The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-17

bringing his ill-mated lovers together again
after working a surprising transformation
in the ignorant little slavey. And so IL is
that the general public may like Merely
Mary Ann" as play, while the thoughtful
auditor will look upon il as crude and I'M
reasonable. To diverge in the least from
the highway of familiar things on the stage
is TO ALLEVIATE the general public. and Mr.
Zangwill probably had enough of this sort
of thing when he followed out his strikngly
original ideas in staging 1.-The Children of
the Ghetto"
An audience of good proportions and
very responsive gathered at English's last
night to witness the first and only pre-
sentation (this season, at least) OF the new
Zangwill play, and undoubtedly the assem-
bly, found the play entertaining enough.
while being very deeply impressed With
the talents of the young actress, who bids
fair to become one of the most famous Of
American players.
There is not much to the story OF
Merely Mary Ann" The character about
whom all of the interest clusters is an
orphaned country girl. bred on farm and
| full of "reminiscences of her rural life.
She has been sent UP 20 London to be
reared as servant by cockney landlady.
with her own humorous deficiencies OF
breeding and language. But despite her
awkward manners and her countrihed no
charm of simple sweetness that the dirt
and dust and smut-stains which she ac
boots do not altogether hide. She is as
| innocent as a child of ten. Into the lodg-
| ing house where she is employed comes one
| Lancelot, young musician, of good family
| and empty of purse. He rents a modest
| apartment and makes the best of things
while striving TO gain recognition In his
profession. He is waited upon by the little
| slavey, and accepts all her devotion-for
she soon learns to worship him in silence
with. self-satisfaction that marks the
| English snob. He feels that the girls
| faithful servitude is just what is due him.
/ So much for Lancelot.
Mary Ann-"Merely Mary Ann she calls
/ herself when the musician condescends to
| inquire to her full name-a5ks reward
| from him save a kind word now and then.
1 to bring his meals to him, to- black his
shoes, and to do the thousand and one
things that are expected of the English
slavey and the very mention of which
would cause an American servant girl to
throw UP her hands and faint dead away.
| Mary Ann Is just as unselfish as Lancelot
pensive, and without a single thought in
her pretty little head that is not innocent
and pure: Finally the young composer be-
comes alive TO her charms. but not to her
| true worth. He makes love to her. but it
isn't honest love- Poor little Mary Ann
doesn't know the difference. and she is
/ in the seventh heaven.
| 1t Is only when Mary AIMS brother in
| America dies and leaves the little slavey
1 a fortune tnat lancelot opens MS eyes Wide
enough to see himself in his true light. and
| then he bursts forth into Understanding
/ speeches so wholly out of keeping with his
character, as it has previously been shown.
| that you doubt whether he is altogether
| sincere. Anyway, he renounces riches; he
| will not take unto his heart the wealthy
| girl whom he refused to honor when she
| was but humble household drudge. He
| says goodbye to her and goes away and
nobody in the audience is sorry for him.
| But POOR, dear little Mary Ann, your heart
4 { OVpr1Owfnc wi haf
| be more pathetic than her sorrow when
she is left alone with the canary bird which
she has given her adored musician as
4 to the little bird. "Good-bye! You're his
now. Sing to him. Sing to him. Don't let
Re her she ere g Il her she
| would break, as the curtain falls. And there
are few dry eyes in the audience.
|
That is where the original story ends. But
to please the general public" the play
| wright has added an act showing how Mary
Ann and Lancelot meet six years later, fall
in love over again and this time never part.
Mary Ann is Marian, a society woman,
| now, and Lancelot is a famous musician
! with plenty Of money. 1t is all very unnat-
ural and very STORY papery," this fourth
act. and is hardly worthy of detailed de-
scription.
Miss Robson's artistic performance from
| the rising of the first curtain to the fall
| ing of the last is what saves the play. Her
/ personality Is engaging, her method is that
| or the trained artist, her sympathy is all
| employed in the embodiment, and the
| sweetness, charm and purity of unsophis-
| located maindenhood are expressed by her
| In mood so appealing and in manner so
| alluring as TO leave upon the mind an in
delible image OF loneliness. AS the ignorant
slavey she is always delightful and even in
the Illogical last act she holds the interest
Of her audience as few actresses could do
excellent portrayal throughout, deserving
OF the warmest praise.
Edwin Arden has a difficult role as
Lancelot and he is not altogether happy in
1t. Mr.. Arden is nobly gifted as to voice
and person and is possessed of valuable
knowledge of the art of reading his lines,
but he often seems out of sympathy with
the character that he impersonates in this
play. He handles the, role with too heavy
touch in the love scenes and is not
bouyant enough In the lighter passages.
Very good indeed is the bit of character
lady, Mrs. Leadbatter. Frank Doanes per-
Torrance of Mr.. Peter. the composers near
est friend, Is somewhat overdrawn. Laura
Hope Crews contributes splendid
portraiture Of an English girl Of the lower
class, and the other members of the COM
pany are satisfactory in their small parts
The play Is staged in a creditable manner,
and about everything that could be done
to make 1t a success has been done. But it
Is not improbable that Miss Robson will
soon be obliged to turn to the other pro-
duction. which she now has in preparation
"a dramatization Of Mrs. Humphrey
Wards Agatha"
Hyde's Comedians at the Grand.