THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. . SEPTEMBER 0. 1008.
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"THE DEVIL" A PLAY
AND A CONTORTION
A Disquisition on a Drama Wnose Morals Lanuisn
. ana wnose jrresentarion y v ao iuiuc iuP6duuijijf
; Vulgar. Together With a Comparison of Two
Companies Struggling With the bame Duiphurous
- Farrago and Its Bewildering Interpretation.
. .' J ' By. I. F. S.
T. WAS disconcertinn in the extreme to return from a poor few days of
I rest and recreation in the mountains last week and to find that in my
I .Wnrf the mice did olav and had taken to going to two devils at once
Such things are all right in New York, where the Bowery still exists and
, a a . ' 1. V V - - 13a a m.i! a-atarNAtKI
where eacn man aoes wnai nis ncignoor cu i cc. uui su"-v vo-..
pring-heeled Portland 1 Who would have thought it?
; The vacation consisted mainly of such mildly entertaining amusements
as falling down precipices, into trout streams and over deer licks, the while
coyly dodging fellow hunters with equally uncertain rifles. It was but tame
sport compared to the feast that the Bungalow and the Lyric had thought-
fully provided lor my return, not aarmg to orcaii mio uic raum
till absolutely fresh and sane from my recent contest withMhe woods and
the wilderness, 1, submitted first to the vaccine offered by an Orpheum bill
the precaution proved worse than the disease could have been and then,
" donning my reddest necktie, sallied out and took in both devils in one long
and dreadiul, never-to-be-torgotten day.
In farmer davs the devil the old-fashioned devil that is. and not this
new and alarming creature who is to be surrounded by quotation marks
held his place in the quota ot the world s assets as a personal creature wun
a red tail, sharp horns like those of a two-point buck, to use a woods com-
panson ana angrily waving tan. ; iviy iirsi iuca ui iuc gwiuciiiaiio "hc""
ar t.a leaned frnm a. classic entieled "The World's Great Disasters"
the volume was the piece de resistance of my childhood's dentist's waiting
room ana is irretnevaDiy connecrca wiin iear ana , wrccncuucss wiutu
the devil himself was the frontispiece, done in colors of red and black. And
such, through many sittings of "Paust" and Goethe and Milton, he remained
until I saw Franz Molnar's play, 'i And Molnar's conception of the devil as
the spirit of temptation that' assails us all, while no more original than
Gounod's phopshorescent and sulphuric creation, has the charm of novelty
in that it introduces him as a purely psychological fiend.
Such a Clumsy Devil.
"Yet you can't even call him psychological without immediately beginning
to qualify your announcement, tie s such' a clumsy devil, ne meddles so
long with, little things, lie devotes nearly two days to wrecking the souls
of three people, two of them so weak that the change from a namby-pamby
longing to do evil to an actual revelry of wrong-doing is salutary rather than
Anything else. n an age where we regard anything as better than merely
negative living their laii is a matter tor congratulation.
Unless you saw both "Devils" last week you missed something. If you
went to the Bungalow and not the Lyric you missed the spirit of the, play
entirely unless you possess more intelligence than Mr. Bowles gives you
credit tor owning, while it you saw tne Jync and not tne uungaiow you
. failed to witness the most excellent acting ot Mr. Sydney Ayres as Ur.
Kellmar, the Devil.
The simultaneous production of-the play at both houses gave an almost
' tinprecedented opportunity for a study of acting. As was to have been
. expected the Baketcompany, with a few glaring exceptions, gave the better
reading of the lines? But this was more than counterbalanced by the good
by the manuscript robbers. The reviews of the Portland production gave
Mr. Bowles, the newdirector f the Bungalow company, entire credit for
the improvements he iade in the original reading Of the play, therefore
perforce I must take it for granted that he and he alone conceived that
unique and illuminative series of tableaux that preceded the first act of the
Bungalow performance and that likewise the bloody and groanful end to the
third act was the work of the new stage director.
His idea of the intelligence of theatre-goers, while, it must be admitted,
is somewnat justuied Dy tne tacts, is nevertheless a narasnip mat is neces
sarily imposed upon everyone. The stage director received the manuscript
for the play, read it over, and, presumably, couldn't understand it. Noth
ing daunted, however, he reverted to childhood's pictures of Satan, thought
of the red lights and bat wings of Gounod's fiend, and decided that the only
thing to do, inasmuch as stupid Molnar had introduced the wolf in sheep s
clothing, was to tear ott tne wool and reveal the devil in his true shape,
, Not a Bit Afraid.
' LikeiTora Walker, he was not afrafd to view the devil in his orthodox
clothing, -"whatever scruples he might have about seeing him in a frock
coat, and so he gave us that interesting series of tableaux vivants display-
ing tne iiena in nis own reany iruiy snape leading two lovers to destruc
tion and disappearing in a blaze of red fire and smoke at the end. The. min
ute the tableaux began I knew what was going to happen. I realized in a
flash that the name devil had suggested red fire to the Bungalow stage
director and that it was btfund to out, although I was not quite prepared
for. the liberal display which the generous manager gave us and which
rivalled a country Fourth of July demonstration.
Having been well prepared for what was to come by this preliminary
brimstone bath the play as a study of symbolism was completely ruined.
It was not left to the spectator to decide whether Dr. Kelmar was the per
sonal devil or a real man. There was no doubt remaining as to the identity
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That had all been nicely settled for you before
.tne curtain went up. i ou couian t lor a minute imagine after that that Dr,
Kelmar might be an evil-minded, cynical man. bent on breaking no a home
Your nose was held in spite of your struggles so that you had to open, your
mouth and take your dose of personal devil whether you wanted to or not.
But baring established the devil as the devil to your own satisfaction
and beyond eradventure of an argument to you the heartless director sat
down and tried to conceive of some way of painting the devil still blacker.
Air. Bowies some ume tn nis early youth must have been a straight-laced
Presbyterian.. On no other grounds can his relentless pursuit of the nicely
concealed fiend that lay in Molnar's creation be explained. He had no
mercy on tin nor on us. He cbnceived that eneirely unnecessary, inept
and vulgar scene between two children and a scarlet woman in the second
act It waa an offense not only against dramatic art but against the decency
of the patrons of the theatre. It served no purpose excepting to prolong
xne, nmecovrea vj ine piay ana to irritate me beyond measure. And then
as the final scene, the author having failed to kill anyone, to drag out any
aryi vt -mv.rn. mnj pujncu Tioimce, me stage director added a suicide on
cis own book.
At It Is in the Book.
Molnar, at his final scene correctly and most impressively plaved at the
T 7 1 . U - W.J it . i ... . .
i-jii vj ic . uu mc ijTcr, Aieia ana rranz, leave the stage tor
another room. Josef Kranz, Meta's husband, led by Kelmar. entered the
room and Kelmar pointed out4to him the door leading to Franz's chamber.
Mere rrans is supposed to stand in amazed grief at what he sees while
Kelmar. looking at his watch, remarks that be must be going and leaves
ibi iarw lugcvuci, cm ngvim cm me stage and tne two invisible ones
ia fie rear room.
This ry powerful denouement went way over the bead of Mr. Bowles.
What! No blood and gore! No murder! No fine frenzy and passion!
Nev-ah. ner-ah. iso while there is a stare dagger left in the effecU of the
p.ker stock company. So the husband, having a glittering paper knife
thrv,t into his hands by the grinning Kelmar, hop around the room ges-tK-u!ating
and pantomiming, beating bis breast and tearing his hair, advances
Wkmd Mcta and Fracr. makes as if to stab them, is bcld back by the devil,
trei it acam, with another bnrriWe grimace, and is once more held back,
and then rtrr back to the hall where be presumably aticki it ia himself, to
sccomj acirnrnt of most awful groans and gruata. j
Max Dill and Edltb. WMteley, With Kolb & Dill In "LonesoW Town" at
- . - f ' . . -. . ,;, -i, v. - ... tl. U.IU. n.'avav -
DRAMATIC CALENDAR FOR TIBB -WEEK,'
l???,!? 3,.nl,lt n(1 n wee,t Kolb and Dill 1n' "Lonftom Town."
BAKER Thla afternoon and all weak "The Royal Chf"" .
BUNGALOW Thla afternoon and -week Baker tok rnmn.n. i
Glided Fool.1 . ? .,. . . .
' STAR Thla aftfimoon and wk "Nell Gwyrnie.' ! ' ? 'v -LTRIC
-Tomorrow nlfht and week "Tenneeaee'a Pardner," by Blunkall
took company. . . . . . . .
GRAND Vaudeville. , . ' ; .
PANTAGEarVaudevllle. 'i .'s.V ;v ..;'
NEXT WEEK'S OFFERINGS
HEILIC3 Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and ; Wednesday
BAk'rR Tha Cat and the Piddle."
UNGALOW "The GtVl of the Golden West"
YRIO "Toung , Mra. Wlnthrope,"
"Comln" Thro tha
AT THE GRAND.
Georgia harper
The Lyric performance gave to that last scene something of the tragic
indeed, the only bit of the tragic that was to be found in the whole un
pleasant business. It wasn't because Mr. Carl Berch, who played the hus
band. wa4 better suited to his Dart than was Mr. Gleason. it wasn't because
either the Meta or Franx of Warda Howard and Mr. 'Blunkall were better
than those of Mr. Ayres and Miss Jewel, because they were not, but it was
because we had been led to the very threshold of fate" and were left there
in the darkness. We had followed them in their course of aviL a course
against which they had striven, weakly it is true, but still had striven, and I
1 jt t. i . .1 !1 . t. . . 1 . a , . a H
naa oeen swept away Dy me evil inar was wunin intra ratner man oy tne
horns and tail of Mr, Bowles devil.
Honors to Sidney Ayres.
When it comes to a comparison of the acting of the two companies Mr,
Ayres carries away the honors not only from his competitor but from the
other members of his own company. His work in the devil was good"
because it was for the most part delicately suggestive of the role. He, of
course, had to fall by the .wayside wbeg it came to red hose and a red vest
He, imbued with the spirit of the production, must wear something to show
that he really was the devil after all, even you might think he wasn't now
and then.,-It was too much to expect that he would do otherwise. But his
characterization was on the whole, one worthy of remembrance. Mr.
Blunkall is physically and temperamentally less suited to the role than Mr
Ayres, but he avoided his rival's pitfall of red.. He, of course, had the
immeasurable advantage of not having announced beforehand that he was
the deviL- And be played up to this with all the ability he had- .
Izetta Jewell was better than Warda Howard as Meta because the was
sillier. Meta was scarcely the creature of Miss Howard s imagination. She
must have had very little tense, have been pretty and affected. And Miss
Jewell did this well. Margie Mandemlle a Sophie in tha Lyric production
leu tar oeiow mat ot miss nent, aiuougn both left much to be desired.
Horence Jewell of the L'ync was not 'adapted to the part of Bertha. She
couldn't look wicked and as though her life had been "rooned" to save her
soul. For the rest the Baker company had the better players; Mr. Bowles
outiooking it not outplaying Charles King as Franz. The dancing supes
tn the ballroom scene, however, were awful to behold. "
It is to be regretted that with the acting of Mr. Arret at the devil there
ootid oot hate been good tense displayed in the potting on of the play.
Whatever merit it had at a play lie in hi portrayal of the cower of a
suggestion, the lesson of which was quite generally overlooked. From a
literary standpoint tha veraioiit (rive a here at least ahow tha play to be of
little value.. Its e pi crams are not particularly tcintillatinar althone-h the
are cynical in the extreme and cynicism is usually confounded with wit It
is a story that gripe the imagination because of the tnggestion that evil like
rood it omnipresent 4Itt not a new tuggestioa but it't been well adver
tised by quarreling managers and at a, result both Portland houses did
capacity business all week. The invitation to go to the devil waa one that
wat too tempting to be declined. And it't more than likely that well all
go again later on ia the aeatoa and continue going for tome seasons to
corae. i, . - - ,
Kolb and DM at Heilig Tonight.
Beginning: tonight the favorite come
dians, Kolb and Dill, together with their
excellent supporting company, will com
mence an engagement of one week
the Heilig theatre, Fourteenth and Wash
ington treats, In their latest musical
comedy success, "lonesom Town."
peclal-prlc matinee will be given Sat
urday. The book la by the late Judson
D. Brusle, while the tuneful music was
penned by J. A. Raynes. Theso German
dialect comedians made an lnstantane
ous hit with thla musical comedy
San Francisco, where It ran unlnterrunt
edly for several months to crowded
houses. - Its Paclfio coast success waa
later repeated in New Tork, Chicago
and all of the other prominent cities of
tne east, ana tne critics tnrougnoui ine
country are unanimous in declaring
lonesome Town to De tne liveliest Dit
or nonsense that nas ever been attempt
ea Dy tneso mimitaoie -sum ana ' iat
reriresentatives of German comedy.
The New Tork nroduction has been
brought to the coast intact, and the
Dlay will be presented by the same cast
and in exactly the same manner that It
waa during its extended run at the Clr
cle theatre,. New Tork City. Maude
Lambert, the popular Broadway prima
donna, will sing the leading role, and
her two great song hits, "Dearie" and
"Just Some One," are sure to catch an
here. A
Another wellJtnown player who will
assist the stars In the extraction of
laughter is Billy Clifford; who will be
seen as the tramp. A bevy or band
some chorus girls, who make a pretty
background for the sumptuous stage
settings, will add their charm to the
performance by singing the many catchy
numoers wiin wnicn uie piece is inter-
spersea.
n
Regular Baker Season Opens.
The first of the regular Baker theatre
traveling attractions that' have always
heretofore played at top prices in Port
land will make its appearance this aft
ernoon In the person of one of the big
gest favorites of the musical-comedy
world. 'The Royal Chef." which will be
seen at the popular scale for seats that
has been adopted at this ''house, and
which will continue -for all attractions
that appear here this season. .
The music - or -xne itoya uner' is
not only extremely catchy, . but has
scored number for number with any
ever written for a single production in
many a day. The scenlo effects are de
scribed a great, and the company, with
William H.- Conley In the leading role,
unusually capable. The locale of "The
Royal Cher Is the. mythical "Isle f
Oolong,' over -which the rajah rules In
exalted dignity. Finding his chef has
cal beheaded, and orders Lord Mlto his
prime minister, to find him another be
fore sundown or suffer a like fate. The
prime minister fears it is a hopeless
task, but just as his- time Is about tip
he is saved by the unexpected appear
ance or Hemncn Lempnauer or uni
caro. who la at once promoted to the
position of royal chef. The neW chef
turns out to be a lokesmlth. and around
him revolve all the Incidents that ahow
clever dramatic construction. -
The opera la staged in Una style, both
la ooetumes . and every accessory re
ouired to give It proper setting,-While
the specialists, chorus, dancer and su
pernumerarlee meet every requirement
and In point or numbers exceeds any
that is usually required In musical com
edy. It Is cleimtng a rood deal to say
that there nave oeen new laees evolved
in this class of popular entertainment.
but -the claim Is certainly substantiated
In "The Royal Chef."
There win re - maaaeee Tuesday.
Thersday aad Saturday, and seat for
the entire week are bow selling.
WA Gilded Fool at the Bungalow.
The Falter stock company will epen
their week at the Bungalow thla after
noon, using aa a vehicle this .week Kat
Goodwin's fajooee comedy success, -a
f?UdM Font" h!-h is erne f the meet
favorably known or all modem standard
plays. It waa (and still Is), need by
Goodwill ia bis repertoire for years, and
ea here br him no Later thee
last wiotor at tha Reilis-, It wives l Ha,
whole company, especially the men.
ES-
areat chances for" acting, and contains
many of the wittiest lines and funniest
situations known to stagedom to date.
Mr. Ayres will nlay the Goodwin, role of
Chancey Short
"A Gilded Fool " as the name indi
cates, tells about a - young man of
wealth, good looks and kindly heart, but
lacking apparently , in brains, for he goes
the race with a raotdltv that would
cause a .self-made millionaire to simply
die of apoplexy or nervous shock. But
In spite of his training for lack of let
and frivolous habits, tls Chancey Short
has stuff In him. and it onlv needa tha
touch of ft woman's hand to start him
on a- different road, which in the end
brings him to a realization of what he la
and what ha might still do with him
The story is cleverly told, manv inter
esting characters are Xjntroduced and
strong scenes worked ud. For not one
moment does the piece drag, and when
Chancey enters the New York Sti-.lr V.-r. i
change, becoming the victim of a deeply
mm scnaine 10 ruin mm, mines nappen
with remarkable swiftness. When all
Is apparently lost, the old adage, "A
fooPfor luck," asserts Itself, bringing
the play to a happy and logical ending.
Vi nt Bauer stoctc company will ne cast
as follows, and the stage will be under
me aireciion or uonaia Bowies r
Chancey Short Sydney Ayres; Matthew
Ruthven, Bannister Strange, bankers
and brokers. Earl D. Dwlre, James Glea
son; Jack Duval, manager of the Phila
delphia branch of Ruthven 4 Co.. Donald
Bowles; Rev. Jacob Howell who has a
mission, William Gleason: De Puyster
Ruthven. Ruthven'S son. Owen Blnzler:
Perkins, valet to Short, Howard Russell;
Morgan, butler to Ruthven, R. S3. Brad
bury; Janitor to short William Wolbert;
Margaret Ruthven. daughter of Ruth
ven, MJss Izetta Jewell; Sophia Ruth-
ven, wne 10 numyen. Miss iouise Kent
juiss jessica ooa, aevotea to the heath
en, Mina Crolius Gleason; Nell Andry
nuiuririi, ncr ziieuc, mifis iviarioei ssfty-
mour; Maud, a maid, Miss Hazel JewelL
Ja
row with the matinee there will be a
particularly strong program. Mile.
Louise and her -troupe of high school
monkeys will be tha headline attraction.
This is another tone of those extremely
funny comedy acts that is always en
Joyea br the old and the young. There
will be special matinees given during
the Week for the little ones. For a spe
cial added attraction the management
takes much pleasure in presenting "Yo
Old Home Choir." a troupe of sweet
singers, who are well known in all the
best eastern cities as one of the, strong
est singing acts In valdevllle.
The Great Lester is a ventriloquist
that can carry on a conversation with
his dummies, sing, drink wine and
smoke cigarettes all at the same time,
his act brimming over with comedy and
is a laugh from start to finish. Clem
enso Brothers are musical acrobatic
clowns who can produce music from
anything they lay their handu on, from
an old gum boot to a tomato can. They
finish their act with a sidn-snllttlntr
comedy acrobatic act. Miss Clara Wal
i ters, premiere pianlste danseuse, pre
sents a rare novelty act, the only lady
in the land that can dance well, sing
well and play the piano all at the same
time. Elliott Beamer will sing a new
picture baritone solo and the olograph
will present one of the very latest reels
of animated pictures direct from the
factory to Pantages theatre.
Today will be your last chance to see
the present bill, which is headed by
the Four Musical Hodges, presenting a.
beautiful spectacular musical novelty.
The Pantages theatre giveshree per
formances daily. Doors open at ! p in.
Matinee starts promptly at 8:30 p. m.
Evening doors onen cromotlv at 7
o'clock. First performance starts at
7:80, second show jlartu at 9:05. Get
the habit and come early and often.
At the Grand.
vaudeville of a superior type will be
round on this week's program at the
Grand and the popular home of light
amusement will present an exceptionally
strong array of talent Sullivan & Con
sidine have booked another of those
great shows which has made the Grand
ramous. not the headline act "Th
Flip Mr. Flop" will be offered. This is
a clever farce, but the chief Interest
will be in Its people. Those appearing
in tha farce are Rube Welch, Kittle
r rancis nnn kbia i-av Mi- w.ii.h ..o
lormeriy a weu-xnown theatrical mana
ger in remand and Is noted aa
comedian. Kittle Francis ia finuul
cumeuienno in ner own peculiar line.
Miss CoVle waa tha arirl who In troll nr.
and made popular illustrated songs in
Portland. All theatre-goers will be
pleased to welcome this trio hunk rtp
an aosence or several years.
All, Hunter and All will appear in an
act which they style "Activity,'' because
v . ia bu mil ot snap ana excitement
They are not still an instant during
their amearanca on tha atacr a
Lucky Liar" is the name of the farce
wnicn laouia cnevaiier and company
win Eivaeiii. ,
mile, -mra ana . nAr nnftym hav. a
singing and dancing specialty which is
of high grade and sure to be found en
tertaining. in tne way or instrumental
musical acts there are few equals to
mat or tne Tegarelly Brothers, who
come to the Grand this week for the
nrst time.
Haxata is a Japanese root juggler.
This is one kind of acrobatic in which
the orientals excel. Sakata is from tha
Royal theatre of Tokio. Fred G. Bauer
win render a new illustrated ballad and
there will be new pictures on the
Urandlscope.
Today will be the last nerforn-iannea
of the current program, which has n
number of star acts, such as Frederick
V. Bowers, the American tenor: Tnm
Moore, the champion "coon shouter," and
J. K. Emmet, it is
praising. .
bill everyone is
At Pantages.
The highest priced acts in vaudeville
are always to ba found at the Pantages.
That ia the , cause, of the - tremendous
patronage extended to this handsome
new theatre. The acoustics are fraud.
Patrons can hear, see and enjoy the per
formance from any seat in the house.
The booking agents who. represent the
Pantages circuit in New Tork, London,
Berlin and Paris are constantly on the
looaout ror an tne nest novelties in the
vaudeville line. - -T -, :
And for the week commencing tomor-
"Nell Gwynne" at th Star.
"Fascinating" and clever are some of
the adjectives the eiitlcs employ to de
scribe the acting of Miss Georgia Harp
er, who will appear in the role of Nell
Gwynne at the Star theatre week com
mencing matinee today and balance tst
the week. She has been seen in a reper
toire of different parts and interpreted
all with sktll and fidelity that show her
to be an artist of rure accomplishment.
Joseph Detrlch will perform the part
of King Charles II. With these trained
impersonators In the chief roles, the
play lovers of this city aro assured of
an evening of unusual pleasure wnen
the rollicking Nell makes her bow to
Tha storv is one of the time of King
Charles II, with Cupid peeping in on the
scene and turning things his own way
when tha ftitiiatiflna become strenuous.
There is enough emotional episodes in
it to keep the spectator stirred up while
he is watching the unfolding of the love
romance, that its interwoven with them.
There is a vain of bright humor run
ning through it all, in dialogue and
situations that it wins the eye and ear
of the funlovers. ,
The management of Miss Harper is
making a feature of this play and one
will see correct scenery and costumes
fo reach and every act.
Famous Contralto at Louvre.
Angela May. the young musical com
edy and comio opera contralto, wjh
open a special engagement aij the Lou
vre grill, Fourth ana Aider, Monaijr
night next
Miss May has sung steadily on the
Pacific coast for two seasons, and she
has been heard in opera, musical com.
edy, concert and vaudeville. No singer
has such a large following on the coast
and socially as well as musical
ly she is greatly admired. Besides her
;inging. Miss May finds time to com
pose, and her income from ner own
songs Is quite a big sum yearly.
This engagement at the Louvre grill -
will afford the lovers of song an oppor
tunity to enjoy the rest, snd those thea
tre goers who get a "bite" before going
home can get double pleasure at the
Louvre after the play. v .
Webber's Novelty orchestra will rrve
special orchestral numbers. Miss May
will be heard from 10 to 12 nightly.
w
Allen Curtis Closes at the Oaks.
Tha end of the long and successful
summer engagement of the' Allen Cur
tis Comedy company will close at the
Oaks tonight with the presentation of
the excellent musical eonwiy, "Jakey,
Mikey and Ikey." Throughout the sum
mer theAllen Curtis company has given
the attendants upon the Oaks a new
(Continued en Page Seven.)
MARGARET TAYLOB'EJ SALOME DANCE
J, s
.'
J . a, .
Margaret Taylor It tb First Woman to Preaent the Famous "Salome
- Dance" la Portland. Miss Taylor "Will Be Been With "Coming Thro
the Rye" t the Heilig Next Sunday.