Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-03-02
IRRESISTIBLE GENIUS
HAS MANY GOOD POINTS
II Is Sometimes interesting,
Often Entertaining, but Is
Il Drama?

f"The Irresistible Genius" has many
good points of situation and dialogue.
But as presented last night by George
Nj. Cohan in the second week of its
stage career It still lacks the pupgency
of speech, poignancy of emotion and
sharp definition of plotting that make
real drama. A new star swan into
the ken of the audience at the Broad in
Georges Renavent, who played the role
OF the title, a youthful violin virtuoso.
He is personable and he possesses per-
sonality, but his stellar rating-po-
tential though It seems Of higher cali
bers--must for the time being be one
of the minor magnitudes of theatrical
astronomy on the basis of the achieve
ment of this comedy Of youth, love
and temperament"
Every one who goes to the theatre is
certainly sympathetic to youth" and
love" and can tolerate "tempera-
ment," either in the characters por-
trayed or the portraying actors or both.
SO IL is not on the score of reutiliza
tion Of familiar types, themes and ma
terial that lovers of the drama must
feel regret that the authors. two of our
townsmen, John L. Mcintyre and Fran
els Hill, did not make more of their
opportunity to do something significant.
What they have done is sometimes in
teresting and often amusing, yet it does
not convey from scene to scene the
developing inevitability of creative
urge, but rather a fordian assembling
of standardized parts; in other words,
an artificial product showing the marks
Of the artifcers.
In addition to the mixture of tech
niques and motives there is another.
Sometimes the voice is that of George
Cohan and the hand that of Mcintyre
and Hill. and then again the voice is
that of Mcintyre and Hill and the hand
that of George Cohan. The difficulty of
this complication is that the collabora-
tion has not attained complete fusion.
At any rate the audience enjoyed the
proceedings. Partly this was due to the
fact that the piece is peopled by many
'bit" characters. all entrusted to
highly effective players with the capacity
of communication of idiosyncrasy. The
acting was excellent, the settings
.illusive, but the play was not con-
.vincing. because the joint playwriGhts
shave not conferred on its coheSiveneSs,
suspense and forthrightness, although
they show some sense of the theatre,
decided sense of character and in some
passages a sense of dialogue that is
natural speech. There is nothing cheap
sabout their play, and they deserve
credit for their aspirations.
I Plays this season seem to run to
musical themes. In Crane Wilbur's un-
lucky effort it was the violin that was
shaunted, in this piece it is the violinist.
The central figure is a genius of the
fiddle who is even more pestered by
women of the idle minded and empty
souled type than the long and curly
eyelashed and similarly handsome
heroes of the movie bazaars. No less
I, than ten types are shown fitting about
the fame of genius. But it is not their
wings that are endangered. No, in
deed. it is his that are menaced with
singeing. And he himself says be wants
to be good and to live for his art. The
upshot of it is that he decides to chuck
his career on the eve of his big recital.
Love is his salvation. love saves the
situation. He discovers he is in love
with his secretary. an efficient person.
who almost outdoes the systematic
stenographcr. in "A Tailor Made
Man" She is the only person Of that
gender who has not made love at him.
He makes love TO her with his violin.
Then a horrible thing occurs. Every
one of his admirers thinks he has been
sending sound waves from his soul to
hers and rushes 10 claim him. But
efficiency lives up to its name and love
TO it's hallowcd significance. He is
snatched from the horde of wild women
and saved for art and love and life.