The New York herald., 1921-10-16

equal voracity "Alice Adams" and
1.-THE Country Cousin" Such a whole
hearted taste ought to find pocket
for "The Wren" Little does it mat
ter that the author has sketched his
characters in so lightly. The play at
the Gaiety has all the characteristics
OF water color. The effect Of an
aquarelle does not depend altogether
upon the stretch of ocean seen
through the open doors of the cap
tain's boarding house. 1t pervades
the composition.
Miss Helen Hayes. who plays so
comfortably the title role, If an actress
may be said to impersonate bird, has
one advantage over many Of her COL
leagues. She has notable variety in
her method. She can establish sense
of change as few of her more mature
rivals conspicuously before the public.
If some OF the sainted sisterhood OF
the stars would study this detail OF
her acting they could be improved
even in their eminence. The young
heroine of 1.-The Wren" is not a cart
that affords many different emotional
aspects, but Miss Hayes imparts to
every one it's individual tone.
Acting of Different Roles.
Mckay Morris in the expert dramatic
version of Main Street" which the
Shuberts have produced so we'll at the
National Theatre is quite indisputably
the most skilled of the players. He Is
the village doctor, the natural. u
man, simple and heroic citizen of Co
pher Prairie, which the supercilious
heroine with her Greenwich Village
veneer pretends to despise. He is an
altogether comprehensive being. His
ego Is not in the least complicated.
Mr.. Morris impersonates this fellow in
natural and impressive fashion. His
acting is q delight in Its faithful rev.
elation of the man.
But his task is much easier than
Miss Tells. She Is the lofty soul who
will set her Western home right In
art, letters and taste. What she wants
and why she wants it, to what her
aspirations lead and what her ulti-
mate ambitions really are-these mat
ters are never settled definitely In the
mind Of the spectator. Possibly psy-
choanalysis might successfully dag
nose her complaint. keeping in mind
the fact that with maternity she grew
more normal. She Is a vague charac-
ter on the stage and Miss Tell or any
other actress who was called upon to
make plausible her varying moods
must find the task difficult. Mr.. Nor
ris's achievement is none the less
.praiseworthy because he has to in
carnate an entirely understandable
being. If Miss Tell does not picture
to the mind, however the heroine Of
Main Street" it is not so much the
result of her own failure as the utter
vagueness of the woman.
Good Fortune of Lfbrettist.
Fancy the good fortune of
ubrettist VINO says that he will have
no music at all for his operetta but
what the finest of composers shall
create. be he living or be he dead.
Then out of the ether there comes to
him such a string of lovely melodies
as the world never heard from any
other musician.
There Is nothing experimental about
them. They have stood the test of
years. They have been acclaimed by
every critic as faultless masterpieces
and there has been the further tribute
of passionate affection from every
hearer. Wherever two or three have
gathered together in the name OF -iose
harmony these melodies have been
celebrated. They have engaged the
talents Of the most distinguished
virtuosi that ever faced the public
from a concert platform. The world
has proclaimed them the prrest Jewels
of song. They are great enough to
possess the quality of eternal fresh
ness.
Franz Schubert was the unique COM
poser who came, as Il were, from the
heavens to illustrate the text of
neichert and Willner's charming
BLOSSOM Time" which Is one OF the
towns autumn delights at the Am
bassador Theatre. Think of these
lucky writer's of libretto who were
able to acquire. as it were. score
which is altogether Incompatible in
Its beauty.
Writers of operetta books on the
banks of the Wien have been able be-
fore this to enjoy the cooperation Of
distinguished composers. They have