Evening star., 1923-01-09
GARRICK-"Jitta's Atonement. .

"Jitta's Atonement.' a new play by
George Bernard Shaw. with Nine
rided the keen enjoyment which
might be expected from such a COM
binatiou. 20 the audience which gath.
cred last night at the Shubert-Garrtcs
Theater.
The wisardry of Shaw. who by
bringing things down to earth" con,
Terts a romantic tragedy into what
must be labeled comedy-satirtcal
though II is-and the remarkable act
ing of Nine. Kalich, supported by a
talented cast, has resulted in not
able event in the theatrical year OF
the capital.
"Jitta's Atonement" is an adaptation
of a play written by Sigfried Ire.
bitsch, romance of love and tragedy
saturated with heartaches, jealousy
and gloom. 1t is easy to imagine that
in the hands of the originator II be-
came an epic of inf1delity. But Shaw
has made of il a satire OF soulmates
He has found feet of clay for the
towering figure of romantic love. Per-
haps il would be better TO say that
he has placed everyday shoes upon
it, which enables the tale TO make Its
exit, IL not exactly happily. at least
with a smile. Playing upon the hu-
man frailties, Mr.. Shaw has brought
laughter instead OF tears. The frantic
agonies of the romantic theater, Mr..
Shaw says in a preface written for his
adaptation, do not produce the illusion
Of real life IN real life" he says,
the consequences of conjugal in
fidelity are seldom either 80 serious
as they are assumed TO be in romantic
tragedy, or so trivial as in farcical
comedy" and in this sentence he has
himself explained his treatment of
the subject. In the original, he con-
fesses, Jitta lives misersbly ever aft
erward, and her husband suffers tre-
mendous pangs of jealousy.
AS in other plays, Mr.. Shaw does
not hesitate to be frank in making
his point. In the first act. when the
lovers-each of whom has married
mate elsewhere--meet clandestinely,
and it is pointed out they have but
one short hour" together. the sub
sequent developments are brutally
. frank, TO say the least. He makes it
clear, too, later in the play that had
the lovers had more than a rare
hour TO spend together-had they
lived together for twenty years. eaten
breakfast with each other every day
perhaps they might have been SEEK
ing other soul mates. "All husbands
are chumps" is the Implication.
The story OF "Jitta's Atonement,"
while IL deals with trfte theme and
Its consequences. is yet novel, and 1t
would be unfair to reveal its details.
THE atonement OF Jitta, after all, is
tires to live. apparently, the rest of
her life with a husband whom she
considers her intellectual inferior
and very much inferior in every
way OF the man whom she loved and
who had died.
Whether the auditor agrees with
Mr.. Shaw, or does not, in his handling
of the matters which are usually sup
posed to make deep impress upon the
lives of men and women, it Is impos-
sible not to enjoy his comedy.
"The Illusion of reality" which Mr.
Shaw has harped upon in his intro
duction and in defense of his adapta :
tion of the tragedy of Trebitsch, is
fostered in the production of"Jitta e
Atonement" by the acting OF Nine
Kalich. Passionate. ironic, always
natural, her characterization Of the
part OF Jitta, the wife of Prof. Lenk-
enheim and the mistress of Prof
Bruno Haldenstedt, is a masterpiece
Nor must the honors all go to Nine
Kalich for this remarkable perform.
ance. That's Lawton as the wife OF
Prof. Heldenstadt, Francis Byrne as
Prof. Lenkenheim, the deceived hus-
band; John Craig as Prof. Halden-
stedt. Beth Elliott as Edith, the
daughter OF Prof. Haldenstadt; Wal.
ton Butterf1eld as DIR. Ernest Fessler
fiance OF Edith, could scarcely be i'm
proved upon.
The acting Of the play is supposed
to take place in Danzig, in profes-
sional circles. in the year 1920.