Evening star., 1927-10-30

OF contrast. AS the story moves on,
showing a feminine career shaped
by sheer willfulness, the brighter
moments are limited to her home
life before marriage. 1t is from
there long and gloomy path
way to the prison cell which makes
the final setting of the tragedy No
more heart-crushing demonstration
has been made in the theater since
John Barrymore enacted the prison
scene in Galsworthy's Justice
y 4
In his many appearances before
the public, Holbrook Blinn has been
associated with no role so we'll cal
culated to reveal his talents as a
polished comedian as that of the
debonnaire playwright in Molnar's S
THE Plays the Thing"
He has but seldom shaken off SO
completely a certain Napoleonic dig
nifty.
In this play Mr.. Blinn asserts low
comedy in its highest refinement.
He manages it in the terms of a
worldly and sympathetic gentleman
OF the type willing to be at some
pains TO protect a woman with lie
of chivalry and to confer upon her
distracted lover at least the comfort
which comes from an oblivion to the
actual facts.
The plot is simple enough. The
Young lover overhears an utterly
compromising interview in an ada
cent room; the playwright copies the
dialogue into a little drama arranged
for amateur production and allows
the lover to hear a rehearsal which
leaves him convinced that the
speeches to which he had listened
with such horror were but the sheer
est playacting in an effort to mem
orize dialogue perfectly.
-
Mr.. Blinn brings back an old and
well beloved friend OF the theater,
that nonchalant parsonage with a
delicate sense of humor that en-
ables him with some adroit touch
to conciliate difficulties in the affairs
OF his friends. The hnesse OF Mr..
Blinn's playing is illustrated in
several distinct moments when he
addresses his friends on the stage
with pL in intention to deceive and
at the same time conveys TO his
friends in the audience the clear
intimation that they are to apprecia-
ate his attitude as polite hypocrite.
The reading OF comedy lines requires
fine intellectual sense. First of all
there must be comedy lines to read
and these are scarce.
Blinn appears thoroughly to enjoy
the play himself. This impression
is easily conveyed by a play within
play which utilizes all the tricks
OF the theater and places even mem
bers of the cast in the attitude OF
surprised and delighted spectators.
The play within d play" has been
frequent experiment. This work
IS probably the most ingenious ex-
/ preston III this line since Hamlet
wrote the grucsomc gossip OF the
court into action and dialogue.
Blinn is not only good actor
/ He IS brave one. He deliberately
invites rivals. Every role in this
/ drama is splendidly cast and the
imaginary spotlight hickers in daz-
zling swiftness from one figure to
another until the actor in chief raise
hnger or lifts all eyebrow and
shows precisely where il shall come
to rest and define with authority
that elusive point known as the
/ center of the stage" Slight as the
story sounds i'll the repeating. it re-
quires an intricate mechanism for its
expression on the stage and calls
upon the star surrounded by come
dams to be the master comedian
of all.
There have been many English
actors here within the past two
weeks. They have charmed amaz-
ingly by the secure quietude Of