The New York herald., 1920-12-28
"MISS LULU BETT'' REMAINS BUT
A BOOK EVEN UPON THE STAGE
Popular Novel by ZOna Gale
Proves Undramatic in
Play Form.

When Miss Lulu Bett" was added 10
the list OF best sellers 1t contained little
or no suggestioa Of the theatre. Zona
Gales realistic study of life in middle
Western town impaired TO be sure. some
dramatic elements to the drab life of
its middle aged. self-effacing heroine
who allowed herself to be the unre-
warded drudge OF her family. Yet they
did not suggest the type of fiction that
Is most effective on the stage once on
a party in neighboring town she found
that a man loved her. During their
vulgar outing with her brother and
sister to chaperon them she married
this stranger. After a while 1t was
tardily revealed that he had wife still
living. Back came the disillusioned
woman to the kitchen and the dining
room. After n while fate was kind
enough to give her another chance. In
a poor dealer in pianos and music that
nobody bought she found a second hus-
band without any compromising en-
tanglements.
OF course these incidents formed the
skeleton of the drama Miss Lulu Bett,
which Brock Pemberton produced last
night at the Belmont Theatre. Miss Gale
who wrote the book, also wrote the play !;
so It's idess were evidently all her own.
The casual, selfish, amlable household ty-
rant. the brother-in-law of the heroine
his mother-in-law, addicted to comment
on the family existence as relentless as
Greek chorus the wilful daughter of
the Observation-Disclosures characters passed
through the book In the same photo
graphic naturalness with which they
peopled the play.
That was the unfortunate part of the
proceedings at the Belmont. They were
all exactly In the play, as they had been
IN the novel; Their actions were no
more dramatic than il the book had been
divided among certain persons called by
the names of the characters and they
had read the speeches out of the novel.
The acting was. 'of course, In the sub
dued key of realism. The method of
performance was most modern and sue
ceeded so completely that during most
OF the second act the result was soporific
as well. There was nothing OF a dra-
matte character to interrupt the spec
tators. who found 1t impossible to inter-
est themselves In what the heroine and
her family were about.
Yet all Miss Gales amusing satire and
her truthful observation of American
middle life were in the play. just as they
had been in the novel. But they were
projected through a medium to which
they had not been adjusted. The most
exciting novel ever written might be re-
cited on the stage without producing the
least thrill. The method of the dram
atist Is his own, just as the novelist
has his manner of working. In Miss
Lulu Bett" as was played there is only
narrative. No suggestion of the play
wright's way of work enlivens a single
scene. OF course, this has been time and
time again the experience of authors
who set out TO put their works before
the public in dramatic form. Miss Gale
as playwright exhibited none of the
qualities which won fame for Miss Gale
as novelist.
Miss Carroll McComas spoke the
heroine's lines well. The fatuous wife
was admirably sketched by Miss Doucet,
and w. E. Holden provided fine study
of the selfish and conceited husband. II
would take a more modern method than
Mr.. Pemberton enforced to rob Miss
Louise Closer Hale of her squeak But
she caused some laughter Lois Shore
gave a precoclous child with unusual
humor for one so young The actors in
deed al! rad the lines of the book in
telligently. But IL was still a book they
were working on, not play. so their
efforts were only partly successful,