The St. Louis Republic., 1903-10-12

depletion of Lovey Mary. Meek little
Miss HAY and drirk-loyiuG Mr.. Stubblns
,sl a. Hine a highly c0miral aspect; both Of
'l' 49, ,--SHtil. N'ilNA4s N.i i-t.i4s
ludicTCus possibilities lose anything al the
hands OF Miss Helen Lowell and Mr..
William 7. Hodge.
II Miss Lowell SCORED such a realistic
bit. as the fussy. titEety SISTER Susan
In Quality Street. she mas achieved a
much more hlIari0usy funny master
stroke % comic Odditiy as the ,imid little
Cabbage Patch bride. ''siCked on 10 matri-
mOny" by MrS- Wigs A. for Mr.. Hodge.
his grotesquely garbet Stubbins Is - rich
er revelation 0r MS iEimitable talent for
eccentric comedy first exhibited in his
Sag HarbOr' imgers0uation Of Freeman
Nhitmarsh- one could hut wonder. how
ever. over the thought Of what Henry L.
Dixie might have done with Stubbins,
The wedding OF this odd couple-a mere
incident Of two chapters In the original
book Of '.L0vey Mary''-has been ampu-
ned by AIRS. Anne Crawford Plexner Cwho
made this stage yersiCu) Into the ChieI
comedy motif Of the entire three-act play.
that last nights audience was kept in
laughter The surreptitious visit Of the
bridegroom 10 borrow mistit wedding
suit from Mrs. NigEa. his queer Vooing
scene with the half-ShOClSed and half
delighted little old maid. his lapse nom
grace and maudlin crying scsnc. and his
hasty dispatch from the Cabbage Patch
in a freight car. were Jolly fun.
Not hinted IN the book. however. Mr.
Stubbins comes back-in the third act OF
the play-and. having fallen into a war
pension. Is received with a demonstration
OF joy that sJarties him at first and finally
lifts him .lto new eXultation ot self
Is transformed into clinging anxiety. and
the comedy ends with a genuinely Herue-
ike piece OF realism In which the rein
stated Stubbins takes his front porch seat
a. lord OF the HaZy manor OF the Cabbage
Patch.
II can thus Be seen on what happily sug-
gested but effectively original lines Mrs.
FleNner has built up the plot basis OF her
character comedy In her handling OF
Mrs. Wigs and LOyey Mary themes she
has been less original and less effective.
msnt could be suggested The serious plot
furnishes a sort OF conventional melo-
drama background Thus. LoVey Mary.
the runaway orphan waif. has been
prosecuted Young heroine sssking shelter
Ing from the still pursuing villain. and
Mrs Wigs has certain melodramaue sit
uations and ''heroics'' OF the popular style
Mrs. F1eNner Is not great playwright
nor has she written great play. in ths
ultimate sense. hut she has done ad-
mirahly by her opportunities. and one
cannot but b. impressed by the fund OF
dramatic material which she has kneaded
out OF Mrs. Rice's slightly strung to-
gether sketches and by the abundant hu-
NOR and heart interest OF the popular
sort which characterize this fOotlight
adoption OF Mrs Wigs Of the Cabbage
Of the stories. which gave them such a
charm. have all bsen reflected In the
scenes Of the play. The only license
which Mrs. PleNncr has taken that might
be open to discussion Is the fact that
Mrs Wigs Is not presented as the
widow she Is In the book.
Mabel TalilferrO makes OF Lovay Mary
an appsalingly sympathetis. Eirlish figure
more w0manly than the Lovey Mary OF
MIS- Rice's creation. and Vet perhanS
more dramatically satisfying. Her lullaby
over the dreaming Little Tommy was a
dainty and swcetly artistic bit" Her
one strongly emotional scene with Mrs
Wigs revealed the dramatic artistic al
her highest. and makes expectation keen
for her future work In her new wOmanly
roles.
Mrs wiggs's Iovable. kindly. humorous
self stood out on a much too croRded
canvas OF delightful figures from the sour
Mrs EiChOru and German-dialect Mrs
Schultz. TO the wonderfully realistic
wOOieu-legged Chris OF Taylor Granville /
"a highly d"crivinE uake-upl ami to the |
group OF children-the three Biography
named WigEes asia. Australia and Fu-
TOpeual. picturesque hlOnd-curled Tommy.
and the whole Sunday school fgs-,.-. These j
clever urchins acted ia sfvIe worthy 4
the piece sent The audience away from the
on"