Evening star., 1922-11-14
fashions for Men. /"

just OH ttn street, alteE aous
process of polishing. The original by
the Hungarian author, Molnar. estab-
lished itself in European vogue as
an expression worthy of the light
some fancy of the author of '"The
Devil" SO we'll known in America,
but in an entirely different key. 1t
is a study Of the shopkeeper from
mentalist engaged in buying stock
as cheap as possible and selling 1t as
dear as possible is an audacious ex-
pertinent as the topic Of delicate
comedy and refined romance. The au-
thor. whose era ftsmanship shows a
more mature security tnan IN Inc ne
Devil" avoids allowing his story to
drift into fantastic frivolity. He
places the sentimentalist in trade pre-
cisely where he is likely to land In
the course of human events-in bank
ruptcy, from which he is rescued by
the practical sense Of a devoted girl.
The play has a delicate human sense
and refuses to sacrifice the spirit Of
gentle human sympathy to the sar-
donic suggestions which afford con-
slant play of piQuancy.
An unusually competent translation
rendered the task of the players less
difficult than 1t would have been had
been the ordinary lexiconic affair. The
dialogue Is rendered by Mr.. BENJAMIN
Glazer into fluent and natural Eng
lish, and the fact that Mr.. GlaZer
stages the play seems to account for
the absence of those blundering in
trusionS OF tncongruOus emphasis so
characteristic of the so-called "di-
rector"
In spite Of the fact that enough
names are programmed to suggest the
roll call OF a regiment, the real re-
sponsibilities rest with only four peo-
II hn rfo Rt,~ fch-
ings are hardly elaborate enough to
call for the obsequious punctilio
in giving credit; although the OPEN
sky background Of the second act
setting presents a strikingly artistic
effect. The four people are the low
Heggie; his beautiful clerk, played by
Miss Gahasan; the elderly count. who
falls in love with her. and the sales
man who breaks up the home and the
business. played by Mr.. Silvernail The
last mentioned is not SO Importantly
but he asserts himself by his vivacious
Interpretation of the modern motto,
craftsmanship above all else."
To tell the story of this clumsily
titled play would require much space.
The narrative is even and natural,
seeking no violent climax nor stress
of artificial TRADE. The characters
are mental rather than physical
types. The interchange of thought is
more interesting than vehemence Of
voice or Ostentation Of gesture. The
dialogue Is an unremitting play Of
alert intelligence: an intelligence al
ways measured accurately by the
status Of the character who speakes
So facile is the phrasing that even the
humble pun Is given its innings when
the count. referring to the association
Of the impression Of wealth with that
Of years. remarks: Not. all is old
that glitters.' If the pun was re-
scented it was abundantiy atoned for
by the exquisite literary finesse dis
played in the scene in which the
count. In love with the beautiful sales
lady and typist. dictates political
speech and contrives. as he does so, to
convey by chivalrous innuendo the
deep affection which he places unre-
servedly at her command. The play
Is an unimpeded flow of humor with
out buffoonery and sentiment without
mawkishness. =. ].
NOTES OF THE PLAY.
thusiasm made it seem even larger
than it was.
There were no curtain speeches
The admiring audience was permitted
to have the last word.
Manager ". H. Rapley of the New
National. Theater was present and
lent liberal share to the applause
Q. p. Heggie is we'll remembered in
this city for his performance Of An
drocles in "Androcles and the Lion"
The audience contained a large rep.
resentation of New York managers,
who contributed enthusiastically to
the applause.
1t was a pleasure to see the excep-
tional talents of Edwin Nicander on
display in a genuine play instead of
in foolish farces.
Among the interested observers WAS
Robert Campbell, son of the famous
old playwright. BARLEY Campbell.
who was acting as scout with a view
to New York bookings.
Helen Gahagan. who is regarded as
more, appears 'by arrangement" with
W. A. Brady. She Is one of the re-
cent discoveries and one of the most
promising.
One Of several clever inrpersonations
Of minor roles was that Of Frank Peters
as the cynical old clerk who has spent
a large part of his life trying to get
away from the store early enough to see
the swans come on in Lohengrfn.
There was no entr'acte music and
the waits between curtains seemed
longer than they should have been.
The risk Of inappropriate music was,
however. avoided, and most of the
current music is inappropriate to an
artistic performance.