OCR Text |
Show n THE CITIZEN 10 fB Cl With The First Nighters Earthbound visualizes the eternal triangle with a poetry that soars from the material into the spiritual world. It is a theme that goes deep into the tragedy and the tears of things and only once in a while does a genius handle it with success. Probably more novels have been written around this theme than around any other, but success is rarely attained because spiritual values are neglected. It would seem to the casual critic that the theme is decidedly of the earth earth, bound, as Basil King would say but, in the realm of art, it is ruined by too much realism. Tolstoi wrestled with it several times, but his only success was Anna Karenina, one of the greatest of novels. The charm of Earthbound is the spiritualization of the theme. The man who sinned is slain by the wronged husband, but his shade wanders amid the old haunts and lingers near all who are involVed in the tragedy. His spirit cannot advance, but must remain earthbound, until those he has injured forgive him and one another. To each he appears in turn and finally even the man who fired the fatal shot understands that his salvation depends on his forgiving the wife whose unholy passion was the main cause of the tragedy. She is one of the first to see the light and, going on the witness stand, saves her husband from the gibbet by confessing her scarlet sin and thus divesting herself of the last shred of the worlds esteem. In a sense the play is spiritistic, but, rightly understood, it is quite orthodox. The earthbound spirit is really conscience. The apparition in the form of a ghost may be interpreted as that interior illumination of soul that comes to those who have sinned and are led by conscience to understand that only by sacrifice and forgiveness can atonement be made Mediums and table rappings and such like claptrap are avoided. The communication with the spirit is direct. In the aisle of the cathedral the 'rector beholds the dim apparition and as it flees in terror, with a horrible look of suffering on its face, he pursues it and as it crouches before him he points to the cross on which appears the form of the crucified Christ and he preaches the old, old sermon of love and Christian forgiveness. After that the spirit, clad in the neat gray suit and the long black mantle with which, in the embodied state, he had visited the club at which he was murdered, goes about pleading with the actors in the tragedy, one after another, to do their duty and to attain to perfection by a love that passeth carnal understanding. First of all, his little daughter sees him while she is playing with her dog in the bright, cheery drawing room at home. Her mother and the rector, who is preesnt, are mystified and filled with a creeping terror by the action of the child and what she tells them. One of the chief figures in the is Harvey Breck, writer, thinker and philosopher, who can afford to be the wise guide and friend because he is single and, therefore, free from the entanglements of those who go down into the hell of the triangle. All along his advice has helped his friends in an earthly sort of way, but it is not until the spirit of the murdered man brings the true message of love that all of them are led into the right path. In other words, Harvey Breck is human wisdom, whereas the spirit is the still, small drama voice of conscience, a voice that fin- ally shouts its message in thunder tones that cannot be misunderstood. It would be difficult to overpraise either the acting, or the photography The star is Wyndham Standing, who plays the part of the spirit He acts with a distinction of manner, a spiritual intuition and a fertility of histrionic resource that convey a most impressive and moving sense of mastery. As the tortured soul he recalls wonder-workin- the Mr. Hyde of Mansfield, which is high commendation. The apotheosis of the piece is the freeing of the spirit so that it may advance to its happy destiny. We see the beautiful portico of his home and his wife standing there in pensive wonder at the spiritual revolution within her as she looks out upon the far off vistas of the wooded hills. Then the shade appears to her and she holds out her hands to it in supplication. She utters the words of forgiveness and the liberated spirit, turning from her with radiant face, mounts a hillside leading to the heights. We follow the mystic form as it fades to an almost imperceptible mist and g 1 The Orpheum offers this week one of those vaudeville bills whose celerity of action, othenvise known as pep, keeps the audience enthusiastic most of the time. B it :ie ies, ack . Most of the time is right, fot necessary to record one flivY an otherwise excellent perform Hello Husband is an attenJ travesty the bedroom C0Dyin which have been popular in cc for some months. A bridal coul 1 their honeymoon indulge in allusions. In the distance are seen two hotel beds. In a worle 0 scene is a hotel bedroom. Suc the bride and bridegroom stop ione tracks, so to speak, and refuse on with tht scene. The audiei breathless with amazement man arises from its midst and,, mands the players to resume th A clerical gentleman springs t feet in a box and commands th. . - desist. ORPHEUM 7 The first of the comma gentlemen announces himself i producer of the play and says tfbe p is the boss and that the piece) at be played as he has arranged itjrk friend author in theT o front row, wearing poetic locks, hai bow tie, and says his play isiforn desecrated or something to tfc of feet. All tills, of course, is me; ath be funny and here and there a kg. of purest ray 'serene bubbles (jugg the mire, but, for the most pargj travesty is crude and vulgar. ippa Having said the which we ha Nooc further protests to register, fc rest of the bill is thoroughly up-sprin- gs 11 able. We might pause for another ment, however, to remark that t5 gument of the supposed produce0! fallacious. He declared that tbtwar lie demands bedroom comedies must be given what they wantcami The public is to blame forS si things, but not for all the sins o: "In t ni The New York producers cast Apj for what is new; they select hree thing and produce it. The pub; vj0 comes educated to the new stn play and thus a demand is crgs s Then the producers excuse them by blaming the public. In the early years of the nine: century this will only take a i of your time the great English Phelps, produced at Islington, don suburb inhabited by the p classes, a cycle of Shakespt plays. Within a brief time he h tablished himself and his compa: curely because the illiterate folk lington soon became most diserfc ing critics. The venture grew t posing proportions. Its fame throughout London and soon fa able folk were flocking to the theatre in Islington. No one tries anything so com: able nowadays. On the contran theatrical producers vie with or other to obtain the worst and ft; producers. a a upon the public. And when ths pie become thoroughly under fluence of the stage drug the p ers hold them responsible. ; j Edith Clasper, whowith Her Boys, is a feature of next week's Orpheum bill Tn Love Steps, a delightful dance act Petty Beat and brother arc as! by twenty bottles and from tl.esj ties they evoke most entr:' music. Irving Goslar, a skilled V' |