Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-10-25

A week that was made to loom
large in expectation, inflated as the
prospect was by all the arts OF puff
cry, collapsed like a punctured &C
Gordon when that wonder play, the
pet of New York's most ardent anna
tours of the drama, wriggled through
several unwholesome hours. The
opening night brought at least one
glad assurance. The American pub
lie retains its sense OF humor, even
in the face of press-agent hypno-
tism or the house-to-house canvass
that metropolitan art promoters
now organize in deluded ecstasy I'M
der the impression that they are
enabling genius to express itself III
defiance of the shackles of the COM
mercial stage. The doorbell ringers
have come to be highly influential
incident of the theater. There are
times when they make the ordinary
commercial theater appear like an
innocent infant who has picked up
some rough talk in its sidewalk play
but who still manifests a little occa-
sional respect for the people to
whom it was turned for sustenance.
x = X *
The sense of humor asserted itself
when during a particularly dark
brown scene the steam pipes set up
audible competition. The audience
laughed and made it clear that sym
pathy was entirely with the steam
pipes. One young woman decided
that it was not the kind of play she
wanted to see and exercised her
privilege as a free American citizen
of walking out. But the really
mirthful ovation was reserved for
the old farmer who evidently was
trying to model his New England
dialect on faint reco1lections of
Josh Billings. He announced in his
desperate resentment OF home con-
ditions (Which, it must be admitted,
could not have been worse) that he
was going to sleep i'll the barn. He
had the courage of his lnisanthropy
and the audience rewarded him
with a laugh, in hearty assurance
that the crowd was still taking the
exhibition good naturedly.
The play has title which implies
some poetic possibilities in nara
tive. The one little hint of idealism
n the story is shown when from
time to time character steps to
the front of the stage, supposedly
looking into the star-lit sky, and re-
marks, Purity, amt itp But this
moment of attunement with the
glowing infinitudes of space passes,
and this precious group of bad char
acters impersonated with the ex-
ception of Miss Freeman) by bad
actors, reveals itself Immediately
ready for murder, larceny, arson or
any other crime known to the
police.
1t is fortunate to be able to feel
that in discussing a dramatist as
well as an actor the discussion re-
lates not to a personal identity, but
to a fictitious creation designed to
interest the public, to which he is
required by modern custom to lend
his name. Mr.. O'Neill has, no
doubt. decided that the public de-
sires the rudest shocks that can be
administered and sets himself loyal
scrivener to oblige his patrons and
his management Making critical
faces at him really means no more
than the old custom of kissing the
villain in melodrama. 1t is an
acknowledgement of the fact that
he has succeeded thoroughly in an
evident intention to offend sensibili-
ties as thoroughly as possible. If
this is a deliberate pose it is admi-
rably taken.
X x X X
But the arts of burlesque have
passed and the word persists only
as a trade name in the theater. An
audience does not insist on being
cheered up a little after harrow
ing emotional experience by farce
or q musical afterpiece. This sad
story of the farmer and the cow