The Oregon daily journal., January 19, 1908, Page 18, Image 18

THE ' OREGON "SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNINO, JANUARY ' 19, 1508.
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, ; " DRAMATIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK
HEILIG Tonight tomorrow, Tuesday, Tuesday matinee, Henry Wood-
ruff In "Brown of Harvard."
MARQUAM QBAJCD Tonif ht and week, 'The Everlasting Devil's Auc-
BAKER Thl afterifloon;' tonight and week, resident stock company la
"The Mills f the Gods." m , ... A
EMPtRB This artrooTf. ttfnlght and week. "A Desmrate Chance."
STAR This afternoon; tdnlght and week, French stock company in "Kid
naped." I
GRAND Vaudeville.
PANTAGES VauderlUA
NEXT WEEK'S
OFFERINGS
"The
Monday. Tuesday;
rbert Wltlierspoon,
to February 1,
' WlETTJ'O -Sundav.
play: Wednesday. Herbert Withers;
MARQUAM GRAND January ti
BAKER "A , Milk-White Flag."
EMPIRE "Big Hearted Jim'
Man," musical
Glng-erbread
concert.
Way Down East"
BACK TO THE COMEDIES
AWAY WITH PROBLEM PLAYS
Dramatic Writers All Over the Country Are Clamoring
' Vigorously for Lighter Open New Parisian
4 ? ; .Productions Built In Rarlfled Strata
V By J. T. S.
VVvlTA a unanimity that is startling' the writers on things theatrical
11 for the? American magazines bf which is meant the critical essay
if ists--ire demanding a retnrn to- comedy.
" ' fTnoagh of problettt and passion," they cry. "Give us, oh; give
tis, a laugh. 5 We don't-care a fig for Hilda Wangel and her Master Builder
What' matters it to us why he climbed and fell and why she heard the sound
of hafps as his body dame crashing down through the scaffolding?
; "Why should we add ths trials of Hedda Gablar to thoe of our own?
It's badt enoogfc to watch out for the vagaries of eur own husbands without
paying $2 a seat to see what happened to Rebecca and Rosmer."
. Once they have established theif point that the world is tired of tragedy
. (which it never is and never will be, misery being altogether too fond of
company) they spirt on the rock of what to give us in its place. Henry u.
Harris, who has tried to supply the want with more or less success, in a
recent article saia;
' I am full convinced that today New York, tired, restless, heedless,
flippant, money-getting, and money-spending, sensation-loving New York
js ready for a revival of the sixteenth century morality or miracle plays,
produced W the twentieth century Setting. Ntfw York is tired of gazing
on the? ruitt wrought lit real life by the lust of gold and flesh and is hungry
for plays which, show the triumph of mind and soul over tiesn.
He then goes Oft to gtv a few which he considers desirable, among
which i "Brow of Harvard," which is to appear at the Heilig tonight.
. But Mr. Harris' article, interesting as it is, can hardly be said to be dis-
. I(ifeftrf-- He himself wa en cased hi orodoctrtff iust such a play as he
describes and the play was a very noticeable failure.
Kr Put h ntnfitf rMArrtikl and flaorlesslv fair Atlantic Monthly con
iafns another plea for a return to comedy at least if Gamaliel Bradford Jr.'s
Particle" on Beaumont and Fletcher in the January number is not a direct
$lea for a revival of the Elizabethan comedies, still it dresses them in such
'fen attractive light, comments so charmingly on tha wit and humor and
general desirability of the works by the authors of "The Coxcomb" that
-it really almost makes us forget certain" School boy encounters with the
.Elizabethans that antil now hav left a most aisagreeaoie tasic in me moum.
f He admits most naively that they are not burdened by
VrTa
"BROWN 0? WKVRPmTOB RE1L1G .
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"The heavy and. the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,"
, Jut he insists that we would be th better for more opportunities to see
, !hnd hear the merry Fletcherian plays given on the stage.
i - Now far be it from ma to controvert this. When one is engaged in
1 4 Sleath struggle with theatrical managers, T. M. As., -stock actors and press
asrents. he doesn't care to invite the wrath of the Elizabethan worshipers
,"But I caniiever forget what a tiresome lot of pedantic, rhetorical verbiage
.it is necessarv to ro throuch tc ret at the meat of the comedies.
V Elia of course sat down with his gin and his Beaumont and Fletcher and
' -dozed ovef them both and loved them both. H wrote countless pages m
his verv best and most attractive f Of mand Charles Lamb could be as
alluring iff his quiet gentle way as anyone could well wish in the endeavor
, 4o make his cult a fashionable, modern one. : But itt these days the doctors
iinform ui that gin isn't good to drink and without itlthe) effort of going
..Through "Kuie a wite and Have a we : seems too oik a wmg to lacwc.
- Ht fotild r1. 1e fe-n. thttiw nif th hurdens of the dSV. and flood his
"soul with "sunshine and sweet laughter and bright, Immortal gaiety."
. But it must be remembered that the gentle Elia was a connoisseur, and it
takes connoisseur ship rightly to appreciate the Elizabethans. They found
- .the drama in its very first rankly luxurious growth, sprung from the uncul
tivated out enormously rich soil of the hearty, whoiesouiea, meniaiiy ana
morally uncurbed English people. As it has beeri pointed out, Shakespeare
fhad developed their art to the point where It was easy for the wits of the
uay io mereiy caiuvate the soil a trifle and watcn we plants oi ineir imag'
mation flower into an unrivaled Montri. i i
; i Th trnuK1 !tw i. .t.- it... j:j ilAJ lt k vfnt
ihitiat every line of aparkling dialogue and the Fletcherian dialogue does
sparwene must wade through much that is useless artificiality and tnucn
' that "little beter than muck, Cacafogo ii a philosopher arid an Interesting
'one; Euphrasia Is a -very charming young person Indeed, but Jn these days
, -vi luiyw uicBiug wouia d no more difficult to-arrange tne run, me
'doublets and the various gewgaws of sixteenth century dress than to arrange
; our minds into suitable, condition to, receive the Beaumont and Fletcher
- :' .:. ;.... -
If one really has an unaffected taste for the early drama he couldn't do
better than to discard the plethora of riches offered by the middle period
and hie him back jo the earlier farces.; Take for instance that most enjoy
able product f fifteenth century France-the farce of Master Pierre Fatelin.
lI here are just five characters of importance; Pierre, his wife Guillemette, the
draper, the judge and - the shepherd. There; is bothersome sjde talk,
Tha fifral ii "th nA it A shan't lr rf - -.; ..
j a.. amu-M ik u vv ,a. a, ail i (IJ J ITIU J I,
; After reading the work one fairly iortgj for a return of those simple days
of easily-understood plays. The humor in it '.Is exactly the same as that
iiuurcii uj ine auiar oi j-iorence KODertsnew:comedyK bham, which we
s-iwa week or so jgo.: Pateljn hasn't; any. money 'and :ets his iroods "by
irijcijcwpic. , Arauespeopio were, maae to De Duskoed
any way,
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according to Patelin, and Katherine Van Riper, we remember, expressed it
in iust about the same way.
Only there was nothing quite so lunny in snam as tne scene where
Patelin extracts the cloth from the draper and where the draper comes to
call for it and finds the thieving lawyer stretched out in bed, apparently in
his last aeonies.
Fournier's version of Patelin was given at the Comedie Francais some
years ago and must have been well worth witnessing.
,
The new plays at the French capital this year show an inclination to get
away from the aardou horrors and back into the comedy field again, lh
brothers Marguerite have just produced a comedy at the Comedie Francais
tailed "L'Autre." which has been received with a great deal of enthusiasm.
It s one of those kinds of comedies which anyone seeking pure fun will shy
from it really isn t a comedy at all and two lives have a very tragic time of
It before the last curtain falls.
A much prettier tale is the Dresden China shepherdess oiece of Louis
Arthur's, just brought out at the Bouffes-Parisiens called "L'Ingenu Lib-
ertin- and rounded on one ot the stones in the haublas." There are mask
balls and shepherds and flocks and a great deal of light and orettv music
by Clause Terrasse. Mile. Arlette Dorgere, the prettiest, daintiest little
Dody imaginable, is playing the leading part and doubtless doing it most
attractively.
t
It will be interesting to see where this popular demand for comedy leads
us. We can t possibly get tangled up in the briar bush of musical comedy
any! more than we are now and we can never hope to get our eyes back by
jumping in again, uiaiiiaui. acuviiy aiong original imes is Dounrt to oav
some attention to that most interesting and hardest tr r1.iifv -f 1itr-irv
forms, comic effect Every one wants to write a comedy and probably one
out of 10 really does write one.
The universities are ttirninc rnmpriv urritrra nut hv tlio nAn r.,.r-. T..n
But we'll have to give them time to mature. It usually takes half a dozen
false starts before the desirable work turns uo at last and it must he rem.
bered that there was no such universal -desire for cnmeHv 4iv vpa oo-a
The musical farce had paralyzed the nation then, In the meantime we can
continue to hold Clyde Fitch's later works up as horrible examples to the
budding dramatists and ask them to most respectfully consider that they
don't have to be original. Let them work out anv one rf a Mrn -M
moms ii tney are only amusing and remember
"The ends of all, who forThe stage do write
' Are, or should be, to profit and delight."
PROMISES MADE BY
THE PBESS AGENTS
1
LEWIS MORBISON TVAS
MISS ROBERTS' MANAGER
In last Sunday's dranltlc nacre re.rnr.
en waa made to Louis Mana as the
manager of Florence Roberta. . Mr.
Mann's name was Inadvertently used In
stead of Lewis Morrison, who played In
"Faust" for so many years. Mr. Morri
son la largely responsible for the train
ing; la. her art which Miss Roberts se
cured. , - . , v
&
"Brown of Harvard" Tonight.
Henry Woodruff, star of the most re
allstic and successful of all college
plays, "Brown of Harvard,' which, by
the way, preceded and was the model
for several highly advertised attrac
tions supposedly based upon life ' at
Yale, Columbia, etc., will bring that
delightful entertainment to.the Heilig
tneatre, rourteentn ana wasnington
streets, tonight for an engagement of
three nights and a special-priced Tues
day matinee.
Brown of Harvard," produced by that
master stage craftsman, Henry Miller,
was the first college play to be pre
sented at a Broadway theatre in New
York. With Mr. Woodruff In the role
which he will play here. It had its first
performance in the Princess theatre in
the metropolis, and remained there for
30 weeks, after which It enjoyed an all-
summer run at the Oarrick theatre, Chicago.
Among the clearest evidence that
"Brown of Harvard" vividly and truly
depicts life in American colleges, is the
fact that during its New York run every
school of prominence within a radius
Of 200 miles arranged for special nights
at the Princess, and sent large delega
tions -to see the play. Among the in
stitutions which thus unqualifiedly in
dorsed "Brown of Harvard" were Yale,
Princeton, Columbia, New York uni
versity, College of the City of New
York, Cornell, Vassar, University, of
Pennsylvania, West Point and Harvard
itself.. Each of the schools mentioned
presented Mr. Woodruff with' the va
sitv Dennant. and these flags are promi
nent in the decorations of Tom Brown's
room in the first and fourth acta of the
Play. . . . :.
xne central leature oi crown or
Harvard's" plot is an exciting race
between a Harvard crew and one from
an English university, the contest tak
ing placs on the Charles river, near
Cambridge. The first and fourth acts
show dormitory life at Harvard; the
scene being Tom Brown's apartment of
famous old Holworthy Hall. The sec
ond shows the boys at their sports and
glees in the yard between Holworthy
and Stoughton. In the third act is
pictured the boathouse on the day of
the race, All these scenes are such
faithful productions they will at once
be recognized by a Harvard man.
Mr. Woodruff's Dart is the best he
ever had, and it Is safe to say no actor
more appropriate to it couia db iouna,
for the star is a graduate of Harvard
and not only retains tne spirit ana en
thusiasm of his college days, but he has
the appearance ana pnysique oi tne
arsitv athlete. Nearly every member
of the company is a college man so that
playing his part Is hardly acting, but
more like living over on the stage lnci
dents of his school days. College songs
sung by Mr. Woodruff and others ox tne
comDany . possessing line voices 'are
among the delightful features . of the
play. Of course tnere is a love story
and a particularly engaging one it la1.
The boat race Is one of the most exclt
lns; scenes ever staged and there are
other incidents calculated to make the
blood tingle. -
Ths auDDortina cast, wnicn numoers
30-odd people, contains the flames of:
Helena uyrne, wiiiiam xtunen, c rcu cr
ick Forrester, Gordon Johnstone, Eu
gene O'Brien, Franklin Jones, Louis
Haynea. Adrian Bellevue, Charles H,
Bates, Oliver Follansbee, Robert
Stowe Gill, J. C King, Daniel PennelL
Aihrt Bhnwpf. Charles DurnelL J. ,
Rensaeller, Arthur Reading, Robert
Compton, James Herman, James Keat
lng, Frank Willard, Jlno Chlny BernicS:
Wiley Golden. Ethel Mattin, and others.
Heats are now seiung at tit muuire
for tha entire engagement. , r f
"The MilhV of the Coda at Baker.
George 'Broadhurst, what wroW "Ths
Man of ' ths . Hour,"' is- also aulhor of
"Tht Mills of tha Oods, which . the
ly lucres sea
his moving
Baker Stock company will present for
the week opening with today's matinee.
This only other serious drama by this
author of so many noted farces will be
seen for the first time here, and will
doubtless prove to be one of -ths great
est plays of lue entire season. There
will be a matinee Saturday.
The first act shows the Interior of
a criminal court room. James Clarke
and Frederick Payton are being tried J
on a cnarge or embezzlement. A tele
gram is handed Clarke. He then con
fesses that he has been a-ulltv as
charged, and tells how he robbed his
employers to aid his invalid sister. The
telegram announces her death from
shock when she learned of his arrest.
He implicates Payton and the two are
sentenced to rive years' imprisonment.
Tha second act takes nlaoe at the of.
flee of the Nexton cut glass factory,
eight years Water. Clarke, unable to
stand the rigors of crtson life, has es
caped ana assuming tne name or Rich
ard Harper, has found employment In
the glass works and has risen to be gen
eral manager. He has fallen In love
with his employer's sister-in-law. Cath
erine Gordon, who knows nothing of
his past Payton, who has served out
his time, a'ppears on the scene and at-
him by threats to tell his history.
uiarice puts up witn an sorts of in
dignities, payi
s Payton his price, gives
up the girl he loves, and is constantly
in dread of being discovered. He re-
Glass company at a great!)
salary because it involved
to a larger city where he might be
recognised: Payton carries his dom
inance too far, however, for when he
finds Miss Gordon In Clarke's home at
midnight and makes some slighting re;
mark about her, Clarke's cowardice
leave him and he is only prevented
from murdering Payton by the arrival
of a young friend.
Clarke forestalls all of Payton's ac
cusation by telegraphing the authorl-'
ties his whereabouts and telling his
story to his companions. The agent of
the International Glass company-offer
to demand has pardon of the governor.
and Catherine promises to wait for him
until bis return, ray ion a iuiure is leii
In doubt. ..
Cast In act one James Clarke, Fred
erick Payton, the prisoners, Austin
Webb and Robert Homans: the judge.
R. E. Bradbury; counsel for 'the defense.
James Gleason; the assistant district:
attorney, cmti u. iwire; nicnara
Jordan, of the firm of Jordan & Bleks,
Charles Lewlsj Arthur Montgomery
Blake, of the firm of Jordan & Blake,
William Gleason; clerk of the court. Ed
ward Lawrence; court stenographer,
Charles Blnard; captain of the court
squad, Harry Winters; messenger boy,
Fred Rcnfort; police officer, Frank
Scott.
Cast of characters In acts two, threa
and four James Clarke, known as'
Richard Harper, Austin Webb; Freder
ics rayion, noDert Horoans; ttODert b.
Thornhill. assistant to Clarke,. Donald
Bowles; Rev. Peter Andrews, pastor of
the Peoples' church, , Earl D. Dwirc;
Thomas F. Newton, . proprietor of tha
xvewton cut glass works, James Glea
son: Hartwlff Marcus, secretary of ths
international uiass company, Willlaa
ruses a position with the International! (Continued on Page Five.) ;
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