New-York tribune., 1921-02-20
Woman of Bronze Recast and
Amplified to Harmonize French
Situations With Notions Here

The history of play from manu-
script form to that of its final produc-
tion on the stage is seldom so eventful
as the evolution of Margaret Anglin's
"Woman of Bronze" which is now in
its sixth month at the Frazee Theater.
Since the play was taken from the
French, it is generally supposed that
the manuscript was merely translated
from a recent French drama and pro-
trary. the play is not a fedgling but
a robust "hfteen-year-old," this liter
ary child of Henri Klstemaechor's
brain having made its debut on the
stage as la Riva.e" at the Comedie
FRANCHISE, June 13, 1907.
ala Rivale" concerned itself mostly
with the triangular situation in which
the wife of sculptor, Andre Bizeux,
discovers, at the pinnacle of her hus-
bands success, his love for another
woman His wife makes an anguished
plea for him to remain with her, and
Andre smashes the statue (called "The
Dreamer which represents all his labor
and ambitions. Twenty months later
he returns to the studio, where his
WIFI finds him, and he begs to come
back to her, but she refuses and re-
nounces her own happiness in the cause
OF a rival who has known the great
er ciaim-the claim of motherhood.
To translate this into English was
simple enough, to be sure; but to
translate an understands Of the mo-
tlves of the sculptor and his wife so
That an american audience would find
1T comprehensive and respond at the
same time to universal note resound-
ing IN their own lives, that they might
live vicariously with the people in the
q aSk hof
piete revision of the manuscript
After purchasing the English rights
TO the play in Paris, Miss Anglin was
eager to give it try-out as soon as
possible that she might get to the
WORK Of rewriting without delay. At
the first opportune moment she re-
hearsed and produced the play as
"The Rival" at the Detroit Opera
House in 1911.
This gave clear idea of the task
ahead of her. 1t was obvious, to begin
with, that the purely triangular situa.
tion would find only limited counter
part in country where "emancipated'
women were breaking away from the
tradition of "the hearth and home" and
attempting to establish themselves on
an equal economic footing with men.
No "new" woman would hlmiliate her
self by making plea for her husbands
love and protection when the com
mercial world offered u thousand op-
portunities for her TO GO forth with
pride. unsullied by the humiliation of
having to beg for love, and find new
associations, work and diversion
Hence 1t would be necessary to intro
duce new element to make the sttua-
&ion rectangular, rather than trianeu-
lar, that the wife in pleading with her
husband, might have motive in urg~
ang HIM to remain with her. Fer this
purpose Miss Angtin brought to the
fore the fourth angle, the sculptors
work, thus linking the wife with
powerful ally and giving her purpose
Tor her anguished pleas Now, if he
should leave her, his work was forfeit,
since she had been the source of mis-
inspiration and had made his great
success possible In this way mott
waiting force was established which en-
abled the wife to entreat her husband
with the pride that an American WON
an audience would demand.
Immediately attacking the revision
Of the play, after the try-out in De
troit, Miss Anglin's work was inter
rupted by the Greek productions in
Berkeley, which she was a ked to give
by the University of California. Came
the war and then timely war play,
"B lleted," VIII ch demanded immediate
production, and, finally, the Greek plays
sgain in Carnegie Hall A breathing
spell dawned at last in which Miss
Anglin could again turn her attention
to the neglected Rival" But now the
war had changed conditions through
the world, so more revision was nee
essary TO fit the story and situation
into the present day.
For this task Miss Anglin engaged
Paul Kester, and together, at her coun-
try estate near Katonah, they worked
day and night, until at last the play,
now renamed "The Woman of Bronze"
wAa A@ain ready for production. But
fheater in New York was not to be had,
so Miss Anglin launched on coast-to-
coast tour. And without the New York
stamp of approval that is so generally
considered necessary for big success
outside Of the metropolis, from Phila-
delphia TO San Francisco, the play
proved one. of the biggest artistic and
financ al successes IN Margaret Ang-
Inns career.
Always the Perfeci Lover