The Washington times., 1901-11-12
AT THE THEATRES.
III. coIumbia-"Are You Mason ~

II Is quite easy to account for the popu-
larity of Are You q Masong' the adapta-
ton of Iaufs and KratZ's German farce,
presented at the Columbia Theatre last
night. The almost inccssant laughter eN-
plaiued the hilarious vogue the piece has
attained in Other cities, and it bids falc
to make Il cachinnatory record during It's
local stay at the r Street playhouse
/ Nothing quite so broadly humorous or
| completely divertins has been seen at the
Columbia this season, and # the general
| eXcellences Of the piece are appreciated
as they deserve. the Luckett 4 pWyer
theatre will enjoy q period Of unwonteC
/ prosperity this week.
If one wants hearty laugh, Are You
a Mason?" is commended as the real
thing. But persons who banker after the
! legitimate dram are advised TO hEht sny
of the entertainment given by Leo
Ditrichstein and his band nf merry
associates.
Mr.. Ditrichstcin, besides playing the
principal role figures ON the play niil as
the adapter of the farce from ats German
source. He has hitherto showed his
handiWork in Ghe Last Appeal, ihat
really good play which for some uIlaC-
countable reason did not appeal 70 the
general thCatre-% going pubic hS II ne-
served. and An on Account of fllza.
that somewhat luEubrious farce used by
the Mann-Lipman combination staSou
or so ago. BIt in Are You a Mason.
the Ditrichs itin vein OF eNtritLas',i!i NJ
humor is seen at its very best. lie mas
happily supplied any number OF Sllua-
tions-Or perhaps this creult shoC-u DC
given to the German aUthors-th3J altord
plenty of opportunity Tor hllarlty on Dolh
sides of the fOothghts.
The idea of an elderly gentleman and
his son-in-laW pretending to belong 10
. la.
{ themselves from home of an evening IS
obviously fun of comic possibilities. ana
in the farce they are utilized Tor all thty
are worth. Then. too, Charley Aunt
has been drawn upon for laughs, and
this. with a number Of other subsidiary
IDEAS that have been used in previous
stage pieces. provides enough ma lCria tor
such a clever writer as Mr.. DItrichsleln
to spin together almost three hours Solld
merrimeut with hardly any let-up IN the
mirth. Some of The lines are decidedly
bright, but for the most part the success
of Are You a Mason" depends upon
the ludiCrous situations in which the
principal characters find themselves, and
the admirable Interpretation given the
play by a number Of well-knOwn far
ceuTs
Thomas A Wise plays Amos Bloodgood
whose suppOs!titiOus affiliations with the
MasunS are so pleasing to Xix wife that
she almost insists that none but mem
Der OF the fraternity shall become her
son-in-law. Wise is an unCtuOus COME
dian, whose work is highly creditabie. lie
extracts about all the possibilities from
the part and makes il a valuable cuntri-
button to the list of similar characters
that have previously been seen on the
native stage. NJhn Rice, who appears 10
be cured OF the vaudeville habit, makes
Frank Perry 4 reasonable character and
even If the familiar Rice manuerisms are
considerably acCentuated he gets an
! abundance of laughs by his excellent
work Mr.. Ditrichstein shows himself to
he an able funmakCr by his interpreta-
tiun of the role Of George Fisher. who
afterward masquerades IN woman ;
skirts. George Richards is the john Dal-
ton. who walks three times from up
town to the Brooklyn bridge and return
before he can be initiated into the mys
tcrics Of Freemasonry. 1t is a small part.
but Richards handles it cleveriy and
makes as much Of il MS is possible. Esther
TittClI. in addition to being a handsome
young woman with an array Of very
fetching gowns. displays dramatic abil-
ity much better than the ordinary, and
as Mrs Perry presents a charming fig
ure. Then there are In the cast. such
faVorites as little Sally Cohen. who re-
fuses TO be torn from her husband s-Mr.
Rice-side by cruel managerial edict; Ger
trude Whtty. Grace Iiadsell. Hazti Chap
pei. Amy Muller. and Maude Travers-
There viii be matinee performances Of
Are You a Mason?" Thursday and Sat
urday.