The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1919-12-29

~THEHSE arc our great emotional
w actresses? This question oc-
CURED TO me at the opening
OArformance OF Tho Famous Mrs.
Fair" when Blanche Bates. caught inI
the nomeptary storm Of feeling that
~ cps over the mother with the re-
turn OF her daughter sought dcsper-
ataly for a handkerchief, turned her
head a. she hastily dabbcd al her
eyes, and then faced about again
Enthusiastically. as though 10 say:
please forgive me, dear friends, but
you soc its like thls-I have children
Of my own"
It was not like that m the days
when highly emotional actresses held
awAy and wept so copiously that
single handkerchief would have
meant merely drop in the BUCKET
They might easily have been sus-
pScted of carrying laundry bags. The
sss=e, Ike the country. has gone dry.
csnoept for a tear dropped here and
there.
The VETS" gained control Of the
boards some twenty five years ago,
With Clara Morris as their leader,
Ada Gray, in East Lynne had been
fnduStriously laying the dust for "A
nGFnIber OF years, but 1t was Miss
Norris who FIRST gained country wide
recognition for her lachrymal ability.
Some discerning critic discovered
that she shed real tears in Camille
and then another critic, not to be out
done in enterprise, fixed the exact
time at which the downpour occurred
II was after the interview with Ar
mGnHs father, If my recollection ISM
blurred, 80 that the advertisements
might have read: "SlJFG Clara Morrl!
cgy at 9.45." Anyway, the electrify'
Ing news spread Like an Ohio rive
uood, and, as Mark Twain said of tn,
WSatfer. everybody was talking abou
Il, but nobody doing anything abou
It In fact, there was nothing 10 d.
y hut let Clara Morris cry her eyes out
To make sure that no deception wa
being practlsed upon n sympatheti
pubic. / rented pair OF opera glasse
Z ons night, climbed 10 the gallery an
acrutAnized the celebrated actres
paarShingly. N-n-n-o. Her eyes wer
sad. but dry twenty-five cents 70
opera glasses-Td been taken II
llirfnbugged. Then the miracle hap
pened! Tears were being shed
there was no mistake about It, SlOWl
but surely, they Coursed down III
NF.EH L. . NkasaU
was nothing small about Clara MOI
ris--and left burrows in the grease
paint. There was tremendous az
plause, IN which l Joined with sue
enthusiasm that / dropped those pr
ctous opera glasses and broke them.
Those were the good old day
Later on the art of weeping becan
so common with actresses that
attracted little attention. MargaF
Anglin used TO cry generously, b
now, except for summer excursion
into Greek tragedy, she is merry al
bright. Nance O'Neil, a really gre
emotional actress at moments, HI
not stirred US since that memorial
outburst in "The Lily" Jane Co
comes along at intervals like an Ap
shower. ethel Barrymore can CT
but like Miss Bates, she Nights again
II. Lenore Uric RACES like a YOU
and we'll trained tgress.
Sarah Bernhard was at her be
when raging through a scene, yet S
never found herself at a loss
tears. Her familiar wide flung sc
ture was usually followed before I
curtain by an eye wiping eNercil
For the dry GRIEF OF the incomparat
DuBe there were no words-only
deep, poignant heartache,
Belasco will tell you that DaV
WaFfield is an actor with a tear
Ms voice. Warfield has also I
trick OF calling this tear 10 his G!
He can cry over a game OF pinochlC
even when he isn't losing.
But 70 return 10 the tender sex,
wngt Be granted that tears alone