The New York herald., 1921-02-15
Woods Presents a
Find in Play From
'TheDangerousAge'
The Players Fellowship Brings
Out Edith Ellis's Interesting
Drama 'The White Villa

A. III. Woods presented at the Eltipge
Theatre yesterday at the first OF 9.
series OF matinee performances "The
White VILLA" which he acquired In an
unusual way. all quite regular Of course,
but out OF the ordinary. The Players
Fellowship Is a new organization des-
tined to test new plays and bring them
before the attention Of managers who
find their time too much occupied with
other details of their business to worry
about plays. When these dramas are
sufficiently far advanced TO show their
quality managers are invited in and
allowed to bid. 1t was in this way that
Mr.. Woods came to present The White
Villa" which he saw last week at a
dress rehearsal.
Miss Edith Ellis made the dramatic
version of the once popular book, The
Dangerous Age" by Karen Michaelis.
So widely read was the work at one time
here that the authoress camc TO lecture
about its subject at Carnegie Hall. II
deals. of course. with the sense OF dis
satisfaction and unrest that comes TO
women at certain years in their lives.
IL shows moreover the evil OF succumo-
ing TO the emotions OF that period. IL
points it's moral very plainly. The dis
contented women who follow their tenn
porary instincts, If the play depicts their
fates correctly, must pay the piper in
full.
Three acts are used by the adaptor
10 publish the philosophy OF the Danish
authoress on this important subject. In
the first act there are at least three dis
satisfied wives. One loves the director
of a local orchestra who Is on the point
of conducting Beethoven's Ninth. and
for that reason disappears after the hrst
act Another, recently widowed, has
heen no better than she should be, put
atones for her frivolity by taking to
dairy farming. Thus the action Is mar
rowed to a study of the character OF a
woman who after twenty years OF mar
ried life that seemed happy TO her nus
band decides on a divorce. A legacy
from an old admirer has made this
decla ration of independence possible,
She gets her freedom and goes to live IN
villa built by a young architect with
whom she had been In love although sne
had not noticed the state of her afiec-
tions especially until after her divorce.
Life of Isolation.
She tries a life of complete Isolation
on her island near Copenhagen. her
cook hates il and Is only satisfied wnen
the gardener Is engaged. Her young
maid who had her own experiences IN
life. falls quite in love with the archi-
tect on his first visit. IL is not re-
peated for nearly year, Dut IL Is then
evident that he prefers the society oi
the xirl of 22 to the woman who had
INN
might still care for her. She packs on
the architect and summons her husband
who on the day after their divorce
made her promise TO send for hlul
when she had grown tired Of her lonely
life. He answers her CALL but. ike the
architect. he thought she must be III
or in some trouble. He cannot stop any
longer than necessary, because he is be-
trothed to a girl Of 19. Only the ashes
of love remain to the women who SC
carelessly threw aside her husband
when the mood came to her and hei
legacy made freedom possible She end:
her experiences so far as THE White
Villa" Is concerned with only desperat,
loneliness as her lot.
The play is now too long. The MOOD
OF the selfish and ultimately deserted
woman could be we'll esta blished without
the repetitious detail that prolong the
niece unduly. The audience was largely
feminine The piece was therefore
greeted with close attention and fire.
quent laughter. It is interesting anc
In parts absorbing. 1t would have nc
dull moments II the author would sub
nit to reasonable condensation. OF
course, Karen MIchaelis and her ideas
arc vieux jeu to-day. But they are
about ripe for the theatre. which is al
ways a decade or so behind the rest
OF the arts Then the playwright has
made generally adroit use of tie ma
terial