The New York herald., 1921-12-25

xnero was IN Jnat representation
some indication Of an effort at COM
position. The actor did not exert him
and then withdraw from all apparent
effort to sustain anything like a con-
slstent conception. He would not, In
other words, wait from one scene that
revealed his best qualities to another
The intervals seemed at the Plymouth
Theater the other night to show the
actor In rather arid stretches.
There were, moreover. some elo-
quent minutes for the actor in the
study of the faithless wife in her first
play. Ben-Ami, on the other hand, ca
vorted about in the most extraordi-
nary manner at the Plymouth Theater
on Tuesday. He uttered at arbitrary
intervals in the play strange dogllte
sounds, swung his arms about, with
the fingers always stretched out,
leaped into the air and most merci-
lessly showed the men about and
handled the women quite as severely.
1t Is. of course, quite impossible to
venture any guess as to what it all
meant.
If Mr.. Ben-Ami should explain that
all horse thieves In the Jewish vii
lagos OF Russia act in this manner he
would, in a manner of speaking. "have
u.s." The knowledge OF how such men
act is limited to few New York the
atergoers The actors English is now
oh fnv n al.
though he seems to have an unneces-
sarily hard time getting the words
out. Yet that is probably true of his
speech in any language.
If Ben-Ami has nothing more in
teresting to give than 1.-THE Idle Inn
presents he will probably return soon
to the theaters of his countrymen.
Mimi Aguglia was quickly eclipsed by
comparison with the best of the Eng
lish speaking actors. Lou-Tellegen
could not survive the test. Bertha Ka-
Itch spends much Of her artistic pres
ent acting for the appreciation of her
countrymen. She is an artist now, al
though she never became SO by fol.
lowing the traditions Of the Yiddish
playhouses. Whether as singer IN
the chorus of the opera house al
Lemberg or playing the leading roles
In the repertoire of the fruitful Yiddish
playwrights. she was gifted with a
strong natural talent. When she ex-
hibited IL before the English speaking
theatergoers of New York as Fedora
she took the Sardou hurdles with
amazing passion and power. There
was no possible doubt that she hit the
high spots with more or less re-
sounding impact.
But the interludes were fat and
crude. In all that Indicated the fin.
ished artist skillfully bridging over
the spaces between the peaks Nine.
Kalich was lacking at that time. She
gradually learned under the more en-
acting regimen Of the English speak.
ing stage to know that acting OF the
highest type does not consist in the
overwhelming big scene" or the
thrilling climax. She became after
while a complete artist. Probably
tho same will happen to Ben-Ami
after he has dwelt longer among bet
ter examples than he was ever ac.
customed to see in his own theater.
IL is. after all, his uncommon good
looks that in all probability prejudice
so many quite unreasonabIy in his
favor as an artist. His interesting
and oval face bears an almost con-
slant expression OF brooding melan-
choly. His features are we'll modelled
and his black locks more Byronic than
any Broadway actor has been blessed
with In years. His black eyes are deep
wells Of feeling that may at any min
ute boil into passion. His figure Is still
boyish and his general appearance
suggests youth.
Maybe after while these gifts,
combined with his genuine talent, may
with the study OF correct models place
him In the niche in the temple OF
fame into which his admirers are now
trying willy-nilly to make him stand
upright.
What In n Character Actorf