The Washington herald., 1922-10-08


blissfully forget the type Of stage writ
- ing that encounters in PLAYS like
Paul Wilstach's Her happiness" which de-
parted from the Garrick last night On the other
hand It happens occasionally that such a play
will exhibit samples of bad Workmanship so
classic that 1t holds all the fascination Of
hang-nail.
without going into his manifold shortcom-
ings in general 1 have been unable since last
Monday night to forget the singular despair
with which Mr. Wilstach approached the problem
of indicating the love that presumed to
exist between the hero and the heroine in Her
Happiness" There were at least three other
problems that Mr.. Wilstach approached with
equal despair and ineptitude, but the love scene
is similar, in its weaknesses. its lack Of basis
and general fortuitous aspect to many
love encountered the stage that
is unwilling dismiss it with mere nrst-night
consideration.
Judging from the examples that pass under
the miscroscope in this vicinage from month to
month not playwright in ten seems to have
the slightest idea of the elements and ingre-
dients. not to mention the mixing formula, that
go into the concoction of a hrst-rate romantic
episode. The usual practice consists of bring
ing the hero and heroine down-stage, inducing
a hush among the help back-stage and per-
mitting the hero draw the young woman to
him and murmur the fact that he loves her.
In nine cases out Of ten the playwright
relies. almost wholly. upon the hair-trigger
stiveness to the romantic emotion of the
age audience. which. being composed. for the
most part of those who demand the erotic
motive with their morning coffee, reacts in
stantIy the ludcrous and Intellectual
presentments of this stupendously dramatic
theme.
In short. wistach brought to his love
the same overwhelming deficiency that
damns so many not-half bad ideas before the
footlights-a deficiency rooted and grounded in
the playwrights personal Ignorance of and
familiarity with what may be termed the
. fharDa fira nf Iifera
@Y mathematics l mean the simple or COM
- pick arrangement and combination of
\ psychologist dramatic elements with
- the idea of bringing about a definite and
fxed result by means of the spoken word. That
language lends itself TO anything unerring
and exact IS this Is a matter that never seems
enter the heads Of most of the gentlemen,
young and old, who hIl stages with their
brain-children.
the ken of Jack London. the novelist, though
London did mighty little, il any writing for the
stage. On second thought 1t might be a highly
desirable thing if way could be found to
make the great majority Of American playwrights
turn the twenty-second chapter of London's
book, Martin Eden" and observe. in this text
book for immature writer's, the manner in which
London mikes of the dynamic love
cocktails put into English.
In this story. London-writlng evidently
about himself-tells the story OF sailor, pro-
digious in body. prodigious in ignorance, but
absolutely vaultng in ambition, who falls in
love with a girl many social levels above him
and to attain her level deliberately sets himself
to the task of sef-educatIon and a literary
Having preserved the most platonic physical
aIoofness between the man and the woman UP
to the middle Of the story, London puts them
both on a hillside with the sea at their feet
and demonstrates. though in clinic, his
previously expressed desire not to copy the lit
erary effects of better writers, but to root out
unearth and analyse the underlying principle
the component elements and their relationships
of effects" in the of language
regret deeply that for the sake OF Mr.
wilstach and his brethren in despair. we'll as
for those who bring an almost childish naivette
TO the theater, that there is not room here to
reprint this cyclonic three paragraphs from
Martin Eden"-three paragraphs Of sheer drama
that lifts by the bootstrsps to speak.
However ferret out copy OF Martin
Eden"-mine cost so cents an uptown book
store-and marvel. you will at the singular
almost uncanny force. the sweeping, devastating
emotional whirlwinds that be evoked in 200
words by a man who was artist enough and
genius enough to go b the infinite pains of
seeking out the formula of which all good love
stories mixed