The San Francisco Dramatic Review (1908)

January 17, 1914. THE SAN FRANCISCO DRAMATIC REVIEW Columbia Theatre Kismet, awaited with poised ex- )ectancy for more than two years )y a patient and somewhat imposed- ipon San Francisco, has finally come .0 us, opening at the Columbia on Monday evening. As a spectacle ilone it is worth the waiting. This Bagdad is a complete and detailed eproduction of a city of the far Fast vitalized, brought to throbbing life by the mystery and romance, he primitive instinctive passion, the :olor and rhythm, all the subtle, sen- suous atmosphere of the Orient. And lere is staged the curious story of llajj, the plaything of Fate, and his Jay of life, with its attendant minor onflict, ages old, of light and dark- less, good and evil—a strange bud- ding uprightness and purity of pur- pose battling for life in the midst )f the deadening decay. Yet not so much the plaything of Fate after all, ^ince with Hajj Kismet stands for the golden door of opportunity. Each new happening, seized at the psycho- logical moment, is adroitly turned to his own advantage and the con- founding of his enemies. Here, in- deed, is the strong man dominating in his struggle with environment. I [loubt if Knoblauch, however ancient the source of his material, could write a play without this definite modern social touch. The acting, like the story and its scenic em- bodiment, is interesting and ingeni- jus; in one instance, which I shall luAe later, moving and suggestive. Otis Skinner, as is to be expected after three seasons in the role, has identified himself with Hajj, the beggar; more, he has not staled, but his interpretation holds to an orig- inal freshness and vigor which is something of a feat. One can look ahead and see Mr. Skinner still elaborating and building up, as our greater actors develop their reper- toire, year after year. Hajj's utter lack of moral responsibility, his pow- er of intrigue and his alert and hu- morous appreciation of the high tide in his afYairs ; the intensity and con- centration with which he lives each moment, be it joy or sorrow, the quick transition from one to the other, as with a little child; all this and more, together with the intimate personal mannerisms of his race and class, are set out with a minuteness of detail, a command of the infinite mechanical devices of expression that makes for sheer perfection—a stupendous and astounding bravura accomplishment. The lack, if there is one, lies in this very ingenuity of elaboration; in admiration of the method attention is drawn away from the art work itself. Something of Hajj's spontaneity and magnetism is lost; he fails to link us to the past and the race; we remain delighted spectators, separate and distinct en- tities', instead of becoming a part of the picture. And this brings me to Merle Maddern, who ])lays Marsi- nah, Hajj's daughter. Her work in the earlier scenes, while intelligent and i)ainstaking and instinct with youthful charm, shows an absence of ex]jerience as well as ])hysical vigor. Ikit rarely have I seen anything more delicately, exquisitely tender than her surrender to the Caliph's love in the final act; for the mo- ment the world is lost, banished by the glow and music of her voice, with its elusive undercurrent of sug- gestion and the simple beauty of her acting. Willard Webster, too, as the young Caliph Abdallah, catches the mood with a sympathetic re- sponse that makes the moment mem- orable. Genevieve Dolaro is excel- lent as Narjis, the nurse, though one cannot but think of Georgie Wood- thorpe with regret; and the same holds good with Rosa Coates, the dancer, whose predecessors—Violet Romer and Ivy Payne, now our Mrs. Douglas Crane—are both dancers of international reputation, as well as San Franciscans. A notable and picturesque group of characters is made up of George Gaul as the Wa- zir Mansur and his "familiars"; Afife, played by Chas. Newsom, and Kafur, the executioner, wonderful in his black make-up, by Richard Scott. The Jawan, the highwayman, of Owen Meech, is also noticeable, while Daniel Jarrett and Harry Sothern, as the two shopkeepers so cleverly outwitted by the rascal, Hajj, do a clever bit. In fact, the entire company gives al)le and ade- cpiate support to the star role, which is the hub of a noteworthy ensemble. Kismet is without exception the big- gest and most satisfying production that has come to us this season and merits all the success with which it is meeting. Cort Theatre Within the Law, which opened on Sunday night, makes a popular ap- ])eal through frankly melodramatic cliannels. It is of interest besides because it is by one of our own peo- ple, a young San Franciscan who is forging his way to the front. The play is along the social lines first brought into prominence by Alias Jimmy Valentine, and deals with the convict "before and after," empha- sizing the author's disapproval of the law and its administration, and al- most condoning the power of money to defeat the ends of justice. Fur- ther, and principally, it treats the liv- ing wage and its vital part in the moral regeneration of the communi- ty. All this without any attempt at analysis, either personally psycho- logical or largely sociological, but with direct human sympathy, and with the aid of quick action and in- teresting rapid-fire dialogue, it re- cords a bull's-eye. The company is unusually good and unified. Mar- garet Illington, who, either from choice or circumstance, has made a special study of the female offender against the law, heads the list as Mary Turner, and offers a concep- tion that is consistent and full of emotional color. Her most telling work is in the first act, where her reiteration of her innocence and her passionate denunciation of Gilder vi- brates with the sincerity of her mes- sage. She also wears some beautiful gowns and wears them well. Rich- ard Gilder is splendidly and magnet- ically acted by Robert i'lUiott, whose pleasant voice and attractive man- ner arc i)articu]arly attractive. He is (juict and forceful in his method and l)rings out Richard's manliness and his faith in Mary Turner's fundamental nobility of character. Frank E. Camp—I seem to remem- ber him as the white slaver in Kin- dling — plays Joe Garson. His nervous apprehension that the police will get him some time is brought out by a si)lendid control and direc- tion, while his naive, childlike satis- faction in having his picture pub- lished as the murderer of Griggs is a fine contrast. Agnes Lynch, a per- fect type of the upper crust of tough- ness, and a bold relief to Mary Tur- ner's refinement and good taste, is an artistic triumph in the hands of Hilda Keenan, who by this role alone establishes the excellence of her character work. Her quick transi- tion from good genteel English to the slangiest of slang is one of the best moments in the play. hVank Jowers is plausible and insinuating as (jriggs, the stool pigeon, wholly without the conventional hint of treachery which usually takes the audience into the confidence of such a character. Sonia Jasper makes good in the small part of Helen Morris, for whom Mary is punished, and the Detective Cassidy of Jules Fer- rar is true to type in looks and l)rutality of manner. Joseph Slaytor plays the stereotyped bullying war- den with good effect. Howard Gould, as the ca])italist who grinds down his employees with starvation wages and then donates large sums to char- ity, is conventional, but fits his work to the ensemble, and never overacts. Neil Moran as Gilder's lawyer, and Agnes Ijarrington as his stenograph- er, are excellent, and D. L. Thomas, as the machine-like superintendent of Gilder's Emporium, whose one aim is to carry out Gilder's orders, is unusually good. The staging of the play is effective, and rich and at- tractive where Mary Turner's apart- ments and Gilder's library are sliovvn. laughter. The whole show has been worked up so that it is exceedingly entertaining—a wonderful two dol- lars' worth for one dollar. Alcazar Theatre The concluding week of the Ly- tell-Vaughan engagement has been given over to a revival of Madame X, a play that allows Miss Vaughan a large opportunity, and this oppor- tunity she invests with all of her unusual and discriminating dramatic jiower. Her scene before the tribunal is as eft'ective and as fine a piece of acting as we want to see. There are a nunil)er of good parts in this play that find responsive acting from the Alcazar company. Burt Wesner, as the ex-lawyer and now the schemer, was excellent, and young David Butler, as the unctuous partner in the scheming, contributed a good characterization. Edmond Lowe, who is weekly growing into power and i)oise and popularity, played the husband's friend with fine discrimi- nation, and Frank Burke found ex- cellent material in the role of the husband to do his best work. Ker- nan Cripi)s, who is constantly sur- prising the public with the all around capal)ility of his portrayals, was esi)ccially fine as the wife's com- panion. Jerome Storm contributed a clever bit as the hotel pension por- ter. I'ert Lytell played the wom- an's son, and through the list of man}- i)arts there was excellent ex- am])les of characterization. The stage settings were real examples of art and good taste, and the performance was tyi)ically Alcazaran and typically good. Gaiety Theatre This is Irene i'ranklin's last week in The Girl at the Gate. Meantime The Girl at the Gate is nightly en- tertaining muchly-])leased audiences. I'ickel and Watson are the life and soul of the production. Their clever absurdities make for continuous Savoy Theatre That masterpiece of motion photography, George Kleine's pro- duction of Antony and Cleopatra, began the second week of its engage- ment last Monday. This presenta- tion, in three acts and eight parts, gives a reproduction to the life of the atmosphere of the court of Egypt's fascinating queen, and is vividly realistic in its depiction of those scenes of war which brought to a close Antony's stay in Egypt. The whole show has been worked up so that it is exceedingly entertaining— a wonderful two dollars' worth for one dollar. California Theatre Will Be Tinished The California Theatre, Eddy and Mason streets, which has been lying half com])leted for nearly two years because of a dispute between the original promoter and the estate which owns the property, will be fin- ished, and it is said work will be started next week. Sam Harris and Irving Ackerman, who had about $20,000 of good money in the build- ing when it stopped growing, have been successful in smoothing out the difficulties that beset the proposition, and they have brought in Charley Cole, for years the head of Pantages circuit aft'airs, and "Doc" Wilson, who has been busy on the promotion end of the deal. The idea now is to utilize the vacant lot on Mason Street next to the theatre, swing the auditorium, beginning on Eddy Street (but with the original Mason Street entrance), toward the adjoin- ing lot (where the stage will be lo- cated), in the form of an ellipse, which will give a seating capacity of about 3000. The theatre may be re- named The Hippodrome and will book W^estern States acts. Charley Cole will give his personal attention to the new house. I ' : Margaret lies, Leota Howard and Joe Thompson are in town fresh from triumphs in the Northwest, over the Orpheum time. They resume their time in Sacramento week after next. While in Spokane, Miss lies was the honored guest of the Washington Water Power Co. at a banquet. Al- though she was the only woman present slie retained her courage and delivered a little talk on the ui)s and downs of the actor's life. Tlie hosts presented their guest with one of the modern hat point utilityisms. FRESNO, Jan. 12.—Theatre Fres- no (formerly Barton): Mutt and Jeff finished to good business, 11. On the 15th comes May Irwin. Sothern and Marlowe come, 23. Princess Thea- tre: Commencing 16, A. Mayo Brad- field will offer for three niglits, A Bachelor's Honeymoon. Finishing yesterday was the engagement of Tiie Xasliville Students. EniiMre Theatre: Bill for first half of week consists of Musical Tolans; Gordon Berry, bari- tone; Six Hirschoffs, dancers; La Follete and Company, illusionists; Kelly and Kneelnd, singing and danc- ing.