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Show I II 15 he Darling of the God. M J Bi i H II To tlie unsPuIsticate(i young man. from the Bj I l I wild, wild west, the playhouse of Belasco in New B t I York is a source of ever-varying, ever-increasing Bj j :, wonder. The first time I walked into the gor- B j ,j j i geousness that has been put together by a stubby HHj , i' '; little man, whp has prematurely gray hair, and Bj ,m f lines of responsibility in his attractive face, and Bj ; 4 i a black suit on his back, and whose name is B j ; ' ! ) Bolasco, I saw theatre perfection. B. . I But to the point The curtains were great red ' 'Jff: Gods, called it a series of tableaux, aridvyery little lit-tle else. But the thousands who have seen the play, while remembering such scenes and light effects as have never before been witnessed, will always remember the lines and the action as containing alternately quaintest humor, sweetest expressions and harrowing emotion. Briefly the story runs as follows: A Japanese prince has a daughter, Yo-San . 'j HHBHHBPHIw iBBBB IsESBisfli B BHB!ByrBft 'uEfilsBIIB BtU ' ' i H BIBIBHIE fi j, .uaiiflBL stsBSIBiH B 1 is : I BiliflB!wiiifiiti PIsIBbIe Hr '"'iRIB w TMflnMfilBiB she i cBi BBHiflYflHBsl Ihbek ' - IbBi B 1 w JBBV.. ifBYflVflYflYfl B I I M MKBYsBHw IbBBBE L li wflt Ak at F M&A. -IBBHBYbB Bifi i ! 9 in BhhbBbIbv 1bbb Br- iBk Yflf BE K T flfig vYfloBBYflB BBBk t i i Jr'&Bl BBBJBBflBBBB iiw iu?BBBB nHer ''iSi BBil BE BBBT Kh' f H Hm " nw B' ' 'W Photo by Livingston Piatt SI1'! ! t (ffll MISS BLANCHE BATES AS YO SAN IN "TFIE DARLING OP TnE GODS" B It! l.iiBK B" tl mm velvet drops, deep, and warm, and rich. In great mmi 4 H g0ld monSiams u each were the letters D B. B ' N H For David Belasco, of course, was the natural i Bill I ference. mm I! In anotner year uPn entering the theater, I H H saw curtains of black, dappled with long lines fl f 1 MB of yellow JaPanese blossoms, and not' till then mm I I H dId I realIze tho completeness of the Belasco pro- Mm .J1 IR ductions. B ' II H 18 The letters on tne drops of the year before IHi ' I H did not mean Davd Belasco, but Du Barry, and H il i Wm SO in The DarlIng of the Gods' tno detail had iafi ' IB fflfB l)cen so Perfcct tliat ifc extended to the fantastic (H ' I f Wm oriental curtain which was about to be raised to iHu IJhhI disclose the most marvelous set of pictures ever Biii I WSt put upon tli stag0, Hli 1 mm Someone, in criticising The Darling of the (Blanche Bates) who becomes infatuated with Kara, the leader of a small band of outlaws, and she contrives to conceal in her shoji. Zakkuri, the crafty Minister of War, finds where Kara is hidden and the two are found. Yo San is disgiaced and Kara taken to prison. In the chambers of Zakkuri, the "War Minister offers Yo-San her lover's freedom if she will become be-come his mistress. Yo-San spurns every offer and defies this villain. Then he resorts to torture, opening a door through which Yo-San sees prisoners pris-oners killed, and Kara being frightfully tortured. Finally she can stand the sight no longer, and for his fieedom discloses the secret hiding place of lara and his men. Next they are surprised in their retreat, and all are slaughtered, Yo-San und Kara dying to gether. But, finally, they are reunited above the clouds, and probably live happy ever after. There is a touch of Sardou's Tosca in the plot, and a clot of gloom to take to bed with you after the performance. But while you may have felt better by dropping In on Weber & Fields, you are glad to have been able to see this particular darling of the gods The three great central figures of the play are Blanche Bates as Yo-San, George Arllss, whose wonderful characterization of Zakkuri, the War Minister, has given him national fame, and Kara, the outlaw prince -played by Robert T Haines . The artistic work of Miss Bates in this sensa tlonal success has probably received more widespread and greater praise from critics than anything of recent years. She has the su peib faculty of absolutely losing her individuality in her rendition of such a part, and in her lines, and action and every expression of her face, In the sudden changes from joy to sorrow, from defiance de-fiance to despair, or from entreaty to anger, her work shows the perfection of her genius, and the touch of a master hand. The play is full of pictures, each so striking, fantastic, and bewildering that it is hard to choose from among them, The great state hall during the night of "The Feast of a Thousand Welcomes"is a gorgeous portrayal of a Japanese palace with the detail to a nicety. The dazzling splendor of the scene, the robes of the actors, and all of the lavish ornamen tation of the oriental palace is a marvelous sight The softest, prettiest scene in the play, in which light' , and shadow are wonderously blended is that outside of the shoji of Yo-San, among the moon flowers. The little bamboo shoji nestled in the flowers, the pale pretty water, the verdure of every hue, the perfect impression of absolute peace, a tiny vision that holds you spell-bound, until a young gentleman of inquisitive turn of mind happens to be killed and thrown into the water. His dispatch is accomplished in less time than it takes to tell it, and then save for the rip pie caused by the fall into the water, peace again A startling picture is the chamber of the MIn ister of War. The massive God of War with a dozen arms, each holding a menacing blade, is upon one side of the room, and stacked about him In endless number, the swords of a hundred conquests. Implements of war and torture are in various parts of the scene with grim-isaged executioners in gloomy garb, waiting for orders from this Japanese "Scarpia." This is the sword room wheie "nothing for nothing is given." The Ked Bamboo Forest where Yo-San and Kara meet in the tryst of death is sublime, but the tragedy terrible. Kara, mortally wounded, dies in the arms of Yo-San, who then kills herself. The stage is a maze "of stately bamboo, and glowing through the trees the great red sun turns all to crimson. Between the time this transpires and the next picture, a thousand years have passed. The most terrible scene of all is the Mountain of Sheide, he tween the heavens and the hells. Great black for bidding walls rear themselves in the aii, and between be-tween them far back, belching fire and smoke is ascending, and the River of Souls floats phantom like between, while the lose ones cross like ghostly Alms beneath the waters, with moan and ail tliat cry despair. Then the Celestial Heaven comes, with Kara and the Darling of the Gods united for over. And after you leave those wonderful scenes, it Is hard to get a long bieath until you are seated a your little round table surrounded by the beauty. and music, and laughter at Martin's. rr ' |
