New-York tribune., 1919-05-11
By Haywood Broun

In the early days Of the war almost
all the plays which touched upon it
were melodramas, but now 1t is treated
largely from the point Of view of farce
or burlesque. Curiously enough, the
most hideously real thing which the
world has known has produced no real
istic play in America this season. We
used to say a few months ago that
things would be different when the
soldiers came back. 1t seemed prob
able that they would laugh the melo-
dramas out of the theatres as unreal
and resent the farces. This has not
been the case. Soldiers have been just
as ready to accept theatrical absurdi-
ties about the war as If they had never
lived through this thing with which
the authors play.
"The Better 'Ole," for instance, is
truthful in so far as it reflects in
some degree the language and, per-
haps, to siighter extent, the spirit
of the British soldier, but, of course,
it makes no pretence of accuracy in the
story which it tells. And yet even
while the war was on it was enormous
ly popular with the British army. Sol
diers on leave flocked to see it just
as cowboys go to see Western films.
They wanted to get away from the
thing which they were doing, and in
its sham reproduction they found the
mental rest which comes from un-
reality.
The theatre in London where "The
Better 'Ole" played arranged its en-
trance with sandbags on either side
like communication trench, and men
from the front enjoyed the novelty as
much as anybody else. Perhaps 1t was
possible that they took to this comic
war play because absolute forgetful-
ness of the war was impossible. They
preferred rather to see piece which
would convince them that the thing
through which they were going was in
reality lark, gay comic affair at bot
tom. Even if they were not able to
convince themselves of this entirely.
there may have been relief merely in
the attempt. After all, freezing men
are saved by being rubbed with snow.
and it may be merely an extension Of
this device to provide war plays to
amuse soldiers.
The romance of the American ad-
venture in France Is still to be written.
All the plays which we have seen have
presented the amazing situation Gre
ated by the presence of America in
france as sheer farce. To large ex-
tent this is justifable. The meeting Of
doughboy and poilu did provide farce
in unlimited quantities. Yet under
meath this surface there was undoubt-
edly comedy and other things as we'll.
Some day a playwright will dig this
out, but it will take six or seven wears
to find it. For awhile, we think. the
American public will want few war
plays of any sort, and then they will
begin to come back in much more seri-
Gus form.
We have little sympathy with play
wrlghts who complain about their in
ability to have plays read. We have
found managers not only fast readers
but extremely prompt refusers. No
magazine with which we have had anv
dealings has ever been so expeditions
in declining with thanks as a number
of New York managers
We tried to sell war play a few
months ago. 1t was not, we hasten to
add, the ideal war play about which
we we're speaking earlier In this ar
ticle. It was a sentimental, farcical,
romantic melodrama with one good
joke somewhere about the middle Of
the first act, II we remember. It was.
in fact, no great shakes Of play in
any respect, but we might have sold
1t to one manager If only we could
have thought up a reply to a simple
question. It was the second act at
which he baked. After he had read
the big love scene between the Ameri-
can officer and the French girl he
shook his head.
Haywood" he said, Suppose you