The Washington herald., 1919-03-17
shnA<rt-Garriek-ass East,


Rachel Crothers knows what o.
Henry knew. and knew even better
Than she does-that those decayed
brownstone fronts Of the roaring '30s
and 'tos in New York are the meanest,
grtsliest. most drab, but by all odds
the most perennially interesting
boarding houses to be found in the
world, those OF the QUARTER Latin
and OF Washington alone excepted.
She has built a regular boarding
house character comedy, with two
acts Of brilliant satire. a trite young
rl-slone-in- -New-York story, and a
. study of types which is the most
! vividly realistic thing of its kind that
. We have seen in moons. These types
! are grotesque, but not in the Gold
bergian sense; they have the accent
! OF exaggeration never to the point OF
farce, but with sufficient incisiveness
! to convey their humorous values with
. unerring effectiveness.
; - East" Miss Crothers' new piece,
revealed at the Shubert-Garrick last
. evening, starts out with burst OF
gorgeous fun. almost runs aground
/. with a dragging exposition Of senti-
mentality. and then RECEIVERS its bal
.ance in time to disclose a second in
{ imitable brown-stone front boarding
house scene-one which, we predict,
swill become the talk OF New York
before many weeks have passed.
The play is the most uneven one that
: Miss Crothers has written. 1t Is cas-
sually and nochantly provided with a
STORY merely as a peg for its closely
studied and surprisingly brilliant pic
..ture OF those dismal hall bedroom
scsnters Of human commerce of Broad
,way-those places which are loosely
sand cheaply caricatured year in and
year out, but rarely rendered with
any degree OF realism.
a. Sharing in distinction with the
work of the playwright is that OF
sthe scenic artist, George Livingston
Platt, who has executed two re-
markable orownstone front interiors
Ltwo quaint surviyals of the black
walnut and jigsaw furniture period
,uf American domestic culture
sBelasco's eyes will turn green with
envy when he sees them. They con-
Stitute a perfect setting for Miss
Crothers' satiric comedy. particular
sy that delightful mise en- scene fol
the bOarding-house Saturday night
musicsl in the third act. We are
rempted to compare this scene with
certain grotesque revelations OF
Manhattan life in Martin Browns
"a Very Good Young Man" although
the latter comedy made no pretense
tp being a slice Of life.
The cast of the play contains no
well-known names, and therefore is
well balanced and uniformly excellent.
Through her work in the role of
III.
rey adds her name to the long line OF
promising American ingenues. She
ncted a blandly sentimental part with
pore refreshing grace of spirit than
any actress of the current year in
Washington. Henry Hull. visibly a
brother of the late lamented Shelley
Hull, Is an excellent juvenile, possess
tpg a finished comedy style. Alison
skipworth played Mrs. de Mailley. the
lsndlady, brilliantly, and the delight
fHl assemblage Of types under her roof
we're done skillfully by Victor Suther-
land. Louise Alberni. Lucia Moore,
Blanche Frederici and the Misses
Saidse and Myrtle Clarence.
,.The second act Is laid in Central
Park and seems a trife out OF focus
and of tempo with the central spirit
of the play. 1t seems like an alien
and an intruder in the piece. But
80 East is comedy of high prom
Lse and real distinction. despite the
Conventional character OF the story
u teils-but then, New York and in
nocence viii ursaSet the contrast winch
never win be written out. at least
not so long as romance and youth re-
main the staples which make the
world worth while.