The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-19
1.-THE FIRM OF CUNNINGHAM. "
BILDi SPONG L4BORS AHLI
UITH MINED MATERIAL.


able and Not JnlnterestinE IN
spots, but IncnectuaI-WeiI Acted
Mr.. Willis Steell's The Firm Of Cunning.
ham which was produced last night az
the Madison Square for the first time on
snv stage il one Of those plays ia comedy
the playful calls IN with which the utmost
a theatrical reporter can hope to do Is 20
deal with meticulous fairness. and, as
usually happens in such cases, fairness il
the hardest Of all achievements.
Il j.. 30 far as we know. the first OF It's
authors plays 10 he produced, though he
il known 10 have others up the managerial
sleeve That he has no ordinary skill in
theatre writing, and a fair amount Of
sincerity and just ambition, il obvious.
A very partisan audience last night found
much occasion for applause. Yet some
how il IT. not possible TO predict great things
~ one would wish to do.
The focus Of the play and one OF the
difficulties il that il has no proper focus
lie in the character Of Dora CdlpCTt, ad-
mlmbIy played by Miss Hida Spong. She
Is a. far as one can gather. a thistledOwn
Of femininity who is blown about by all
the winds that subvert good doctrine.
Married 70 a man who in her own able
rhrase. j. a mere liver with hat and shoes
a very bilious liver, be Il UNDERWOOD
she seeks recreation and reoompense in
manifold peCCddiloes. She has discovered
a nice boy, and also that as she eXpoNlnds
in a phrase not quite 80 delicate wives
like to kiss a nice boy occasionally. Another
u her recreations is to play the races
against the express commands Of her
hepdtlcan husbu nd
In the first act her sins dangerously
threaten 20 find her out just here she
reveals an extraordinary aptitude i'm the
gentle art Of taradiddles, She borrows
money very glibly from her husbands
partner 10 pay her gambling debts-and
forthwith blows II in on the Suburban.
on the appearance Of her bilious spouse
she slaves N his suspicious by announcing
the enCa cement Of the osculated youth to
her Younger sister just out OF VassaT Whom
he has that moment met for the first time.
Thus the comedy Of character degenerates
into frank farce.
Inthe secondaCt the farcically enRa Red
young people are already falling in love.
This rOusos DoTd'S jealousy. She would
still like as il seems TO kiss the nice boy
occasionally. So she turns her sister
against the lad by accusing him Of far
worse things than he has done. II il not
a pleasant lie, nor a plausible one, in view
Of the fact that she is tarring herself with
the same brush
Tho case is not hettcred by her pretence
(which. 10th she and the author seem TO
take seriously that she is acting partly
in her sisters interests, having decided in
her own mind that the young people are
not destined TO he happy together. When
she finds that the girl Is broken hearted at
the supposed disclosure she develops an
apparently sincere affection and pity for
her emotional drama tread ding on the
heels q comedy and faroe-but does not
undo her crooked work. What amends
she Is capable Of she makes in a rather thin
third and last act when also she is tenn
porarlly reCOncied TO her husband-with a
metaphoncal wink on the side.
There may he few such women in AmeIi-
can lie, though the gentlewoman who
habitually plays the races 'Ohe matter
Of kissing tame cats we discreetly pass
over is as uncharacteristic here as Il is
Characteristic in London. But to repre-
sent 70 tortuous and complex a character
conyincngly on the stage is as yet far be-
yond Mr. SteelPs powers. To make il an
object Of sympathetic amusement, it would
seem. Is impossible to any one.
The acting was able, and occasionally
excellent. Mise Spong, as always, wore
very handsome gowns effectively and
passed through the diverse phases OF her
par with easy sincerity and charm.
II Miss, katherine Grey was primmer in
dress and department il is to he remem-
hered that she represented a recently
graduated Nassar valedctoTian-though in
his implications "a to the quality Of under
graduate life in woman's college MIR
Steel was bound down by no such scruples
n fidelity. Miss Grcy's few vGssa res Of
in yenuous coquetry and emotion she rep
resented with a finCssa and force that we're
emphasized by the fact that the part was
"a ntially unsuited 10 her.
lr William Harcourt PLAYED the part Of
7achelor friend Of the parties in distress
simplicity, sincerity and humCr. NJ.
0rv Bergman was convincing as the
-, ogss and miscomprehending husband.
VI William Lamp was hampered in his
ortraval Of the fashionable young lover
a middle Western accent and an awk-
ward carriage, hut revealed real compe-
tenoo in acting
Miss jeanette Elherts played he small
1art ~ drunken Cook-it was one Of Doras
emlahle inventions 10 give her whiskey
uy The bottle TO stave OF paying the wages
she owed her-Vith considerable humor.
That capital low comedian Charles W.
buter was wasted on the small part Of
factotum
Mr. STEEL was called out for a speech,
hut refraincd. This il a pity, for il Is
nimoTed that he Is his own press agent,
snd one would like to hear how he has been
ahe to imagine so many things. We do
not rnca any recent scandal Of osculatIon
snd' book making which could have sUg-
Resttd the plot. II the friendly member
"i me firm ~ Cunningham was modelled
on one phi Chcate, the sculptor's thumb
went wrong. Some Of his observations
suggested rather that other witty joseph
VINO wrote tine jest book Whether CT net
Miss Npong burned on her hair in rehearsal
We cannot say Either the report or the
mar was false and. IL the latter. il was the