Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-02-25
ONE AMERICAN
AND 2 FRENCH
PLAYS OFFERED
'Montmartre' and Madame
Pierre Worthy of More
Than Mention.
OTHER RIALTO GOSSIP
BY DIXIE HINES.

BY DIXIE HINES.
NEW YORK, Feb. 25.-Two
French and one American play as
produced last week. It must be re-
gretfully chronicled that the two
French plays impressed this chron
icler considerably more than did
Desert Sands" by Wilson Collision
which had a premiere with Norman
Trevor and a small cast at small
theater. 1t proved to be a decidedly
languid affair.
Both of the imported pIay-"Monr-
martre" at the Belmont and Madame
Pierre at the Ritz-were interesting,
but by far the more interesting was the
former. Indeed, this play and the man
ner of its production all contributed to
making it one of the impor, ant offerings
of the season, and If the critics were
divided, the public gave unanimous APP
prevail. "Montmartre" is q play of the
loves of the cocottes of the Montmartre
district in Paris, with the Moulin Rouge
their temple, Pierre Frondaie wrote it
and Benjamin G1azer adapted it. 1t was
presented as the first Offering of a new
group Of noted players, the Players AS
sembly, they call themselves, and it in
troduced to New York in her first Eng
lish role, Galina Kopernak late of Mos
cow. The play grips and impresses,
especially as produced by the Players.
1t tells of a young and attractive
cocotte, a daugher of the Moulin Rouge
who is taken from her surroundings to
live with a young composer and her sub
sequent surrender to the call of the life
of pleasure. She leaves her lover for
Montmartre, leaves Montmartre with a
new lover and is again rescued by her
former lover only to be lost to him when
the call back to pleasure is insistent
This is grim, faithful story and grim
~ and faithfully 1t was played, not alone
by Miss Kopernak, who was a veritable
magnet of charm, grace, beauty and
talent, but by the great cast, numbering
more than fifty, of which Helen Ware,
Helen Lowell, Winnifred Harris, Mabel
Frenyear, Rose Winter, Brandon Hurst,
Frank Doane, Clarke Silvernail, Arthur
Hohl and Frank Conner were most con-
spicuous. And the play has been
directed so skillfully and staged with
such unusual good taste and effective
ness, that if the Players do nothing
more they will have justified their ex-
tstence. while Miss Kopernak takes a
commanding position as one of our most
interesting recruits.
MIME. PIERRE"
Is CLEVERLY WRITTEN
mime Pierre" is by Eugene Brieux,
with translated version by Arthur
Hornblow, Jr., and was produced by
William Harris. at the Ritz Theater,
with Estelle WILDWOOD, Marjorie Wood,
Roland Young, Fuller Mellish, Cecil
Yapp, and others. 1t proved to be clev-
erly written and smartly acted. Twice
before, If this writer is correct, it has
been done here once as 1.-THE Incubus
and at another time as 1.-THE Affinity"
The late Lawrence Irving acted it.
Briefly, it is a story of domestic mis-
adventures. The wife is hoydenish
mink, and she drives her sedate husband
to distraction. Finally he suspects her
Of infidelity and drives her forth. This,
he surmises, will bring peace to his
home. But the wife is an actress, and
she stages a spectacular suicide and is
Continued oR-Rage Eighty