Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-09

4. The continuing attractions will be
o.W eill drama. at the Walnut; ITO Lc
VMrobam Lincoln" in its final week
III Donahue, at the Garrtck; "Go
""aGrssom Time" at the Lyric, and g
mHr m orars of stage heroines have a
Mcb;t Of fuctuatin6, ,oith a general
ro torard the--to put IL mildly
HsEryenfionaL. since II Is generally dc-
s1sEd ss,1IEtcd nat too good people are in
'eM 'vsg "sSr. as far as Philadelphia is
,.ernsd. there has been little chance
y ,taoe hcroines becoming boring oc-
o.rS;rg to that theory. IN the feio
,caffered dramas presented here there
In, been ererv reason to suppose that
sSs rhjef feminine characters tcouid not
..octjv III into the scheme OF things at
: ministerial conference.
,uERE was, Of course, the highly
,usceptible Catherine Of Russia, who
,,. inclined to sudden bursts of ad-
,,rot;on for her handsome Cossack
c,ors Although her title Of Czarina
ud ,be vatchful care OF her prime min
,.tor ao so served TO keep her reputation pub
,,.GilRy ,Gly "H;"'':SN'"' s'''' 'nsss ~ va,
Batallc presented to us young lady
n,oet doubtful ethics and then pro
.dod n make her little bit worse yet
w showing her as unfaithful even to
own mariner in unconventionnlity.
Tho morals of the colony exposed by
,orv Uonwood's red-inked pen in
.Thc Dcmi Virgin need not be in
.,Jod in this category. since the play
.,.os condidly announced as farce, pure
srJ simrlc. but, in point of character,
.hov " ripbtly belong. Marjorie Rambeau
.o,y uovo Ms the poutng wife who oglcd with
n man across the alleyway, and finally,
H. a series of divorces, rose to wealth
oyrd nnhoppiness. That she wasn't
mnro hrozcnly immoral was due to the
"oso with which she obtained her ends
|by death and divorce.
Here then We have examples of for
uorJ and fractious femininity from
In"ssion steppes. Partisan boulevards
cnd HOLLYWOOD bungalows. and this
kr;ncs MS TO the two outstanding p0r-
Eroits Of this kind presented here this
Tbev are Sadie Thompson, fleeing
Erom unhappy years in Honolulu and
Son Francisco, to the quiet calm OF
rago Page, and Anna Christie. cscap-
Ing from n similar life in st. Paul to
he pence and cleanliness of river air
Ind sea fogs aboard her fathers barge.
Mr.. Vaughan Sadie was introduced
H. us MS absolutely unrcpcntant. n
d hsk within easy reach amid the lin
erie in her suitcase, n NOISY, Shrlll-
he monograph to spout continual jazz.
nd a general air Of defiance and pitiiul
brayado. Her sudden and striking
transformation to sackcloth and ashes
% wide eyed terror and soul sickness
vas the plot Of Rain.
Anna Christie in Eugene O'Ncill's
pay at the Walnut is presented to us
IS only half committed to her downward
Z ourse. She bewails her fate, whereas
/, sadie Thompson shouted hers from the
ousetops. Anna shrinks from self
Il Name and accuses many-her cousins
"A the farm-hcr thoughtless father
a nen in general. She is one moment
u tridently unremorscful--,he next visit
llly sorry. Sadie was unmovcd until
y he word Regeneration was thrust
nto her face.
Fcen those people rho dislike the
Presentation upon the stage Of ChdrdcfcrS
like Sadic and Anna cdun0t but admit
hat Vaughan and o Veil present hcm
y ihouf ann dtfcctntiOn and cithOVt OBJ
8ioRs intention Of ScWCr- crp'OrdhO
ut as logical and integral parts of the
lays in which thcy appear. The bias
y hcmouS 0utburStS OF Sadie or the frank
y ttrospccts of Anna belonged ichcre they
ccurred in their respective plays. Here
. Fas none of the confessed desire TO
p kpckrako that distinguished the tender
= Ioin school Of drama Of sir or Scrcn
Cdrs ago rhich produced such unSGrOry
'orsels as "The Fight" and "7hc
~ .gre."
In the facile hands of Pauline Lord,
Anna Christie stirs the emotions with
n Put ever, in another sense, becoming
motional. Jeanne Eagels as Sadie
kyse with great fcrvOr TO her deuncia
Fry scene. Miss Lord allows Frank
hannon to indulge in some vocal
yrotechnics. but she herself prefers
elay her role on n low pitch, albeit
riH peculiarly effective and fasci-
Y Paohg Quaver in her voice. 1t is,
p vi1out doubt, one of the two finest
ortfayals given here this season. The
iaslI:;ii, by the way was that of Miss
.Anna Christie" has the most
yNly effective first act that the city
as seen in number of years. In
ufs review We inadvertently failed to
PETITION the magnificent performance
Wn By Mildred Beverly US Marthy
'wpn. the bcdragglcd and drink
Gddfn partner Of Old Chris. IN read
H the scene between this waterfront
reck and young Anna it seemed II
ervelonsly written bit. aud that
Whlon was strengthened by the play
y' on the other hand, the last two
sues act much better than they read.
TACT, II it were not for O'NciIl' 5
Nsslohai fall before the temptation
repeating III" same thought two or
pte umeS we could find no fault
Nalh had II machine gun and
snamic brcyity TO all its lines that
e thcm intense power. However,
s story that O'Ncill didn't know
now to end Anna ChriStic' and
nounder"d at III" end seems absurd.
WIZ IS no unbelievable reformation
Saarac,er no faulty tampcring with
wv. Chris "oId davil sea" is lust
maievolrnt at the end rs in the
s,"nlng-Ju%t as threatening, and
"s,, after all, is the figure for evil in
ha" hha ChrlStic.' TO have had Anna
~ herself or return to her former
, 70 nave any Of the characters re-
nv suicide or killing would not in
way nave carried out the author's
Neil presents them rs nun
cSo IN N" hands of the malignant
@%sn @ M Mol III" sea; the sea alone can
Z. Il, "r IN; the tragic threat, and we are all
,Mh WIN the feeling that 1t will take
,, AL t''i IN time, just as surely as il
m'h0n ms toll of Chris father and
P'0'hers and sons.
ME midhlo,,ol H., , .