_rôle_ is absolutely foreign to anything else he has ever done, and by the power of his personality and the care of his delineation he makes the part of the ill-fated sailor throb with sympathy and meaning. In makeup he emphasizes the poetic quality underlying the character.... In staging this play Belasco handles his lights as a great symphony conductor plays with instruments, bending them to his will and making them set the color of the entire play. The three acts are set with marvellous care. An old ship sail acts as the front drop curtain, and throughout the play the atmosphere is almost made to drip with salt water. One act is in a harbor; another, on board the ship of _The Flying Dutchman_, and the third is a beautiful little delph setting that is like some old picture of Hollandese ware. In the stage effects, such as wind, thunder, and lightning, Belasco can make old devices seem an echo of Nature herself.... The music of the stage is ghostly and haunting....” “Van Der Decken” was played with the following cast: _Van Der Decken_ David Warfield. _Nicholas Staats_ Ernest Stallard. _Mate Jacob Te Beckel_ William Boag. _Jansoon Kolp_ Fritz Lieber. _Petie Vieck_ Fred Graham. _Raff Kloots_ Harold Russell. _Rudie Schimmelpennick_ Horace Braham. SAILORS ABOARD THE FLYING DUTCHMAN’S SHIP “BATAVIA.” _Kris_ Arthur Fitzgerald. _Bram_ Herbert Ayling. _Hein_ Worthington L. Romaine. _Hans_ J. J. Williams. _Prinz_ Lawrence Woods. _Klass_ Edward L. Walton. _Jan Tanjes_ Bert Hyde. _Pilot Krantz_ Tony Bevan. _Boatman_ Oren Roberts. _Trintie Staats_ Jane Cooper. _Johanna_ Marie Bates. _A Little Boy_ Master MacComber. “POLLY WITH A PAST.”