Putnam patriot., 1922-11-03

We Live In." one can't but wish that l. Soah's ark had struck a rock and all oH board gone down to the depths Of the then sea Here is a play b. two l Gzeeho-SloFHkiaH authors. Josef and Karel Capek. that seeks to interpret mankind, and does t by means Of dis auieting analegles wherein we nor tals are represented as insects. Fia- t0n Freedleg of p0mfret plays the part of a male cricket. Ee was stuHU 70 death by an Iehneum0n fy who 2as out looking for food for his darl- ing daughter iarga. Sir FreedieY de- served a far better fate
 This play. presented for the first tIme in America at Jolson's Theatre Hu New York on Tuesday night. has, mixed ip with much that iz utterly trivial, one of Che most moving sceues the writer has ever witnessed CD tHe stage. The Capeks have engineered the most damHiag invecti4e against Har ever conceived for portrayal Ia the theatre. If We are not greatly mistaken the American Legion Will fr8th al the mouth and become more excited than ever che bonus could make ft The aats have gone lo aar
 the yellow against the blaeks
 over two blades af grass AHt rekls ment after aat regiment passes la fe- view Never faiteF. my noble men,
 shouts the Eeueraliss.mo; yua afe lighting for country and libaEi and sill always Be behind Yaa FHe sIHe urua Regiment aftee faslnen1 of blacks are HiFed out Entirely according 70 FHaH. ahfl-.- tae #z#eH= af the journalist eommeH aH Hz 0l dom Once more tse tlle ssl a68d has been good ta ua aH.e He aurar BfHHa# u the aeA
 battle. "see 5ha1 he's ads nee fa , HHe rank of colonel taeH.' aHdaF tHs commander Tha gapeA # ta e5 ; Him at sweeping eHeet. thef attempt f9 cale the Iafdef of pnT9z5 5pHeal heights, and tbes achieve tremendous :. and crushing Hesults NheshsH sheH me basphemaaz ar mot. depend eez Hfely ou the individual equation x q piece of tazemaaship the &a= seeae
 superb. in its moral it $ breath 5 taking
 In other parts Of che play. the au-
 thors have been less successful Ex- erything ls in terms of ymbol. and s much of the analogy is too obvious | IL lacks a subtlety that would give polish. Like a maniac brandishinR a sword in a crowd, the Capeks achieve
 devastation of humanity, but they dC
 it in such bloody and unrehned way
 Every symbol is tagged, and then foi
 fear one may miss the point, they
 place a character at the side of the
 stage to explain it all. lt IS for al the world like a personally conducted 1 aieRory. like a sightseeing bus where
 a man with megaphone bawls out at
 tention to every detail that passes 1T
 review. When two beetles roll pile | of offal across the stage and seek foi - a hole in which to hide their 'pile,
 and worry for fear they should have
 two piles instead of one, or that some ,. one will rob them of the one they n have. the implication is clear, anc :, does not need an announcer.
 The second act, in which Mir. Freed ley appears. is by no means so fine al
 the one portraying the ant hills al
 war But even this second act where lin the exploitation of man by man ruthless and horrible, is dweit upon 1T there are spots that are marvellousl, brilliant. The Capeks are the perfeei x eynies. and here where they portray Y the human species as mere insects h beetles living on dung flies living or beetles and eriekets, and parasites liv U ng on them all, the savageness of theii .s curse on society is destructive anc .s ravaging This k not a play for thos'
 who faint al sight of exposed sores ' for the Capeks not only bare the l. Isores. they pour vitriol into them, anC ia watch the social body writhe in help
 lessness
 ' The first act of the play. depietinl $ the world in terms of brainless butter f flies, and poets who sing of the ge ! ometry of the sour' Co the neglect oi VI the smell of dirt and sweat, was leasi .S convincing of all IL was awkward a lt was not until the war scene that the
 full power of the drama was un eashed. l. was as though fer tws c acts the authors had been singing 1T s tremulous falsetto. finally breaking forth m a deep bass. which. f not wei
 phrased and delicate. was at least ' overwhelming tn it's power.
 B. As for MT Freedley. although hii n. part was small. il was deftly done. ans
 while not the outstanding scene oi a the act the appeared in the secons q onlyl still was one of the bits thai .. could not fail 10 make impression or 7 the audience.
 q Needless to say. the play was high
 ly novel In the acts proper. exclud