Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-23
BARNEY BERNARD
GETS WELCOME
CROWDED HOUSE GREETS THE
LATEST STAR
SEEN IN "THE FINANCIER"
The Ininnitable Actor and Local Fs-
vorlte Is Accorded an Exceed
IneIy Cordial Reception at
the Mason
SEEN IN "THE FINANCIER"

acts by II. d. Cottrell presented by
Barney Bernard and support for the
first time in Los Angeles last night
at the Mason opera house. The cast:
Isaac Israel, hnancier and philosopher.
..................... Barney Bernard
septimus Beetle, from South Africa and
Beverly Crane, senior partner Crane,
Crow C Co, promoters. William Gleason
Sherman Hyde, a broker and occasion
ally a punger .. William d. Emerson
Lazarus Cohen, Cranes conf1dentia,
clerk ....;......'.......;'G George de Long
Percival Rochester, South African.
..,................. Richard Lambert
Bertram Jacoby, an old friend of 1sraeIs
psn snr'y fns ddys bride Of the hats FRANK Bonner %
Matthews, the sewing machine collector
;;,,......:. .:.....,........''' Harry Grifhtn n,itn
wilkins wilkins sros fho groom IN. snancers Better
half ................ Miss Ada Levick
Estelle their daughter Miss Ruby Rarndohr
lmogsns English Mss %aSs 1i%an Golden
Mrs. Caroline Carrothers authority on
dogs and husbands. Miss Kitty *, Griffin
Camille, a seamstress. Miss Ethel Lawrence
Jenny, a servant. ..... Miss Dorothy Green
Barney Bernard received a great old
welcome home last night at the hands
of the big audience of friends and
strangers that came to the Mason to
hail him as the latest star. Barney
Bernard is the whole thing; he makes
one forget all about Cottrell's rather
bald and foolish play, makes us forget
all about the perhaps not quite ade-
uuate support, because he is his own
inimitable self from the rise of the
curtain on act one to the fall Of 1t in
act three.
"The Financier" Is a little sketch
made to serve duty as play by pull
ing out and filling in Of characters that
have little or nothing to do with the
story of the financier. And his story
is quite trite, though full of human
interest; Barney does a lot with 1t by
simply being himself. A lovable old
Hebrew, wrapped up in his wife and
family, he is persuaded to put his all
into q diamond mine that promptly
ruins him and leaves him to climb UP
again from where he began, the little
clothing shop on Hester street. Here
he faces misfortune with the same
inimitable shrewdness and humor and
kindliness that he faced his reverses,
to. finally, In the end, get back
his lost diamond mine and see his
brownstone front looming in the near
future.
To characterize Barney Bernard's
work would be nothing short of fool
ishness; in the beginning the whole
town knows what Barney is like
to see him is to laugh and to keep on
laughing. His comedy was quite as
inimitable as 1t has always been,
though in the continuous effort of this
play he had not the chances that
snappier action and dialogue would
have made. Barney Bernard as an
emotional actor, really serious, really
moved, was revelation of what this
marvellous young impersonator is to
do in the future. His poor, old broken
down clothes presser of the last act,
still plucky, laughing at hard luck to
keep from crying, was an artistic
alton; there was the real note of
tragedy in it-with an undertone OF
mirth to keep 1t from overpoignancy.
Any lack in the work of Mr.. Bernard
is rather in his vehicle than in his
acting. 1t is a play written for the
man; but 1t is good many sizes too
small, and even the large talent of the
comedian has not been able to stretch
the stereotyped piece into a fit.
The support is not entirely adequate.
though 1t has it's good points. Law
renee Griffith does a clever but of
work in Beetle and the feminine roles
are we'll taken. They are extremely
colorless parts, that need great deal
of spirit to be noticeable at all. Miss
Ethyl Lawrence more than pleased the
audience with her sweet singing.
Barney's little speech, at the end of
the first act, deserved all the applause
it got. 1t is worth the price of admis-
sion to see the impersonator suddenly
become the man; the moment before
he was so entirely Israel that his nat
ural voice was the old surprise. See
Barney while you may; he is going to
be a great man. To be a great man
nowadays means to ''go east" the
west is bound to lose him.
n,,n Madam 1 IfArafurA