DRAMATIC CLUB'S SUCCESS DESERVES COMMENDATION

With two of the performances of the Dramatic Club plays successfully produced, there now remains but one more, that in the Wilbur Theatre tomorrow afternoon at 2.30 o'clock. Tickets for this performance may still be obtained at the box office at the Wilbur, at Herrick's, the Co-operative Branch Store, and Leavitt & Peirce's. The prices range from 50 cents to $2.

Lord Dunsany, author of "Fame and the Poet," who is at present making an extensive lecture tour of the United States, was present at the performance last night.

Review of the Plays.

The two plays which are on the program of the Dramatic Club this fall are "Fame and the Poet" by Lord Dunsany which is being produced for the first time, and "Erasmus Montanus" an old Danish comedy by Holberg which is also making its debut on the American stage.

Due to lack of space, only a very limited survey of the plays was permissible in yesterday's issue. Their success and the effective and original staging are deserving of fuller comment. The College proper possesses but one serious dramatic organization; its efforts have always been commendable, frequently noteworthy. That it should have been able, in this trying period of reconstruction, to eclipse its former attainments is proof of the intrinsic vitality and resourcefulness of the club as well as of the enthusiasm of the undergraduates for its work.

In attempting to produce Dunsany's "Fame and the Poet", the Dramatic Club set for itself a difficult task. Brilliant as the dialogue is, the play is distinctly of the "closet" type--designed especially to be read. Consequently, the "atmosphere" of the piece is a most elusive thing and extremely difficult to get across the footlights. That the performance almost succeeded in doing this is a matter for no little praise. In fact, the effort was such an admirable one, and there is so much to commend, that a would-be critic hesitates to mention any of the faults--we have too few performances of such plays in America.

Scenery Needs Improvement.

The scenery in "Fame and the Poet", however, will stand a few adverse comments. It had no definite character; it added nothing to the picture. There were no specific faults, except the wall cloth in rear of the altar, but the totality seemed rather far from the spirit of the play. The view over the roof tops from the Poet's window was extremely good, and in some measure atoned for the colorless interior. The lighting was good and well managed.

Mr. Dill, as the Poet, had a difficult part and in general he played it well. He was at his best in his soliloquy and at his worst in the conversation with Fame. Miss Jennison, as Fame, looked the part to perfection, and if her Cockney was somewhat variable, it was forgotten in contemplating the picture she made. Mr. Fawcett did the best bit of characterization in the piece. Only once did he over-act--at the moment when he says goodbye to the Poet.

New Policy Successful.

After the curtain-raiser, the audience felt that the Dramatic Club's new policy of producing foreign plays was going to be a success; it was relieved to find that the Club was able to live up to its pre-war standards. But it was not pre pared for what followed. Some of the spectators remembered that, before the war, plays by Holberg and similar authors were given frequently in Germany with great success. And they wondered what the H. D. C. would do with "Erasmus Montanus". How would it maintain the spirit of the 18th century and yet bring such a play home to the sensibilities of a present-day audience?

Acting Uniformly Good.

For effective and striking scenery, suggestive costuming, and originality of staging, the performance of "Erasmus Montanus" was something of a triumph. The scenery made no pretense at realism; it was frankly imaginative and showed real skill and knowledge of stage values. The costumes were in harmony with the scenery and both admirably suited the character of the play. It is not too much to say that the success of "Erasmus Montanus" was in considerable measure due to the accurate conception of scenery and costumes. Again, it is not over enthusiastic to say that seldom, if ever, has there been such uniformly good acting in a Dramatic Club performance. There was scarcely a jarring note in all the five acts. The massing of characters on the stage was easily managed, the exits and entrances smooth and logical--there was never an awkward moment. The danger, from the actor's point of view, lay in over acting. Those who remember plays of this sort in Germany, recall the heavy buffoonery and ridiculous capers of the characters; the plays were reduced to the merest and broadest farce, with the comedy values obscured by clownish antics. There was none of this as the Dramatic Club gave it. Comedy values were emphasized for all they were worth, but never allowed to degenerate.

Mr. Little's acting was remarkable for its restraint and his understanding of the part. He never got "out of character" and, save in the drilling scene, he did not over-act. Mr. Williams, as Peer, the Deacon, and Mr. Packard, as the bailiff, showed real talent and never failed to make the most of their opportunities. Mr. Skinner was wholly delightful as Erasmus's younger brother. One could go on through the whole cast-- the acting was good throughout. From start to finish, it was a most artistic production of a highly entertaining play.

This, its nineteenth production, has proved an auspicious beginning for the Dramatic Club's new policy. As long as its productions are of the calibre of its present effort, there can be no doubt of the value and importance of the club as a part of Harvard College