The New York herald., 1922-12-14
THE REVIEWING STAND
By Alexander WoollcQtt

bruised on that account, is more easily
thwarted and damaged by a haphazard
collection of every day actors than
would be a sturdier play-such a play,
say, as O'Neill's Anna Christie" And
to our notion, 'The Texas Nightingale"
has been intolerably cheapened, blunted
and vulgarized by it's performance at
the Empire. Fate and. the House of
Frohman have rough housed bril-
liant comedy. We have sat through it
twice and felt each stime as though
we were seeing Becky Sharp" played
by summer stock company in Utica.
N. Y. The constant insufficiency of
it's cast harassed and afflicted us all
| the time, as would pebble in the
shoe, as would cracker crumbs in the
bed.
! But not all of those who have seen
THE Texas Nightingale" have been
thus torn. A dissenting opinion of
considerable vehemenceN lies before us
written TO the author of the play the
morning after its premiere by Villa
Gather We happen to think that the
author of MY Antonia' is entitled to
attention for whatever she may hap
pen to say--even if it's about the
A. f. F. or "The Texas Nightingale"
Hear her:
The play is a splendid thing -
splendid And it's a splendid produc-
| ton. Jobyna is really wonderful.
What vitality and variety she brings
| to it; meeting every demand as If 1t
were a 10y to let herself out; simply
| tosses 1t off Certainly she is the
| handsomest thing on the New York
stage at present. dazzling, walloping
good looks. She dresses it wonder
fully; the most expressive clothes.
They simply ravish the eye. and her
voice Is lovely. She does so many
things with it. And she's charming
Iy tender Ca new side of that lady to
me). She is your 'hollyhock" abso-
| lutely; nobody could do 1t better. It's
a wonderful character part, and she
does it wonderfully. She and Ray
| mond would make a play If there
were nobody else in it. The relation
| between them is the unique and abb
! solutely original theme of the play
! It's never been done before; no, nor
anything in the least like it. 1t fol-
lows one out of the theater and one
| goes on turning it over and thinking
about it, I hadn't imagined Ray
mond could be so good It's won-
derful piece of acting. If ever part
was created that one is. l kept
holding my breath for astonshment.
Arliss in his best days used to do
| things like that. = This boy is
really terrible, and so real that it
hurts
don't feel any anxiety about The
| Texas Nightingale. The play is too
| clever and too brilliant to be disre-
I garded and it permits two cases Of
| superb acting. :. OF course, Jobyna
carries carries the whole weight of the
I play on her cleaning shoulders-it's
/ her reality and force that give Ray
mond and everybody else their chance
to do anything at all ] don't know
another actress dny,ohere who could
do 1t. Look at There's not an
English actress who could touch the
part She is glorious to look at,
and her voice is all it should be.
Then she puts into 1t what they've
most of them. simply not got to give,
drive and power-big power. with the
smoothness and ease of the greatest,
grandest French automobile-some-
thing big and cleaning that can drag
a house and stop as quietly as flower
falls. That's a great combination
power and softness.
You may not be able to read this,
for I'm writing in bed but carries my
warm, happy, proud and affectionate
congratulations to the author of "The
Texas Nightingale" and the actress
who so triumphantly impersonates
her.
They tell us that the days of "The
Texas Nightingale" on Broadway are
numbered: that a comedy which might
have held the stage here for year
and been remembered for a generation
will vanish shortly into the store
house. Those who miss it t<can buy it
in book form in January, when Boni &
, Lireright will publish a volume con-
. tanning also "Daddy's Gone-a-Hunt-
ing" and "Declassee.'