Life, 1917-05-10 · page 26 of 46
Life — May 10, 1917 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page critiques a 1910s Washington Square Players production of Henrik Ibsen's *Ghosts*, directed by Mary Shaw. The left illustration—captioned "A Short History of the German People"—is a satirical caricature depicting a Prussian military officer in elaborate uniform declaring "Hoch!" (German for "cheers"), standing atop what appears to be a chamber pot. This is political satire mocking German militarism and imperial pretension. The drama review itself is skeptical of the production and Ibsen's play. The critic argues that while Mary Shaw performed well, *Ghosts*—with its depiction of hereditary syphilis and mental degeneration—is potentially harmful to general audiences. The reviewer questions whether such disturbing medical subject matter belongs on stage for "lay audiences" rather than relegated to libraries, comparing it unfavorably to even "lurid sex melodramas" which at least offer moral instruction. The tone reflects early 20th-century anxiety about whether realistic drama depicting disease and inherited affliction is appropriate public entertainment.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
In the Springtime, Gentle Annie LD Doe Ibsen’s anatomical museu n opened its doors under the auspices of the Washing ton Square Players for one week with Mary Shaw as the principal lecturer and Mr. José Ruben as th awful example, these two impersonating Mrs, Alving and her son Oswald in that cheery bit of dr ] ma tled “ Ghosts.” The other exhibit . Hohl as Pastor Manders, Mr. T W. Gibson as Jacob Engstrand and Margaret Mower as Regina. In this effort the Players departed from their habit by devoting an entire evening to one play and by following the European custom of ilizing the services of an invited star. The performance was a creditable one, due to the excellence of Mary | ic dissection enti were Mr, Arthur w’s familiar impersonation of the mother and to the fact that Ibsen's y are suited to the abilities of the semi-professionals in h the unwieldy nar medical studies to endow Osx repulsiveness in the climax of his mental degeneration. Mr. Ruben is handi capped with a foreign accent, but, in spite of it, has enough artistry to make is work effective. There were good moments in what Messrs. Hohl and Gibson did, but there were also some pretty rough edges. Margaret Mower is still in the a Mr. Ruben had evidently been making some specia ald with the requisite eur class. Ee o_O Na curtain speech Mary Shaw expressed the hope that twenty-five years hence there might be established a theatre where Ibsen's plays will be performed. The only explainable reason for this hope is that her desire Alving will still continue. As it is, we perhaps get more of Ibsen than the public really craves. In the case of “ Ghosts,” there seems little reason, on row eminence as the parent of the dam aged-goods school of plays and acting, why it should not be relegated to the top shelf of the library. Even if medical experts should concede that Ibsen is correct in his depiction of disease, and that he has not deliberately exag. gerated for dramatic effect, it seems harmful to put such exhi bitions before lay audiences. They may bring great and needless distress to credulous minds unable to cope with medical questions, In this evil influence they are like of the quack advertisements that used to be common, but happily now are debarred from the public prints. Compared with “ Ghosts,” some of our most lurid sex melodramas are really to be commended for their practical moral and certainly for their dra- patic interest, ——— 2a to play side of its hig! some teachi: fr | one docs not insist on an extremely high standard of refined material in the art of the diseuse, Nora Bayes has A SHORT HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE her rivals, foreign and domestic, put comichooks.com