New-York tribune., 1920-10-01
By Haywood Broun

: Edgar SelWyn has managed to enliven
the generally dull subject of traction by
telling it in terms of sex in "The
Mirage which opened the Times Square
Theater last night. 1t seems that no
big deal is ever worked out without
drink, dice and daughters of JOY. Seven
ladies of dubious virtue are required in
The Mirage to complete the merger of
two trolley lines. II this is the correct
ratio per mileage, it is difficult to under
stand how Mr.. Selwyn. resisted the STU
pendous dramatic possibilities of a play
about the Union Pacific.
Of course, there arc so many real
things in the world that it seems rather
futile business for dramatist to con-
Germ himself wholly with tictional ones,
/ but in cheap, second-rate sort of way
4 The Mirage" is not without interest.
Although we can in no way justify our
taste, we find plays about gilded vice
and high jinks rather amusing in short
stretches. AS long as the ladies OF the
merger We're clustering about the foot
lights throwing dice for huge stakes
we had the mild, vicarious thrill of a
reformed gambler. 1t was only when
Mr.. Selwyn insisted that he also had
a moral that his play became tedious.
At such times THE Mirage" seemed
nothing wore than poor relation of
The Easiest Way"
To the credit of the dramatist il
must be admitted that he has been
strikingly consistent throughout In
v.arlably the characters Of the play Do
and say the things which no human
being could conccivably say under tha
same circumstances. To this end the
play is based on several convenient
and absurd assumptions. The most irn-
poftant of these is that people in larFo
bod Il
towns are good In Mr.. Selwyn's mind
there seems to be a direct relation oe-
tween salvation and the census.
The hero Of the play comes from
Erie, Pa, where the inhabitants are
stlli spotless, according to the revised
statistics of 1920. The hero is more
Z than usually good He is bashful in
the presence Of the opposite sex, sees
dark spots before his eyes when in
Ylted to drink, and has dull pains at
rhe base OF the spine when dice begin
20 roll. In fact, when the young man
learns that the big fnancier who wants
TO buy his trolley line is in the habit
OF entertaining roWdy persons at hY5
nome ne refuses to complete the deal.
Personally, VIC had scant sympathy
with the young man. 1t has always
seemed to us that moral tests should
nc LOU extend past the ticket chopper.
1ransIt ought to be promiscuous.
Unfortunately, one of the guests at
the roWdy party was the girlhood sweet
neart OF the pure young trolley man
only that afternoon he had asked h.
to marry him, but when he was obligcd
TO INQUIRE, "What does this man mean
to you?" he changed his mind. Late
ne changed 1t again, but the impure old
trolley man talked the heroine out of
marriage by pointing out that anybodv
who had ever lunched at the Ritz could
not possibly be happy IN Erie. And so
TO save the young man the girl sacri-
feed herself The young man accepted
her deed calmly. Throughout the play
he was n consistent cad, for, as some
body has pointed out, prigs is prigs.
1t may be inferred that no very
high degree Of acting is required in
the play and none is rendered. Flor
ence Reed has some effective moments.
but often she is much too highfalutin
even for a play which has marked
tendencies In that direction. Malcolm
Williams is effective as the old trac-
tion magnate. and there is an excel
lent bit by George lie Soir. This is
perhaps the best performance in tho
play. Alan Dinehart was not able 10
do much with part which was i'm
tended to be sympathetic. Probably
the author fumbled but we rathcl
think that an assist must also be
charged to the player. There is also
a more than usually conventional
sweet old mother who meets every
crisis of the play, by exclaiming that
of course she doesn't know what it's