The Washington herald., 1920-09-12
Looking Into the Lobbies
BY EARLE DORSEY;

tonight of that theater's regular
season of Is20-21. Presenting
Richard Bennett in a repertoire of
two important plays of the past
season, the Garrick appears to
head the list OF offerings announced
by the four legitimate theaters of
Washington-a list. by the way.
which includes Laurence Eyre's
beautiful and exotic Martinique"
at the Belssco, a new Cort musical
production called Jim, Jam, Jems"
at the National and a farce hit
called Up in MabeTs Room" at
Polls.
The period from Sunday to Sun
day at the Garrick will be divided
between Mr Benefits versions of
Elmer L. Rice's mystery drama.
For the Defense" and Eugene
O'NeiH's bleak but mastery Be
yong the Horizon" 1t was this
latter play which set Manhattan
critics by the ears only a few short
months ago and it's announcement
for presentation at the Garrick
necessarily arouses gratifed
surprise.
A Fine Character study.
Beyond the Horizon" is a stark
but fascinating character study that
young O'Neiu has fashioned into
play. 1t reflects the keenest in
stinctive knowledge of dramatic ex-
position, almost entirely divorced
from the more expeditions trickery
of play-makisg. The story. which
incidentally won the Pulitzer prize
of $1,000 for its author. is a poig-
nant study in what -miGnt-have- been
the story of a girl who thinks she
loves a strong and virile man only
to ind, at the last moment. that she
Loves his weakling brother. The
stronger man departs and finds sue
cess and in the years of failure that
fall TO the lot Of the younger. all
find time, amid the grim working
out Of their destinies. to ponder all
too late. upon the girls CHASTITY err
ror
For the Defense" is a dramatic va
RANT Of the CirCumstantial evidence
theme more remarkable for its
treatment. perhaps. than for any
novelty of idea. Both. however. are
ranked as major efforts and consti-
tute fair-enOugh material for the
seasonal inaugural Of any theater
Lawrence Eyre's Latest.
Another romantic drama that car
ries with il considerable metropOIi-
tan approval is Laurence Eyre's
Martinique" which opens at the
BelasCo tomorrow night. AItogeth-
er aside from what merit Mar
Unique may or may not possess as
romantic drama, it is preceded by a
pOrtly and affable soul named Stan
ley Whiting, who breathes deeply.
oorrOws matches without stint and
spins a series of yarns so fascinat-
ing that a perfectly fine Thursday
afternoon was all but ruined for in
dustry.
Martinique" he assured me. is
by the author of Miss Nelly of "
Orleans" Its locale is St Pierre, on
the island of Martinique. in the
French West Indies, d city that is
now only a memory. due to the
lion ago. 1t concerns a girl of West
Indian parentage who fees a Paris
convent. reaches Martinique to find
herself a social outCast and almost
instantly in love with a man who is
betrothed to her half-sister Thus
begins the romance that, Mr. Whit
ing asserted with viGOr. will hold
the spectator breathless.
snF.rer oF Yarp.
Having got that far. and detect
ing certain evidences of boredom,
Mr.. whiting borrowed another
match and spun two fascinating
tales of the photOplay industry
one concerning an optician who pur-
lOined a mOtion-piCture camera left
with him for repairs, which he later
used as the nucleus Of his produC-
tiOn efforts, and another story of
scribbler who sold a better-knOwn
producer the scenario of Hamlet"
under another title for the sum of
$500.
Having hypnOtized his subject in
to complete subjeCtiOn, Mr.. Whiting
then revealed a fetching travelOgue
ABOUT his same West Indian locale
in which he dilated upon the tree
climbing tendencies of a certain type
Eion-a crab which climbs trees,
bites off cocOanuts and breaks them
open by letting them fall. II the
'COCoanut cracks the first time, all
well and good: if not. the crab con-
tiluss with single minded devotion
to climb the tree until the cocOanut
does crack.
Lsfcadio's Great story.
Finally. by way of utterly and
pleasantly running the afternoon.
Mr. whiting related the story of
I.afCs diO Hearn's appearance in Chi
c4gO journalism. This brilliant but
obscure classiCist, who wrote much
Of the back ground of Martinique"
and who died as professor of Eng
Iish at Toxic University and the
father of a family of AmerIcan-Jsp-
anese babies, worked on the Chicago
Tribune at a time when Whiting,
James Whitcomb Riley, Opie Reed,
Eugene Field and other stars of the
period were in their prime.
Hcarn walked from Cincinnati to
Chicago. strOlled into the Tribune,
asked for a job, was told to sit down,
waiting from l to 10 pm. before be-
ing sent to cover fire at the fair
grounds, brought back a story of
twenty-One persons burned to death.
stretched out on his stomach with
a pencil and a bunch of copy paper
and wrote in long hand a story with
\ beginning, a middle and an end
ing that held the Chicago Tribune
until o'clock in the morning ere
IL was finished.