The evening world., 1903-02-10
Clyde Fitch's Mrs. Johnson Not
4 So Gay as the Title OF the
! Play Led the First Nighters to
Expect.
MlCKEDNESS IN OTHERS.
New Comedy at the Princess Theatre
includes Such WelLknown Talent
ne Amelia Bingham, Wilton Lack.
aye and Minnie Dupree.

1He rTlsky MIS-. Johnson indeed!
She ought to box Mr.. Fitch's ears for
calling her such a name. It's really
irouSh on Mrs. J~ohnson-for well say
" IL no n else will-Mrs. johnson is
fhe only real lady in the crowd.
There are three other females-not
feounttng the maid, who isn't refined
tenough to be wlcked-and the whole
precious lot Of them have Mrs. johnson
tfrtsked on the field. They're married.,
nut they're not worrying about 1t. with
me joyous aid OF. Mr.. Fitch, they skip
baithely ALONG. playing the roHicking
lGane. Lose Your Husband"
Ono Of them. Mrs. Frank Merely, does
Bose hers. for keeps. She does 1t by
correspondence. A little whtpper-snap-
per makes her feel that her able-bodied
HUSBAND 10 negIecttng her for his husi-
ness. and to cheer her up he rents a
little dat for two. and writes her a cor
dial note 70 come around and see what
phs thinks OF his taste In picking out
furniture.
wifey's Big Sister.
The good pseyider makes her hand
over the Invitation. An angnished
, Observation-Disclosures! expression
comes to atp face as he reads the few
hcspitabls lines. and he Is on the POINT
'-of saying, ttout Of my life, woman!"
. sonnethtng equally a~ppropriate. when
httle wtfeyis big sister comes sweeping
down stage and wants TO know who's
opening her mail.
This In where Mrs. johnson begins TO
afrisk.
She has the saddest kind Of q gambol
Tor two acts n a half. just to save
little sister: only Amelia Bingham
doesn't get hah the excitement out of
1t that Mrs. Campbell gets out OF her
noble sacrifice In good Aunt Jeannie."
6he has pretty much the same expert
ence In nearly losing a man who'd like
TO chsase her name, and her cue is,
I'm going AVA from here!' when
little sister PUSHES past the stage hands
and magnanimously announces that 1t
was she who held a h~alf-interest, in the
.clardestine correspondence bureau and
,hn, option on the forbidden nat. :
Surprise for . Husband.
Little sisters husband IS surprt3edl
He has believed all along that the big
sister was the one who was leading a
double life and has insisted that his
brother shall not marry her. He Is con-
siderably put out at the d~enouement,
and says some rather harsh things.
The big sister and his brother tell him
10 forget II, but he groans a couple of
dimes. and says he couldn't possibly
think of such a thing, no matter though
Door little WHEY Is weeping all over
some OF the prettiest furniture seen on
~ New York stage this season.
He inhalss q few heart broken sobs,
then borroWs steamer tickets which the
big sister had bought to tho Canary
Islands. and. as he takes his departure.
tells his haplsss other half TO stay al
heme and get q divorce on the ground
Of desertiop. -
This last scene 10 about all the back
bono there 10 TO '"rhe Frisky Mrs. john
.Son,ferand II was effectively handled by
Minnie puprse. as the unfortunate VIE;
Miss Biagham. as the ~big-hearted Mrs.
Johnson: p Wilton Lackaye. as Jim
Merely, who loved and believed in Mrs.
Johnson, and w. l.. Abingdon. rs Frank
Merely, who didn't believe in her and
who found out his mistake.
ID Bltta-Proctor-Otish.
There were other situations which
-.sessmbled those In why Women San"
.anly they weren't half so exciting. In
them Miss Bingham was inclined to
grow datts Elita-Proctor-Otish while
Nr. Lackaye made them really enjoyable
by sticking to . mild imitation OF Mr..
Peter DALEY. A great deal OF the talk
which Mr. Laekaye shared sounded as II
Ct had been raised at Weber q Fields.
Some o9 II was ''smart" and some Of It
Nae nat. A great deal was risQue. Not
q uttI9 defsd decency.
Risfs TO ~ Apono
Agesd ,Ristuss @aohinS After a peep
D shocked "Qhr In.
6And The BoWiers were cut dead In
their owu country. because In q careless
t,oFE cry ,she forgot to marry her hrst
Mr. Fitch's word for this!
or was this id-bit preserved from the
-Elsheh of gavauit, and Berr? IT. 70
lty In e new eaa partly original play
yElfky JMrG Johnson" Is rich In SILLY
than the other. Ali the trouble and the
unhappy ending might .haye been spared
had Miss Bingham taken one Of them
aerops her Jap at. the outset and given
hinI q sood spanking: But, OF course,
With the plot u mussed up Miss Bing-
1nS What beautiful gowns she wears.
and how they do itI, Especially the one
that looka like crystailized moonuehf-
the one shs Is bathed int
VAT OTHER HOUSES.
a