Identifier: playsplayersleav00eato (find matches)
Title: Plays and players, leaves from a critic's scrapbook
Year: 1916 (1910s)
Authors: Eaton, Walter Prichard, 1878-1957
Subjects: Theater Actors, American Actresses, American
Publisher: Cincinnati, Stewart & Kidd Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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might. On the other hand, hemight be too bored to write anything. A QUAINT TALE FROM THE ORIENT The Yellow J acker—Fulton Theater,November 4, 1Q12 It seems thrice a pity that there is not yetorganized in New York a branch of the DramaLeague, or some kindred organization, which couldcome to the rescue of The Yellow Jacket, nowstruggling for survival at the Fulton Theater. Forhere is one of the most interesting, novel and well-mounted plays of the season, suffering the usual fateof the innovator. Yet those who do see it comeaway delighted. It needs an organized audienceto give it a helping hand. The Yellow Jacket is not a wasp. It is a realChinese play, or rather a mosaic of several Chineseplays, adapted by George C. Hazelton and the actor,Benrimo, and staged by the latter. Mr. Benrimocame from the old San Francisco, and he has ob-served the Chinese Theater for many years. It issaid he is more familiar with its methods than almostany other American, at least any American connected 50
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QUAINT TALE FROM THE ORIENT 51 with our stage. We must therefore believe thatwhen he says he has staged The Yellow Jacketin the Chinese manner he is telling the truth. Any-how, he has staged it in a manner totally differentfrom our own, a manner quaint, childlike, naive—and beautiful. It seems to us authentically Orien-tal, different, primitive, and we yield to its spell.That is the main thing. If he has also shown us atrue picture of Chinese theatrical customs and con-ventions, so much the better. We do not pretend to know the names of theoriginal sources of The Yellow Jacket, norwhether they were works of the Ming dynasty orsome other dynasty, whether they are six hundredyears old or six. The chances are they antedateShakespeare, of course. As the play has reachedus, it is a simple little story, with allegorical and fan-tastic embellishments, of mother love and brave-hearted youth triumphant over obstacles, and re-warded at last by the lips of a lady fair. It is atale old as this

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