Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-02-09

The Great American Drama.-"W hat
has become not only of the ever
expected great American drama, but
of just ordinarily good plays of
American Iifee" asks Florence Nash,
whom Charles Emerson Cook is pre-
sentfng as the star of his new COM
edC. "Remnant.
1T has always been and still is my
ambition 10 act in plays dealing with
American life and characters but the
paucity of vehicles of this nature is
Father disheartening. Up TO the be-
ginning of the late war certain type
81. American drama fourished and
n56e considerable fortunes for their
class belonged within the Law Ia
which ] played Aggie Lynch. Sin
p8s. in which = appeared as the
sIangy and poker-paayings Poly
Grey. Gertie Green. gum -ehewiiag
and f1irtatious manicure girl in Sweet
8ixteen.' was also OF this category.
latter these roles / continued to
Pc swamped with offers 10 play doz-
en- of similar parts in more or less
similar productions. but i was tired
Of splayfng crook types. and not so
npch later the public began TO get
fired of them. too,
- -For a year and half 1 looked
about for an American play l read
hnpdreds of manuscripts. but could
Ind nothing that was repr esents-
sfvely American and worth white
from a literary standpoint.
sAnd then there were the man
|nears. When an actor scores a sue
ezs in a certain type il is difficult
Ahis actor is capable of anything diff
ferent. IL he starts as low come
dian, he must remain a low comedian,
Nnless he has the good fortune to
- seen by producers with the vision
~ man like David BeIasco. who. for
EAxample, saw in David warfieid's low
e0sdedy the great note OF human
lfa4hos
perhaps IL was because Mr.. Cook
|gwas with Mr.. Belasco SO many years
mat he imbibed the same faculty of
|Herception. At any rate. he saw in
.kuy work something that convinced
him that I was capable of varying
|ph6ods. and always has cheered me to
lZhe belief that while always come
f1zenne. should have play wiki
|t<erious contrasts. So we decided to-
Mether, he and j. that some day he
would find such a play and that l
,afhculd star in it.
Df course, would rather have had
~ an American play, but IL didn't hap
pen along. Then one day-almost
half a year ago-Charies Emerson
Cook called me by telephone TO say
NE had found 1T.
10 1t vas III ht 81
truestion.
"Ne.' answered Mr.. Cook. 1T is
SS4he greatest surprise in the form OF
~ French comedy you can imagine
80 I read%Remnant' and loved ii.
The character OF Remnant, the little
sgpsfisian street waif, of whom there
sspas too much for a child and not
&enough for woman
-Mr. Cook thea raised the question.
akhouid we transplant the story in
2. 4.wl
EHiou he voted for leaving it in its
kanriginai setting. One thing he oe-
kmided definiteIy--no accent was to be
used The English was TO be as pure
as the French
THE language OF the adaptation
from the French is of necessity
American. but Mr.. Cook has achieved
distinctive French atmosphere by
his artistic selection of settings
which are exouisitely correct; by cos
7uIpes tthe play is of the period Of
1900. and by a pervading French
spirit with which the players have
been inspired.
49, concludes Miss Nash. Mr.
Took has been able TO find great
popular success. but in an ada ptatior
from the French. And j still ask my
uuestion, why do not our present-day
american authors give US plays thai
$are as typical of American life a:
ARemnant' is OF French Hfe--not tbs
fUduSHly lie OF gay Idfets DuN OF tbs
Wholesome. sweet, clean life. full o.
human and hnTporous touchesr
Eleanor Painter.-EIeanor Paintei
&6rst attracted attention with he
1sfnging ability when she was a CIR
sef.fourteen. out in the fsstness o
Ss,S Rocky mountains. Born il
swaIkervilIe. Iowa, she was taken u
Arflorzdo nv her mot her "a Snepa III,
Summer One day in an isolated spot
esexted on a rock, she began to sing
Srstily. Turning, she saw two strang
ksr.s- one-a woman, Nine Garrigues,
fr5nRing teacher. who went t.
&ake thu child to New York. Tw,
1E1rS later the mother and danghte
v1nE east, a benefit given by her ad
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