
But-what q short and ugly word
It can be on occasions such az this
there are times when Mr.. Mann sorely
exaggerates. II Is then that one wishes
A. H Woods or David Belasco or some
big bug Of the theatre, might hand Mr..
Mann such . physical .rshuke that Ne
would. be good for the rest Of his
artistic life merely through thA mem
Org Of It His greeting of the boy; for
instance. who was supposed to be lost
is grossly overdone. And nobody could
express such emotions more eloquently
CT naturally than Mr., Mann II he
wanted to. But evidently he does not
want to. Since he is altogether his
own master he ia not compelled to do
anything he does not want to. So It
Is enough perhaps to enjoy the. really
fine and moving minutes Of his acting,
his beautifully sincere and truthful
acting. and be grateful for them.
It Is customary to hear that Rachel
Crothers, who has written such an
amusing comedy in "3s East" is an
observer of life and that the result of
her efforts in this field are to be found
IN her plays. 1t is possibly true that
such merits are q part of "The Little
Journey" although they are scarcely
20 be observed in her later play at the
Broadhurst Theatre. With the excep-
ton Of two characters in the first act
the pngainly twins, for instance
there seems in the new play nothing
more evident than an industrious OBJ
servation of the theatre. II Miss
Crothers is more prosperous in her
dramatic adventures now than she
used to DO It is due to this improving
habit.
Because the imperfectlons or the
stupidities or the crudities Of plays are
not dwelt on by commentators. there
Is not tho least ground for believing
that they are not observed. They IRE
ignored because they are as unim-
portant as the work In which they
happen to appear and as unimportant
as the playwrights who are so rarely
worthy the attention OF educated re-
viewers. 1t happens that Miss Crothers
Is one OF the American playwriRhts
worth the approval OF their contem-
poraries. so II Is Interesting to know
where she stands. It would be I'M
Just to accuse her Of claiming I'd
present Life In her plays otherwise than
as viewed through the glare of the
footlights.
So. to quarrel pleasantly with Miss
Crothers as to which Is life. which is
good theatre. In her play, does such
boarding house as that in which her
characters live exist In New York
to-day? Is not that establishment a
derelict OF the age that passed say a
score Of years ago7 Is not the land
lady seated at the head of her table
and treating her boarders as her
guests a picture in the comic PAPERS
rather than a reality Of New York
life to-day? Even her singing negro
servants have their suggestion OF
what a part memory must have played
In helping Miss Crothers to her FIRST
act. ,.a...., t.4.
Then where did this landlady find "a |
=. II