Omaha daily bee., 1921-01-09
miss Lulu Bett
Lacks Essential
Outlines of Drama
BY BURNS MANTLE.

n |
N spondenee The night Zona
Gales Miss Lulu Bett" was
produced at the Belmont theater
there were the usual insistent calls
for the author following the conclu-
sion of the second act. Which is
not unusual. But frequently it is a
call inspired half by curiosity and
half by the professional first night
claque, and this time it seemed uni
forced and honest.
The audience was small, but dis
tinguished, and included many of
the authoress friends. Finally Miss
Gale appeared, being led into view
by Brock Pemberton, the producer
OF the play, and was duly presented
as Miss Zona Gale of Main street.
Portage, Wis" Whereupon Miss
Gale, determined to share the hon
ors to which the west was entitled.
turned toward Mr.. Pemberton and
presented him to the audience as
Mr.. Brock Pemberton of Emporia,
Kan"
Thus did the plays premier take
on sectional interest as though the
middle west, enthusiastically def
ant, was saying to the etfcte east:
well. you poor old painted trump,
here is a real play about the real
folk OF real section of the Country:
observe it carefully and see how
much less artificial and unreal it is
than the sort of thing you most gen.
crcusly approve down here"
Miss Gail spoke pleasantly of the
success of the audience. Of the
pleasure Of being approved. of her
own small part in the staging of the
play and of the hope that all she had
heard had been sincerely expressed;
Mr.. Pemberton disappeared, the
concluding act was given and that
was all.
We would like to add to this that
the play is as great success or
promises to be, as the book )from
which it was taken has been; that
Mr.. Pemberton of Emporia had fol-
lowed Enter Madame" his initial
success as producer, with second
equally big, and that Miss Gale, after
several years of looking forward to
her debut as the author of full
length play, had successfully ar
rived.
But it can't be done. The play
proved a pleasant little character
comedy skillfuliy transferred from
the pages of the book to the stage,
but without holding interest as
drama and only moderate success
as comedy. In making the tran
Scription Miss Gale has overlooked
the first demands of an acted play,
that it shall provide definite con-
hict and inspire a definite emotional
reaction on the part of the audience.
Miss Lulu Bett" is altogether too
passive and too casual, and, while
the character drawing is exception
ally good, it is not strong enough to
carry the play.
The story closely follows that of
the book. Miss Lulu is introduced
as the drab and spiritually beaten
drudge in the household of Ina and
Dwight Deacon, her shallow sister
and her flabby and pompous brother
in-law; a family maid of all work
earning her keep and that of her
querulous old mother. All the COM
pensations, all the joys of life have
passed her by, yet deep in her heavy
heart she hungers for sympathy and
romaf y.
AloAk comes Dwight's brother,
Ninian, and takes pity on her. He
invite her to a party in the city,
dinner and theater. Before they
so, with the pathetic Lulu fixed up
in borrowed clothes. the family twits
her and Ninian on their likeness to
bride and groom setting out on
honeymoon, and jokingly they re-
peat part of the civil marriage cer-
emony.
Whereupon the chuckle-headed
Dwight announces that inasmuch as
he is magistrate, and they have
gone through wedding ceremony in
his presence, they are in effect legally
married. Not to be frightened by
this solemn assurance, Ninian good
naturedly agrees that if Lulu is
agreeable he is willing to let the
marriage stand, and they leave for
Georgia.
In a few weeks Lulu Bett is back.
After a month in the south Ninian
had suddenly remembered that he
had been married before and that his
wife, though she had left him, was,
SO far as he knew, still living. There
fore, it would not be right for him
to go on posing as Lulu's husband,
though he was willing she should
take the chance of being party to the
b;samous situation if she cared to.
The family is all for hushing up
the scandal. Dwight, i'll fact, is OF
the opinion that his brother has SIM
ply tricked Lulu, and, having tired
OF her. has taken this means to be
r'd of her. But Lulu insists that
'"s pot heen deserted, and that
Ninian was honest in his liking for
her. Steadfastly she insists on being
set right before the neighbors, and
on searching out the proof that Nj
rian had not lied to her.
When this finally arrives she feels
herself vindicated and takes cour-
age. She is ready, then, to stand
a.nc. lhe sense of freedom she
- has craved is at last hers. She is
All individual entitled to live her
own life. And she leaves the Dea-
cons fiat. There is a suggestion,
however, that she does not get far
before the village piano merchant
overtakes her and induces her to
return and marry him.
The parts are all we'll played, that
of Lulu by Carol McComas, Ninian
by Brigham Royce, the grandmother
by Louise Closer Hale. Dwight by
William Holden, and Ina by Cath
crime Calhoun Doucet.
Nora Bayes presents herself as
producer and star of Her Family