The New York herald., 1922-08-06


the narrowest of resources.
Prof. Baker, in a brief preface.
gives a more significant answer 80
the thoughtless accusation so COM
mon from people who desire soldier
fare than has been furnished by the
American playwright. The chief rea-
son. he says. why there has been in
this country so small a number OF
really good plays is because play
wrights cannot afford to write theno'r
since they can have no justifiable~
anticipa ton that they will be played.
Really good plays managers of pro-
fessional and unprofessional theaters
alike have been in the habit of get
ting from abroad, where the risk OF
first production has already been as
sumed. Yet nobody speaks more
contemptuously of the commercial
manager than the manager and fire.
quenter of the little theater. Prof.
Baker suggests that if any little
theater finds these plays worth the
playing they should be worth the
paying. This is counsel quite enough
in itself to drive most art centers to
Russia or further for goods less ex-
pensive. These little plays are an
sincere and workmanlike, as BELTS .
workshop. and unless their authors
become disguised with the meager
interest aroused in little theaters by
commodities SO tainted with .oom-
mercialism one may expect more 'in-
portant work from them later.
They all have, in their various
which seems lacking in Red Bud
Women" by Mark O'Dea. The title.
as one surmised, is intended to dimly
suggest red blood. This collection
of four plays is ushered in by the
shrill cries Of accolade, without
which no publisher of new poet or
playwright seems willing to venture
in these friendly log-rolling days.
Red Bud, we are told by Mr.. Pierre
Loving quite unnecessarily in a pre-
| tentious and turgid preface, is an
imaginary small town in Iowa. Here
women lead stark, hungry lives and
'shudder away from that yagueness
of self which has been so oyerwhelm-
ingiy their lot; but Red Bud. and
the world TO boot, thrusts them back
wounded, fatally hurt outlined stab
bingiy against the SURROUNDING
bleakness." Their hungry souls, are
aroused and tormented. and they
have "all the visionary escapements
ard sun touched day dreams Of half
the women of present day America"
But this promise OF newness and
revelation is also visionary. Ages
ago Sarah Orne Jewett and Mrs.
Wilkins Freeman gave it to us in a
far more artistic and poignant man.
ner in days unsmeared by amateur
Freudians. And here the expression
of the starved female. which, though
familiar, is genuine enough. is de-
cidedly marred by the fortissimo
scream at the roundup. stark"
stark" stark" leaps az you
from the various blurbers on the
jacket, which is starlSly striped dag
onally in crimson and white. But
the disappointed reviewer discovers
no starkness save the stark theatrf-
cality of the last moment bank. The
fourth playlet, Not in the Lessons"
deals humorously with the lurid drab
material of the other three.
1t is a pleasure to turn to the re-
straint, real humor and analysis of
Three Plays" by Mr.. Milne. This
handsome volume (Dear me. how
few Americans get treated in this
generous style,) contains "The
Dover Road The Truth About
Blayds" and The Great Broxopp."
But not in any one of them does he
demonstrate that he can remain at
high level for an entire play. mfr.
PIN Passes BY" is in this respect stil
his masterpiece "The Dover Road"
and The Truth About Blayds" to-
boggan precipitately from their first
act artistry and even from their
first act interest. The former of
these two. indeed. decidedly strayed
from pitch-to which Mr. Milne