The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-05-26

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ATTRACTIONS TODAY.
LycEUM-Tim Murphy In "old limo.
cence." Night.
sTAR-"The vagabonds." Afternoon
and night.
"The Climbers"
The fifth play from the pen of the pro-
life Clyde Fitch to be seen in this city
this year was presented at the Lyceum
theater Saturday afternoon and night.
It Is unquestionably the best of the five.
It cannot be compared with Captain
Jinks,' because that was cheap trash at
bottom; nor with Lovers Lane or
Nathan Hale" because in these plays
MIR. Fitch went courting strange muses..
The only play of his it can be compared
with is ".rhe Way OF the World and 1t
Is infinitely superior as a picture of mod
ern society life to that piece.
Like every play that Mr.. Fitch has
written 1t surprises one at times with It's
marvellous realism and with Its presenta-
ton of scenes from real life, enacted by
real. living people. Just as one Is begin
ming to forget that he is in the theater
and to imagine that he is almost taking
part in the doings on the stage a situa-
ton theatrical in the extreme, unconven-
tional perhaps. but theatrical, Is dragged
In and the illusion Is spoiled.
The first act from the moment the cur
tain rose to the unexpected climax was
a little masterpiece. Mr.. Fitch's daring
originality was evidenced as soon as the
audience got view of the Hunter draw
ing-room. The funeral Of the late Mr..
IY,c boe ct <ok V1o nd Ar-
wants are removing the two score and
more chairs. Carriages drive up and Mrs.
Hunter and her three grown-up daughters
enter all dressed in black and all wear
ing bonnets and wells.
Then began a series of incidents In
which Mr.. Fitch pictures with wonderful
skill the hypocritical pretense and sordid
selfshness which underlie certain phases
of metropolitan social life. Mrs. Hunter
Is sorry, oh so sorry, for her dead hus-
band until his lawyer tells her that he's
left her nothing. Then she reveals her
true self. ut was just like him. the un.
grateful thing" she says, forgetting that
1t was her extravaganza that made him
bankrupt. She haughtily resents the
suggestion that her children should work
and flounces from the room in a towering
passion when her we'll meaning sister-in-
law shows her how she can keep up ap-
pearances by letting out the upper floors
of the house. But the climax comes
when shortly after she is pictured selling
her new winter gowns, which she will be
unable to wear because Of having to don
mourning, to two breezy society women
at cut rates. All these things revealed
Mr. Fitch at his best in field where he
alone Is master.
The main story Of the play around
which the dramatic incidents of the story
were woven concerned the Platonic affec-
ton (Mr. Fitch's long suit existing be-
tween a married woman and her hus-
bands best friend. The husband Is
weak, repulsive. worthless creature who
has ruined himself by speculation in the
street and who has embezzled funds In
trusted to him by relatives. In the telling
Of it except in one striking instance tine
playwright has generally followed good,
old lines. In those parts of the action
which do not affect the main story he Is
at all times original.
The striking instance Is in the second
act where the husband Is placed in po-
sition where he is forced to make con-
fession of his wrong doing before his
wife, his friend and two others. He says
he'll tell of it only in the dark Whereupon
every light on the stage and In the mousse
is put out and in the black darkness, m
visible to all, he tells the story. This was
unconventional with a vengeance but 1t
seemed as IL in striving to do something
out of the ordinary Mr. Fitch had wall
dered too far from nature.
The dramatic scenes in the third act
were worked out with no degree of clev-
erness or ingenuity and in the last act
the playwright let himself become sickly
sentimental. The wife and husband are
| alone and he's telling her he'll win her
| love, back. She says she'll never love
him but she'll live with him and not get
an $ko Hn nf
child.
Then to shiver music from the violins
she begins to tell of how happy they We're
| in days gone by and how on the morning
| they were engaged 1.-The dew drops on the
apple trees glistened like the tears in
my eyes as l told father l was the hap
pest woman in the world" etc. etc. One
feared every moment that the horrible
child would be brought OH but the audi
ence was spared this detail. The hus-
| band, weak to the end finally poisons
himself and leaves the wife to marry her
Platonic other half If she chooses.
The company was fairly capable and no
| more. Charles Kent, seen here before IN
1.-THE Sorrows of Satan." is very the
atrical sort of a person and he posed ana
strutted in the first two acts In way
that was anything but life-like. He
pitched his acting in the dark" scene
| in too high a key but was more accept
| able in the last two acts. James Carew,
as Warden the friend. had splendid
part and he didn't realize half of its pos
sibilities. In his "big" scene In the third
act he lost all self-restraint and let him.
self loose. If played In a more subdued'
reserved manner this scene would have
been intellectually more effective. Fred
W. Peters was amusing as Johnny Trot-
| ter"
Jennie Eustace gave a capable and ef-
! ficient rendition of the heroine, Mrs.
Sterling, part requiring no great
| amount of ability for its interpretation.
| 1t was written for Miss Amelia Bingham,
whose limitations as an actress are we'll
known. Miss Marian Giroux in the part
played originally by Clara Bloodgood.
carefully copied that actress peculiar
style and made a hit. Marguerite St.