Evening star., 1938-03-06
Drannatists
Still at a
House Party
Behrnan, Lonsdale
Whoop 1t Up in
The Parlor.
Continued From Page F-l)

and does very well without any dis
cussion of Spain. China and the lat
est trial in Russia. But Mr.. Behrman
Is vitality concerned with social topics.
and, amid the preoccupation of his
characters with sex, house parties and
other Lonsdale phenomena, he insists
that they talk about the plight of the
liberal and the bad manners of young
Communist intellectuals. 1t is, as one
cannot repeat too often. beautiful and
eloquent talk, filled with wit and wis
dom, but 1t is not always of assistance
to Wine Of Choice" save to Its not
inconsidersble literary worth. For it
has the misfortune to possess two de-
cided defects. In the first place. the
talk Of the characters and the vari-
our manipulations of the plot have
very little to do with each other. which
tends to result in confusion. And in
the second place. while the talk deals
with important social matters grace
fully, 1t really has very little to say
about them.
Mr.. Behrman's protagonist is an up
standing liberal Senator from New
Mexico, apparently modelled after the
late and much-to- -lamented Bron-
son Cutting. The Senator has many
attractive things to say but 1t is not
until the last act that he really gets
around to the matter that concerns
him most In fine and ringing words
he denounces the young Communist,
who Is naturally the villain of the
tale, for his bad manners. his intol-
erance. his arrogance, his narrow dog
matism and his cold fanaticism. It
is convincing speech and an ef-
fective If hardly an original one. and
yet a great deal OF the point made by
Mr. Behrman, the indignant liberal,
is destroyed by MIR. Behrman, the
playmaker. For as contrast to the
narrow and intolerent Communist he
places the little group Of fellow house
guests, and he causes his protagonist
to cry out that he will defend them
to the end against the Vaccinations
Of the Reds who would destroy them.
Yet Mr.. Behrman makes of them such
a futile, worthless and befuddled lot
that they might we'll have been Gre
ated by some Communist playwright
as horrible examples. 1t is one of
the fine and tolerant things about
liberalism that it would spare even
these unappetizing people, but there
certainly is more to be said for the
case of the liberal than that.
MOST playwrights who defend the
creed of the liberal make it seem
little more than the last refuge Of the
befuddled. 1t is one of the admirable
things about Mr.. Behrman that lib
eralism means much more to him
than that; that it is in his case
positive thing, well-considered way
Of life that he believes in with cool
clarity. That important third-act
speech in Wine of Choice" is Mr..
Behrman at his best, and 1t has
all Of the vitality and fire that the
advocacy Of a cause should have.
But for most Of the time his dialogue,
despite its characteristic lucidity and
beauty. has curious way of SEEM
ing to dart gracefully about the is
sues that it is discussing without ever
quite coming in contact with them.
Somehow it seems that, although mat
ters of current social importance are
presumably being debated, the play is
as far from reality rs II the action
took place in Graustark. Lotus Land
or Frederick Lonsdale country place.