the most threadbare themes intelligible to the public,
without words.' Reinhardt was wise in selecting a vivid tale, and
one easy to follow. Besides, he has told the story with remarkable
directness and swiftness. Attention and interest never for an instant
flag, owing to the impression of incessant swarming life which we get
from the scene before us. The personages are clearly and definitely
characterized by means of the careful working out of the details of
every action. Colors and their arrangement play a positive part in the
understanding of the play.

Pantomime is the foundation of drama. An audience which appreciates
pantomime will appreciate good drama. Action is the element which
distinguishes drama from other literary forms, and pantomime is made
up wholly of action, hence its very real place in drama. The greatest
moments in life are manifested not in words but in action. Dramatists
are coming to realize that a gesture may be more expressive and natural
at tense moments than speech. We have some striking examples of this.

In the silent opening of 'What Every Woman Knows,' Barrie accomplishes,
by the chess game and the entrance of the brother, what ten minutes of
dialogue would have failed to do. Roberto Bracco's 'Infedele,' played
in English as 'The Countess Coquette,' by Nazimova, is a still more
remarkable instance. The play, in lines, is a very short one, but by the
use of pantomime, even long stretches of it, there is produced a play
of the regular length. One of the most intense scenes in modern drama is
the prison scene in Galsworthy's 'Justice,' where not a word is spoken
till the end, when a cry rings out into the still, breathless house.

The 'Sumurun' shows that there is much which we can accomplish without
speech. Aside from its value to the drama, pantomime has a large
significance for acting. The necessity of making one's self intelligible
without words forces the actor to weigh and consider every movement,
gesture, and facial action.

'Sumurun,' like all pantomimic entertainments, seems to have no great
value in and of itself. It is remarkable for the admirable co-operation
of the performers, the potency of trained gesture and studied facial
expression. The music, which was written by Victor Holoerder, is
excellent in its harmony and appropriateness. The decorative quality
of even the shabby scenery used in America is striking. It achieves
an artistic, oriental effect without gaudy, costly, o