The Washington herald., 1920-09-09

Ntl Slul III ~ lllS dllu ODtN lhS Ol l
No one can doubt the versatility
of Richard Bennett after having
seen his performances in Augustus
Thomas Rio Grandc." in The I'm
known Purple" and as John Shand
with Maude Adams in What Every
Woman Knows" Now We are to
see him in two entirely different
parts in two vastly different plays
in the coming week. On Sunday
night and on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings and at the
Thursday matinee Bennett will be
seen as a young district attorney
in Elmer L. Rice's mystery play.
For the Defense" For the latter
Thursday evening and until S.tur-
day night, the now famous role of
Rob" in Beyond the Horizon"
will be taken by Bennett.
Shows Court Dangers.
Rice, in his play, For the De-
fense," has written even a better
and more thrilling story than was
his "On Trial" He has made II
puzzling, thrilling and at the same
time realistic. 1t is promised that
the audience will be so intrigued
that at no time will any one be
able to guess the ending of the
drama. The play teaches a valu-
able lesson in the danger of circum-
stantial evidence. In this case
there is circumstantial evidence or
the most convincing sort entirely
sufficient to convict three different
persons of a murder. In each case
a motive is established and the evil
dence seems to lack nothing except
an eye witness. The story has to
do with the murder of a certain
charlatan and blaCkmailer. One of
his servants is arrested for the
crime. and about her actions the
police build a chain of circumstan-
tial evidence which results in her
conviction.
Court Scene Omitted.
The prosecuting attorney has rea-
son to believe all the time, that his
fiancee committed the murder. She
has disappeared and he cannot find
her and has no evidence to break
down the case against the woman
who is brought to trial. Just as
the verdict is brought in against the
servant, the girl appears and the
real story of the murder is devel
oped. There is no court room scene
in the play, the thrilling incidents
which hold the tense interest of the
audience being concerned with the
characters when they are away
from the trial scene.
Play Wins $1,000 Prize.
Eugene C. O'Neill's play, Beyond
the Horizon" in which Richard
Bennett will be seen the later part
of the week, IS the play which last
year won the Columbia University
Joseph Pulitzer prize of $1,000 as the
bestwritten American play by an
American author. Beyond the
Horizon" was first produced at
series of special matinees in New
York last season and is a splendid
example of a plays justifying itself
by its own vitality and worth.
With the first matinee perform
ance of Beyond the Horizon" at the
Morosco Theatre. Oliver Morosco
gave his word that Beyond the
Horizon" should have the Little
Theatre at the first opening there
Meanwhile the confidence of all con-
cerned was constantly justified. The
box office receipts showed a gradual
and steady increase for the most
part in spite of adverse weather
conditions and the climax of faith
in the O'Neill play was reached on
its last matinee before moving to
the Little Theatre, where it STAYED
until late in the summer, by the
biggest receipts of any performance.
Few plays could stand such a test
OF their drawing powers.
Brothers Love Same Girl.
The story of Beyond the Horizon"
involves two brothers who love the
same girl. 1t has been taken for
granted that this girl is to be the
wife of the elder brother but on the
eve OF a separation from the young
er one she discovers that il is to
him she has given her love. The
elder brother. as willing to sacri-
fee himself for the happiness of the
two, as was the younger one be-
fore, goes away and leaves them to
marry. The younger man, left in an
environment to which he y- is not
htted, finds life hard and irks
The elder, strong and virile, finds
success in the new fields he seeks.
The girl comes to think it was. after
all, the elder Hother whom she
loved. And theft tragic lives work
out relentlessly and true to the
fundamental traits of their char
acters.
Bennett Well Supported.
1t is a fascinating and illuminat-
ing study of character that O'Neill