The New York herald., 1922-05-07

IT T UNDOUBTEDLY the outstanding
event in the Paris theatrical
world recently was the return
Of the subsidized tEeater, the Odeon,
to the popular drama almost border
ing upon the "melo" Of a quarter CEN
tury ago. With the advent of Gemier
as the director of l'Odeon fear was ex-
pressed on all sides that the master
actor. who is considered the ablest
French exponent or Shakespearean
drama, would try to force Hamlet"
king Lear" Macbeth" and the like
into the ears of the theatergoing pub
lie, or at least that portion which could
be inveigled to the state theater in
the Latin Quarter. Happily their fears
were misplaced, for "Une Danseuse est
Mort GA Dancing Girl Is Dead), with
it's three acts Of crime. bloodsted. sus-
picion and terminating in a suicide is
anything but Shakespearean in its
structure and theme.
Whatever NJ. Gemier may try to do
later in the way Of developing into a
French Hackett 1t will be difficult to
remove the new idea that the Odeon
is henceforth to be used for strictly
modern passion plays lin tie French
sense of the term), and the little dis
trict theaters where melodrama still
finds a hearty welcome, and where
heroines are cheered and villains
hissed, will feel the revival of
Gemier's theater along popular lines
when the box office returns are
counted. The new piece Is in three
acts by lie Bargy, who takes the lead
ing role with tremendous violence,
but succeeds in holding breathless at
tention while he shows the penalty
which conscience exacts when crime
is committed and an innocent person
Is allowed to suffer for the wrongs
Of the conscious coward.
Russia Helps.
Contemporaneou with this develop
ment of CORY themes other Partisan
theaters continue to use the modern
Russian situation to good effect. For
three years or more the worlds diplo-
mats have been wrangling about Russia
without convincing the public that their
arguments were we'll founded. So far
playwrights have not tried to justify
Bolshevism, but they are beginning to
draw from 1t abundant material for In
teresting problem plays-and. Of course,
providing a scenic background for the
inevitable Cossack dances. At the Thea
tre des Arts has Just been produced
"Natchalo." which purports to be four
tableaux, taken from contemporaneous
Russian life. The authors are Andre
Salmon and Rene Saunier, both good
Iatins, who have relied upon hearsay
and newspaper stories for their concep-
tion of Russia. This. however, has not
prevented their producing something
which promises to interest Partisan au-
diences for many months by It's strange
mixture of chronological. philosophical,
psychological problems and an inter-
minable series of facts and cleverly ex-
pressed sophisms.
"Natchaio," or "The Commence
ment." has two central figures. one q
sort Of grandfather for Forthcoming
revolutions known as Arcade, and the
other his feminine disciple, who swears
fidelity to the cause of unhofy Russia,
but finally succumbs to the charms Of q
young Frenchman. Defunnoy returns to
France, but Is drawn back to the Krem-
lin Just In time to witness the installa-
tion of Bolshevism, with Arcdde's pupil
Doicha, rs high priestess. The latter
refuses to be reconquered and denouncos
her ex-lover. fainting as he is carried
away. presumably to be slaughtered.
bad taste. Old Arcade meets a sudden
mysterious death. DeIonnoy is enabled,
probably with the help Of Ddichd, to
escape over the Russian frontier. and
Daicha herself continues paradlng in
revo olutionary highways. The story Is
cIeverly planned and II being we'll
played here. although some doubt has
been expressed as to tho advisability of
staging In easy phrases the fundamen-
tai differences in the doctrines OF two
such widely separated nations-that is
temperamentally-as France and Rus
sia.
While the average theatergoer win be
we'll satisfied by the Interpretation given
to Russia's problem by foreigners, those
who want tho real spirit OF Russia pro-
fess that this can only be found in the
Comedie des Champs Elysees, where NJ.
Pitoefrs Russian company has been
holding forth. "Oncle vania" has Just
had n remarkable success. It provides
clear study of Russian negativism. IL
tells the story Of a topsy-turvy land,
where everything goes wrong. Even the
half crazy Onoio Vdnio, when he tries
to kill Sonia. who has ruined her love
affair and with II her destiny. fires too
high and misses his intended victim.
This may seem foolish, but II Is a new
conception of Bolshevism as seen by
natives of the land wherein ~ orig
inated--a system which continually
misses fire. which aims too high and
brings nothing but ruin to itself and
those who have anything to do with It..
"Oncle vania' In tho hands of other
European actors would oe a farce In
the words of one critic this week.
played by Russians. with all their ma
tive turbulence, II carries a mighty les
SON."
"FaI<ir OF Benares."
OF course ell Paris IL not concentrate
ing its attention on Russian problem
plays or on Gemiers melodrama- Back
behind i'Opera the Mogador, where
Frank Gould won reputation for good
theatrical perspicacity even II the finan-
cial returns were less promising. is Of
fering new light "operetta"--"The
Fakir OF Benares'--with an Oriental
setting, plenty of tuneful music and n
love story which Is, to say the least,
unusual Kdndour, the blind fakir,
young girl of Benares. She Is Sundrd,
loathed by all because OF her almost
inhuman ugliness of feature; but Love
as we'll as Kdndour Is blind. SO that all
can work toward a happy ending--in a
forest bordering on the Ganges. The
book is by Michel Carrc and the music
hv Ieo Mammal N pewcorner In thia fjeid