The Washington times., 1919-04-08


| Miss Florence Rockwell
Paul Wilson, young doctor
Captain Hatch. a planter
Diana Larned. university graduate
Miss Spring ByinEton
-beachcomber -. Mr.. John waller
| Hoheno, fisherman Mr.. Hal Castle
/ And large supporting cast.
Flower wreaths. and hula dancers.
/ soft strumming guitars. and the tin
kle Of eukeleles, sensuoUs sunshine,
with the smoke OF an angry Mount
/ Pele. angry and threatening. ever
in the background-such Is the at
mosphere that literally bathes the
| ever-new Bird of Paradise" which
opened its eighth season in Wash
! inEton at the Belasco last night
The tragic little story of the play
] has grown familiar to most theater-
going Washington-hoW Paul Wilson.
a young physician, en- route for the
Pacific leper colony, full Of ambition,
stops off with his fiancee, Diana
Larned. on the Puma coast Of Hawaii.
comes on the birthday feast Of Luana.
! a Kanaka girl, just coming into her
! womanhood; how they fall in love
with each other: how Wilson forgets
I his ambition. birthright-everythin
in love-land Of tomorrow-how ne
degenerates. into q drunken sot, and
incidentally into q cad OF the first
water; how. finally, he casts his little
native wife off. because she "is not
white" and how she. in despair. hurls
herself into the crater Of Pele.
| Then, there IS another love tale
woven into the plot-that OF "Thous-
and Dollar" Dean, a drunken beach
comber. who. aided by Paul Wilson's
forgotten fiancee. wins back to re-
spectability and honor-and also wins
the girl.
And the cast which portrayed the
story could not have done it more
artistically. Atmosphere was every
where. 1t hovered, over the native
I musicians-over the hula-dancers in
their dresses OF grass, and over the
weird savagery OF the prayers Of ter-
rified natives to the angry Goddess
| of Pele.
Florence Rockwell, as Luana made
everybody love her. John Waller. as
Ten Thousand Dean" the beach
comber. and later as DR.. Dean, the
man who had won back, did two bits
of character portrayal widely df-
vergent, but both splendid. Robert
Brister. as Paul Wilson, showed real
artistry in his portrayal OF what
seemed not so much degeneration. as
it seemed an inevitable yielding to
flower-laden sunshine. in a land OF
lit doesn't matter"
Terrence F. Griffin. as Hewahewa,
a priest OF Pele. was almost uncanny
n his half-savagery. Albert Andruss.
as Captain Hatch, a planter, was the
typical self-made man. with a money
bag for a heart. Hal Castle, as
Hoheno. an Hawaiian fisherman. did
some splendid acting, and also looked
the part perfectly. And, finally. Miss
Spring Byington. as Diana Larned.
was so daintily pretty and at the
same time so conyincingly lovable
that she just about divided the femi-
nine honors with Miss Rockwell.
Altogether. 1t is a dandy play. with
an exceptionally we'll balanced cast.
When Douglas Stevenson, leading
man in Charles Dillingham's musical
comedy, "a New Girl" arrived in
Washington with the company last
Saturday he was surprised that no
accommodations had been reserved
fo- him at his hotel.
What's the idea?' he asked. 'T
wired you nearly a week ago" yes"
replied the clerk. I'VE received the
telegram. but we thought IL was a
joke"
The telegram had read: "Please
reserve room and bath: arrive Satur-
day with a new girl. Stevenson"
Capt. Everett ButterfieId denies the
report that ne is engaged to marry
Sydney Shields. A cable message,
signed by him and sent from De
Bourges yesterday. reads: DENY my
engagement to Sydney Shields"
Rehearsals began in New York yes
terday for a new John Cort dramatic
production. featuring Josephine Vic
tor. The play, as yet unnamed. is
the work OF Edith Ellis, and is being
directed by B. Iden Payne.
News comes from France or the
death Of Lieut. Walter Hickman, for
twelve years a professional singer,
who was a member OF the Seventh
Infantry OF the Third Division. The
cause OF his death Is not given. He
was formerly a member OF a vaude-
Vile troupe which played all the
larger Eastern cities under the name |
Of Hickman. Shaw and Campbell.