Show r I The New Plays 1 If I f By Charles Darnton Special to Ib The Herald Republican JI New York March 29 In 9 In striking contrast to tho the woman on the stage who held her tongue for tor half hat an hour were the women In the audience wh who loosed theirs In maddening chatter between bo- bo tween the two pI plays s 's by August berg that were given at tho the Forty- Forty eighth Street theatre under the direction direction direction tion of or the MacDowell club The rhe silent woman of 01 Tho The Stronger might casU easily have ha been used as ono nn of th the arguments argument against the sanity of during his troubled d existence exist existence exist exist- ence Lest Lett even the elect should KO go astra astray Edwin BJorkman biographer and translator acted as a II living living- signpost to point tho the wn way In an Introductory address that attempted to put a a. valuation on the ci erratic ratio authors author's searching studies In abnormal humanity human human- it ity for the normal human being The earnest speaker assured us that Strind- Strind bergs berg's characters were ere not really so abnormal after all and then thon added adderl that it If they thoy were cro these studios In psychology OJ ogy indicated the depths lurking In every nature and so might be the means menns of at saving us ua from ourselves This ThiEl In Interesting In- In theor theory notwithstanding stood forth a as an extraordinary extraordinary extraordinary original nal dramatist n wIth a a. genius for tor making morbid characters lit live and anda a a. confirmed misanthropy toward life lite In general Tho Those e who saw The Father Father Father Fa Fa- Fa- Fa ther a R. year or so 10 ago need not be told his opinion of or the female of ot the ape ape- species pe- pe cies The Tho novelty of yesterday afternoons afternoon's performance performance- la lay lav In the the- silent role rolo played by Miss 1 the the In Incidental Incidental incidental In- In humor of or It In the American weekly she Incongruously displayed In Ina a tl cafe cate on Christmas eve Mrs X G meets her rival Miss 1 Y and taunts tho the remarkably re remarkably re- re self controlled actress with her hor loss logs of ar Influence o over the husband who has apparently settled down to domestic life lite Secure In the tho possession of ot her hor home homp her husband and her children the tho wife reminds the tho other woman of her lone lone- liness Even on when cn envy grows s rows to re recrimination re- re crimination the tho rival rhal says nothing In return Only Onh her mocking expression her hor cynical Jau laughter and her disdainful disdain disdain- ful gestures toll her side silo of or the stor story To conventional minds the wife v ma may seem the tho stronger but others have at least the privilege of ot ending the tho pIa play with an Interrogation point While Miss did nol to tomake tomake make malte the enigmatic s 's meaning meaning mean mean- ing too clear her glances gestures and laughter were like a word to the wise Looking beautiful she sho overcame overcame overcame over over- came most of or the difficulties of or her role with v a a. remarkably expressive face race Her appreciation of at tho sardonic humor of ot otI I the situation was always alwa's apparent Miss Mabel foore made mad the wife sufficiently suf- suf commonplace to serve ser as L a good foil toll In tho the second pIa play Parah Farah Frank Was t required to act with his hack back as a forger whose back bock did ld not fit tIt his front which front which was one way a of ot looking at the criminal who lived In inc c n t nn t f nn t j all TI 1 b d 1 f j I i v. ens alt i car I o UL VL ja ii Jt to U ur en o UL VL a U i peculiarly subtle performance rested upon Mr Ir Reich ors or's es but the cunning of the character was suggested suggested sug sug- In various deft touches given It by an actor who ma may always wn's s be trusted to combine Intelligence with skill Walter Walter Wal Yal ter tel Hampden was vigorous and direct as tho the minded healthy philosopher who had accidentally killed a R man of at no use to anyone and kept still sun about It as a a. matter of common sense and In Justice to himself and his family Here we wo had two men confronting each other not as rivals In love o but butas butas butas as studies In the psychology of or the crIminal In his Is relation to society The keen anal analysis sis of or motive motho and the differ difference ence between courage and cowardice gave g the pIa play an Intellectual Interest that was us ns tense as the dialogue It- It self The Tho drama coT co committee CI e Co oj the MacDowell Mac Mac- Dowell club m map well bo be of tho time manner In which it lugs lias produced two plays that are arc worth thinking about |