New-York tribune., 1922-02-26

SO good that something must be wrong
with it.
1t Is true that Shakespeare wrote his
plays always conscious Of tho short
comnga of tho theater Of his day, but
it Is absurd wc think. to argue from
this that, had Shakespeare been offered
tho advantages OF The modern the
ter he would therefore lnvo written
greater plays. After all, the moderns
like Craig and Robert Edmond Jones
seem to bo able TO find enough in
Shakespeare even now to provide them
make into settings. No, it is our opiri-
ion that the progress in The technique
of the theater its mechanics, it's nrt,
has been stimulated by tho demand
created by the dramatistc radiant
vision Of tho music in life, by his kim
ship with the great souls Of our world
1t was Shakespeare who made possible
an lingo Jones or Robert Edmond
Jones setting for Macbeth and not an
lingo Jones or Robert Edmond Jones
setting which made possible a Shakes
pearc.
Now, another thing. Does not Mr.
Mcgowan see that Craig and his fol-
lowers; Appia, lesser men like Norman
Bcl-Gcddes, are making a new law for
their thcater; or, in other words,
creating new restrictions which may
hamper the dramatist? Supposing that
dramatist of Eugene O'Ncill's power
refuses to accept Robert Edmond
Jones and Arthur Hopkin, interpreta-
ton Of play he has suomitted to
them for production? Who should
be followed in such a case? After all,
inner illuminative working Of O'Neill's
mind and while it is true that often
Il playwright does not quite know what
he has actually done and cannot see
his work inlpcrsonally, somehow we
cannot help feeling that it is wscst to
follow the dramatist.
To be sure, the remedy for such
Hypothetical, but entirely possible, DIFF
ference in opinion can be avoided by
cooperation between tho various
artists OF the theater, hut the poet
must take the lead, and The other gen.
tlcmen in the thcater are unwilling
that this should be so. AS q matter
Of fact, sone Of them like Craig,
rather ruthlessly thrust the dramatst
out of the theater altogether and re
gard him IS being an interloper.
Furthermore, an audacious, gaudy
moving, artificial, profound, subtle, IL
Illuminating thought is possessed Of all
those separate qualities, whether the
setting in which it is exposed is wrong
or right--we use wrong or right rs the
painter does-that is, true or untrue
IN conception. The validity OF Anton
Chekhov's characters, for example, Is
setting done in the manner of Jacques
Copeau, or one done in the manner Of
Lee Simonson, or one done by hack.
Our point is that no setting on earth
can infuse brillancy, profundity, humor
or heroic tragedy into q play which is
the work of a mediocre mind; that is
to say, not even Craig, Reinhardt, Ap-
pia, Bel Geddcs, A. Won Salzmann, Dali
croze, Copeau and Hopkins working in
harmony-if you will concede that
being possible for a moment-could lift
play by Samuel Shipman from its &C
customed depths to the heights, in a
, manner of speaking, of even an Angus
tus Thomas. A fine setting may blend
into the work Of, say, Eugene O'Ncill
or lesser artist, Lord Dunsany; en-
hance their work with an additional
contributory beauty nodded on by the
deft and talented imagination Of
Robert Edmond Jones but the play ia
the thing.
Now, to conclude. We have been
unfair to Mr.. Macgowan in this respect
that we have not reviewed his book
in the traditional manner But that
we thought would be rather futile, for
1t is better that the reader should read
Mr.. Macgowans record Of the modern
theater than to read Il rchash Of it
which would not begin TO indicate the
ground he covers, on the whole, so we'll.
True, he has rushed by vaudeville, by
movie and the huge spectacle, say, like
boxing exhibition, but his description
of The work of the pioneers in the
modern theater is always comprehen-
sive and often Illuminating, and he has
studded it with colored black and
white illustrations which are worth
the price of the book And finally, it
is a book which every one-panter,
sculptor, dramatist, mechanician, di-
rector, producer and thcatcrgocr-
should own. Even Mr.. AL Woods.
L. K.
Primitive Man
NJ NARuSON OF PIC. BY George Lang