Evening star., 1925-02-15
A Gala Week for
Legitimate Theatricals
By Ph'1ander Johnson.

evolution OF taste, rather by the
clumsiness of the overtaxed per-
former than by any sensitive aver
sion on the part of the public to
the hazard a genius undergoes in
crossing the slack wire of popular
fancy above a sulphurous abyss OF
universal scorn.
The course of development in the
rugged school of drama cannot be
followed from it's source with the
flow of the current. Most of the
playgoers in Washington have wait
ed long time for Rain" Most
of them have not exactly prayed
for it. In fact, there has appeared
to loom on the horizon a cloud that
threatened the conscience with tor
nado. Once this cloud arrived no.
body took to the cellar. Every one
foisted his umbrella. marched bold
ly into the storm and found, in most
instances, the drenching we'll COM
pensated by the rainbow glow of
human sympathy.
*
The art of the theater depends
not merely on the embellishments
appealing to the eye, but baSically
on the accuracy with which the
motives and mental operation of
human types of character are de-
lineated. Gross as the themes have
become they must, to be rendered
merchant at the ticket offices,
be considered and described with
the closest intellectual analysis.
Your story teller for the footlights
can no longer proceed comfortably
on the theory that people are good
heroes, bad villains or indifferent
comedians simply because they are
born SO and remain inhexibly thus
regardless of strees of circum-
stances. The reward of merit and
the punishment of i'll doing no
longer remain arbitrarily in the
hands of the plot weaver to be dis
pensed with an almost celestial as
sumption of magnificent power.
The conflict of complexes of inhibi-
tions and of moral fiber must be in
timately undertaken. While indus
try and sociology are seeking to
WELD helpful influence by better
ing existence for humanity consid-
cred only in classified groups. The
stage, as it has always done, comes
forth with outcry from the individ-
ual spirit and waits to find the re-
sponse depending on the number of
individuals whose hearts return a
sympathetic echo. The theater in
normal manifestation is the voice of
the submerged. 1t tells first what
kind of people may be dwelling un-
noted among us, then acquaints us
with their possibilities of deed and
aspiration and then accords them
the hope either of triumphant char
acter or else the dignity of fine
destruction.
A good play must be more than a
moral play. A play which assumes
to be moral and yet is untruthful
is shallow hypocrisy. A drama
must have the benefit of accurate
scientific analysis. Those which
have attempted to trihe in moods
of persiflage or superficial interest
with the more recent topics of mind
research, have found abrupt dismis
sal. The dramatist-and this term
now has come to imply oftener than
not a group of men concentrating
their efforts to produce single and
precise result-has become like a
man in laboratory lifting from
pools of social stagnation drops of
water and studying them under a
microscope. The drop of water re-
veals many forms that are gro
tesque, repulsive, yet sometimes
beautiful if they can be dissociated
in imagination from the conditions
they imply. The public wishes to
know about them, and apparently
has learned to assume an almost
impersonal and scientific aloofness
as spectators observe strange things
that are and perhaps reflects lit
tie on things that yet must be for
human welfare. 1t is inconceivable
that play like Rain" could leave
on any mature mind the impression
of being only an evenings light
diversion.
No doubt when Rain" was first
being cast there were many actresses
who might have proved satisfactory
in the role of Sadie Thompson.
Now that Jeanne Eagels has made
it her own no one else could be
thought. of. Perfection of charac-
terization makes 1t = standard
which no other player could ap-