The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-02-21
The Cast.
BY EARLE DORSEY.

second Stranger. ................J. T. Levy
BY EARLE DORSEY.
IS It Is highly difficult to overesti-
male the. dramatic Importance or
tKe3 lpeerpf>tative brilliance Of John
t6eIskorthx's play, The ska
Game :" which, was coaXed into the
Garrick, for q weeks run last night
and Which promises to Justify the
impulse that sept it to the Capital.
THE skin Came" Of course, Is now
an old story, but its drama Is OF
semi classic permanence that was
no better ayeaf ago than today
and is no better today than ~ VIII
he ten years from n1w, pre- ided
EA gland retains. aia ktfstocsacy ten
years from this date.
Galsworthy's play, in essence. Is
an authorial lament against the
cussedness of war. He voices hts
theme in toto at the final curtain.
when a character iweighs against
the dirtlness OF conflict, even when
began under the most rigid of
codes. Tie projection and develop
ment of this theme, however, has
been. cast ih-sfhe most tranquil or
domestic .sosnes. though Fla ders
itself cam offer no struggle more
| bitter than the one thus waged In
the quiet Of an English country
side.
The Hillcrists, for example, are
British aristocrats. confronted with
the commercial and social fright
fulness of a bounderish Cockney.
who has acquired wealth and re.
septs the social frigidity of his
neighbors.. the Hilcrisfs,i Egged on
by his Wanting Ambitions to force
recognition from the rural patti
clans, he breaks his word over a
land purchase and begins to dis
possess the former Hillcrist tenants.
This leads to an open breach and a
| war is declared that eventually
| leads to the Cockncy-Horn6lo
by housekeeping to. ruin the
Hillcrists by ringing their estate
with factories.
The budding love affair Of the
tHillerist gig and the ;4oyAhtaEer
ment of hostilitfes and Mrs Hill
crist, the aristocratic dowager
| blows the Hornblower ship from
past Of Hornblower's own daugh-
7 -ll-ldWG SOoH " De inc VI
his only grandchild.
Unwillingly but perforce- HILL
crist himself is forced into this
scheme. With such a club above
his head. Hornblower is driven
from the neighborhood. but the
neace that once. more. reigns oyei
Deepwater is q peace without sat.
isfaction or grace-a peace tina,
wrings from Hillcrist the bitter cry
! that conflict eventually debases all
even himself. a gentleman
The theme. Of course. is almos,
epic. The manner of its develop
ment is not unusual though bitter
ly and thoroughly forceful. 1t is
in the end. the flaming brilliance ot
the plays Characterization and its
delicate and skillful handling tina,
mark 1t off as one OF the real plays
OF a decade.
Hilchrist himself. begipni ngrwiih
honor and observing all the multi
| tudinous amenities of his class in
conflict ends up by lending himself
to the degradation of a woman and
a noncombatant with nothing to his
credit but the defense of his home.
Mrs. Hillcrist. however. justices
the adage Of the. deadliest of the fe-
male by conceiving, engineering and
accomplishing the campaign of
calumny that wrecks the happiness
of at least two lives and drives the
Hornblowers from the region. The
Hillcrist girl-four-sduare and
sturdy--a mothers daughter soft
ened by the tolerance of her father,
makes her sacrifice to the invader
by grimly accepting the loss of her
lover. though Hornblower himself
the plebian, the cockney, the
pusher and bounder-becomes the
most tragic character Of the play
when his edifice of power and pres
tige crumbles as Islander touches
the wife of his son. She, the in
nocent victim. the mere pawn in the
whole profession, is wrecked and
ruined to force an issue in a. con-
f1ict that has grown too bitter to be
endured.
The staging of Basil Dean de-
serves the highest praise. and the
casting will stand as a landmark
In such matters for a generation
Wyse as his wife. Audrey Cameron
as his daughter. Matthew Boulton
as Hornblower. all bring a super
iae'NS anu inbCIllsCHA ShllA W ShCii
work that is a joy and a delight
Nor can one neglect the perform
ance Of Jane Grey as the sacrificed
Gem:- virgin who married without
relating her past, though it must
be said the effort to assign to Miss
Grey's work a pre-eminent place in
the production is neither fair moi
just to the rest of the cast. She
contributes a brilliant performance
but it does not stand alone.
The opening performance of the
play last night was marred by this
rentilating arrangements of 1.-The
theater. which drew a cold draft
over the audience for the major
rart of the evening. One would
perch in the middle of a lot to see
such a drama. If necessary, though
with the Garrick still open it seems
hardly necessary