New-York tribune., 1920-05-09
Lovely To Be Lady Liar,
That Is, On the Stage,
Says Eva Le CaIlienne

Various writer's have written in de-
tense of artistic lying and glorious
liars, and some, as witness Mark Twain,
have lamented over a certain decay in
this lmmemorial art; few people have
the opportunity that is given TO Eva LIE
Galiienne by the part Of Elsie Dover
IN Arthur Richman's romantic comedy,
Not So Long Ago." at the Booth
Theater.
Every week n ght and two afternoons
week Miss lie Gallienne is an inn
aginative liar, spinning glorious fbs
not ordinary defensive lies, but
what might be called constructive lies,
aggressive lies. Offstage, she steps
out Of the part of the imaginative Elsie
Dover of the '7Os and into her 1920
self, an actress who wants the truth
about herself.
Its lot of fun to play fibbing
glrl who is at the same time sympa-
thetic character" said Miss LIE Cal
!lenne. There is touch of originality
in creating an untruthful heroine; her
hbs are the expression of her roman
t'clsm; they were for her means to
an end. have wondered how the mar
riage would turn out, wondered whether
Elsie would stop her spinning of dreams
once she had what she wanted or
would keep on from force Of habit.
You see, 1 know the force of that
habit; am already becoming an ex-
pert In lying on the stage, and that
habit may invade my private life.
I'VE may. all love the glorious liars
in fiction, but the people who lie to US
about our own work only harm US.
Truth may not always be welcome, but
If we can find people to tell us the
truth about our work, after the first
moment OF unpleasantness, there will
be distinct benefit. One of the two
people in the world who invariably tell
me the truth about my own work is
my mother; sometimes at rehearsal,
after every one else has said that was
charming, and perfect, and all the other
ate my weaknesses: that l couldn't be
heard, that | wasn't acting properly,
that had failed to realize all the pos
slbllltles from certain scene.
"Momentariy it may be unpleasant;
but IN the last analysis that is the sort
OF constructive criticism that helps
one. The average criticism Of a play
is 1T is good or 1t is bad,' with vari-
ations in the use of such adjectives as
criticism that helps is the one that
goes into details, that is destructive
where destructive criticism is neces-
sary, and that makes concrete sugges-
tlons Tor improvements. The usual
criticism is inarticuate; the useful
criticisms may be irritating at first, but
we really like them"
Reverting to "Not So Long Ago."
Miss LIE Gallienne defended Elsie
Dover, the appealing romancer, as the
victim of her times. 1t was, as Miss
lie Gallienne pointed out, period
when it was necessary for young
girl to lie in order to get any fun
out of life. There was a great deal
Of hypocrisy in everyday life to breed
lies; Elsie. unconventional in spite of
her environment, made not only
virtue out of necessity of lying. but
charming weakness to boot In addi-
ton to the opportunity given Miss LIE
Gallienne to weave Else's fiction,
there is as we'll the privilege of wear
ing the delightful costumes of the
'70s (perhaps so delightful to later
generation because it sees them so in
frequently and the duty of walking in
the stately and genteel manner of the
maidens of forty-odd years ago. Elsie,
it must be said, is not a strict OBJ
server of all the social commandments
of her day; the little twist in her per-
sonality that makes her so engrossing
teller of tales serves to free her
from too narrowing respect for con-
vention. Her gift for romance will
not be denied.