The San Francisco call., 1905-06-13
THE USURPER"
SUITS GOODWIN
PLAY Proves to Be Pleasant
Summer Melodrama That
Enables Comedian to Shine
GOOD BILL AT GRAND
Maud Williamson Is Clever
in "The Gates of Bondage"
Which Delights Audience


Pity one cannot take The Usurper'' to
the woods. Seen from hammock swung
under a redwood tree. through lazy, half
shut eyes, Nat Goodwin's latest play
might convince as thoroughly as IT
amused last night at the Columbia The
comedy hardly pretends TO probability
Mr.. Goodwin does not pretend that IT is
probable But Mr.. Goodwin's fashion OF
poking IL, himself and you in the ribs is
perhaps more enjoyable than any mere
matter Of probability in the play. AT
least very lively summer audience so
approved 1t last night. Certainly Mr- Good
wins local vogue was never more viva
ciously demonstrated After the third act
they wanted the usual few words But
Mr.. Goodwin was coy. For solid and
joyous five minutes to a blank curtain
they kept UP the shouting, and then the
comedian appeared. II could not have
been the austerity Of his welcome, but
Mr.. Goodwin expressed his sorrow that
he had never been born Californian.
but II il were to occur again he knew
what he was going TO do" etc, with his
coat buttoned TO his chin Altogether the
audience made very much Of Mr.. Good
win and seemed to like his play.
l. n. Morris is the author of The
Usurper" One fancies Mr.. Morris first
incurably young and then rampageously
American. The scene of the play is Eng
land, anywhere, in castle in the coun-
try. Mr. Goodwin is 'the usurper," and
the man in possession. The usurper has
bought the place with the stipulation that
the native aristocrats go with it. or
them is the young woman whom ten years
before as a girl, as visitor to Texas
cattle ranch, the usurper has fallen in
love with. But Miss Give is already en-
gagged. She is engaged TO the villain
Sir George is a lovely villain, by the way.
You know him the minute you see him.
he is none of your strange, human mix
lures, god and devil, and all the bewil-
dering shades between. He has an all
black 'eart-as the English butler would
say-and would seem 10 have strayed
from the Central. There is an aunt of
Miss Gives who has owned the castle
and who occupies herself chiefly in ad-
ministering prepOsterous snubs to the
usurper. This Lady Dulverton's son,
comedy juvenile, a servant maid and her
escaped convict papa, and the usurper's
sister are the other dramatis personae.
Mr.. Morris by no means lacks ingenuity
in his plotting. Some Of the situations, as,
for instance. where the usurper and the
heroine are locked in the ghost tower,
are piQuant and amusing. His weakness
lies chiefly in the inconsistent depletion
Of character. The usurper himself, the
American citizen" sort of hero, is plaus-
IDLY enough drawn. Yet that role needs
all of Mr.. Goodwin's art to save it from
being of the unpleasant 'spread-eagle"
type. Miss Give, again, is of most cha
meleon-li1e changeableness. At one mo-
ment she is rushing to the lover tSir
George with whom she is going TO elope.
The next finds her lengthily explaining
the wonders of the ghost tower to the
usurper. Mr.. Morris has asked even
more than the usual feminine license for
I'll
sketchily filed out, depending almost
wholly upon the acting.
Mr. Goodwin exhibits his usual incom-
parable bonhomie as John Maddox, the
usurper. Miss Ruth Mackay as Miss
Give, with a remarkable resemblance TO
Margaret Anglin in voice and manner,
and Miss George Mendum as the usurp-
er's typewriter, both reach into Mr.. Good
wins admirably human key. The same
may be said Of the Rob Quentin, an eX-
cellent bit Of character work by Felix
Edwardes. Goodwin is still and always
the most human of actors. He could play
Chauncey OlcOtt and make him human.
He makes the ''usurper' human, fat with
fun, and cunningly finished and rounded
is everything he does. You would miss
an amusing Goodwin in missing THE
Csurper." 1t is not his fault that it is
not the best Goodwin we have had.
Miss Mackay is notable in the sup
port, not otherwise SO notable, for a
clear and eloquent enUnciation and
charming voice She is graceful, pretty
and dramtically accomplished. George
Mendum as the typewriter girl succeeds
exactly as Mr.. Norris desires her TO
succeed. 1t is the typewriter girl of
the comic papers and Miss Mendum could
not be better. Norman Tharp confdes
too much Of his pleasant juvenility to
the audience, as does Miss Florence
Parker as Polly Maddox. They both talk
tc the audience instead of to each other.
which, as they are stage lovers, is at
least unusual Mr. Ellie Norwood talks
more 10 himself AS Sir George he was
not easily heard. The rest, including
Felix Edwardes, filed in with more or
less distinction. The play is prettily
staged. BLANCHE PARTINGTON