The Crimson Playgoer

Sombre mahogany panelled walls, dark red plush hangings, massive carved doors, yellow tapers flickering before two bronze urns set in niches of the wall--the sitting room of the Van Bret mansion of Fifth Avenue in 1910; in this atmosphere, and as an integral part of it, appears Victoria Van Bret; guardian of the Van Bret millions, tyrant of the Van Bret household. Around the commanding presence and warped soul of this queenly spinster revolves a tense drama of hate and fear, swelling in an unvarying crescendo of emotional strain to a brilliant climax in the last scene. "Double Door" is not a great play, but it is one of the most effective utilizations of a single atmosphere to achieve a high degree of emotional response from the audience that this reviewer has seen.

The story is comparatively simple, and of no great significance. Victoria Van Bret, by virtue of a stronger will, has gained complete domination over her younger sister and still younger brother. When the last male representative of the line marries a nurse, Victoria determines to break up the marriage and force him into espousal of a girl of his own class. She fails, but magnificently. The "double door," concealing a secret sound proof chamber, is first her weapon and last her undoing, but always the force shaping her destiny and her family's.

Mary Morris, who gained early experience in the 47 Workshop while at Radcliffe, is perfectly cast as Victoria, and proves her right to be considered a leading actress. The rest of the cast is competent, the set is superb, and the production on the whole amply justifies its Broadway success.