Evening star., 1926-12-12

A CHAMPIONSHIP of the un.
~ der, dog in any society is
Il the usual mission of the the
a ater. The valet and lady's
maid are permitted to throw the
food light of ridicule on the eccen-
tricities of those they serve. The
grisette who used to die in an at
mosphere of sweet sentimentality
has led up to the modern type of
street unfortunate who reforms,
marries and lives happy ever after.
In this respect. as in others
Shakespeare stands pre- eminently
apart. holds the populaee at arms
length, and in many passages. as in
Julius Caesar" and in midsummer
Nights Dream applies merciless
scorn to humble folk described as
addicted to sweaty nightcaps. hall
tosis and absurdly illiterate efforts
to initiate hneries of thought and
manner.
In the domestic drama the woman
has long been the object of pity,
reaping sympathetic applause when
she turns. in sudden courage after
long suffering. with an avalanche of
invective against the brutal and
tyrannical male.
BY this time the brute male. as
reflected on the stage. should be
pretty well tanned, until. like an en-
feebled lion, he crouches IN a corner
of the cage. growls a little and per-
haps shows his teeth; but when
the trainer appears jumps through
and rolls over just the same.
II was evidently the opinion of
Mr.. Kelly that the stage husband
had been punished quite enough and
needed a change. Reference in the
advertising to Mr.. Kelly's author
ship Of that raw and raucous popu
lar success, "The Show OFF," was no
great encouragement to play patrons
who appreciate SO subtle analysis
of character for which "Craig's
Wife" offers scope.
Mr.. Kelly is still a domestic dram
atist, dealing with the dinner dishes
and mantelpiece ornaments, with
q battle of pots and pans in the
distance; but there can be none
to dispute that the pots and pans
are better material for our reforna-
tory progress in drama than Broad
way bathtubs.
Chrystal Herne is one of the
women, born to the stage. who act
securely with an instructive knowl-
edge of technique, enabling them to
apply it spontaneously and without
evidence of self-study. James A.
Herne was a respected figure. bold
In his day in faithful delineation of
simple, Notwithstanding humanity,
and in employing with mastery
skill the intense significance that
may sometimes be drawn from
moment of we'll calculated quietude.
His daughter conveys with far more
tensity something of the same
fnesse. The conclusion of her play,
as she walks quietly about the stage
crumpling rose leaves with strange
tress of all she surveys. is like a
faint echo of her fathers play. in
which the old man. having set his
house at last to rights. extinguishes
the lamps slowly, one by one, and
allows the curtain TO descend on
the freight glow of serene night.
II x.*
The acting of Miss Herne is more
than portraiture, more than inter
probation. 1t is an incarnation. The
player is effaced The character,
though utilizing rather trivial trait
as the foundation for story of do
mestic disaster, is developed on lines
of such consistency that the over
neatness of a housewife is made to
appeal to the imagination as a
monstrous vice. The type is not
agreeable. The motives that animate
the role are not those of normal
conditions. Like so many stage
heroines, Craig's wife is an example
Of neurotic expression which neither
reason nor self-interest can contra
dict. To play the part so we'll re-
quires intellectual attainments, as
we'll as rarest talent.