Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-13

LONDON, May 8, 1906
rs additionally IAN Ill wind that blows
nobody good" and the lukewarm re-
ception given to THE Bond of Ninon,"
.. with which Lena Ashwell opened her
season at the Savoy this week, makes
1t probable that London will soon have
still another play by that lucky American
dramatist, Michael Morton. This Is Birds
of Passage" the adaptation OF the French
success Of the same name which Morton
made for Miss Ashwell while she was ap-
pearing under the F'rohman management in
Leah Kleschna," and which It has been
announced from the first would be put on
at the savoy in case the costume comedy
by Clotilde Graves with which the actress
started operations failed to catch on Being
story Of anarchists and their troubles
Birds OF Passage" should give Miss Ash
well better chance than she has at present
and Incidentally the piece will attract still
more attention to its author, who already
ts much to the fore in theatrical matters
on this Side of the water
I lis farce, THE Little Stranger" which
was done for the hundredth time at the
Criterion recently, Is still going strong and
likely to last the season out, and mean
While, besides arranging for It's production
in the United States, Morton has given
aerr shontau, who Is big gun" in the
German dramatic world. permission to
make German adaptation of the piece
which Will be given in Berlin next October
Still another will be seen in Budapest and
IN the meantime Beerbohm Tree Is busy
choosing the cast and otherwise arranging
for the production of Morton's version Of
The Newcomes, which 1t is now def
nitely decided will be seen in London some
time during the present season
So II seems there is more than a chance
that before long this American playwright
Will be represented by no less than three
London productions all at the same time
record which no one except Shakespeare
has equaled up to the present although
Mr.. Barrie came near 1t awhile ago. This
however, does not complete the tale of
Michael Morton's luck. for still another
adaptation which he finished quite recent
iy has been accepted by a London man.
ager, and will be given in the metropolis
In the course OF a few months. This will
be called Daisy" and is the story of a.
race-course pickpocket. who. however, at
the end of the play rises to rather heroic
height. In Paris the piece ran for two
whole seasons and made no end of money
for It's author, Tristan Bernard. The
Daisy" of the title Is not a girl but the
old English song. which is used as q pass
word by the welshing fraternity of the
race track, who hum It at the approach Of
the police.
AS for 1.-THE Bond Of Nlnon," at the
Savoy, here is rather witty piece, written
by talented woman who has done much
good literary work, but spoiled by what is
considered a hackneyed and rather silly
plot. It is. in fact. a queer mixture of the
elder and the younger Dumas as repre-
sented by THE Three Musketeers'' and
Camille" and even an expensive cast,
which included Henry Ainley and H "
Esmond, and a luxurious mounting, could
not save 1t from vigorous ''booing' at the
end from the combined pit and gallery. The
"Ninon' is the historical 'Ninon de len
clos" whitewashed, however, for stage pur-
poses, and her bond Is a rather foolish
written promise to love the bearer given
by her to a youthful admirer who doubts
her fidelity.
At last the author Of 'Raff1es" is to see
his own play, after apparently about every
one in the United States has seen it. There
have been plans afoot on several occasions
to produce the play In England, but 1t Is
believed one reason why they have not
come to anything hitherto was the desire
Of Kyrie Beilew to have the English pro-
duction held off until he could come over
and star in 1t. But the complete failure
of J. NJ. Barrie's Josephine" brings
Rallies to the front with a Jump to I'LL
the gap. Probably before these lines are in
print, 1t will have been presented here with
Gerald du Maurier In the part OF RAT
fies," the gentleman burglar. The rest of
the cast Is also notable. including Jessie
Bateman as the heroine. Dion Boucicault
as the detective Laurence Irving as the
low-down thief, and Grahame Brown as
Bunny" MIR. Hornung Is making q good
many changes In the play as produced in
the United States. II 1t does anywhere
near 50 well In England as 1T did in the
United States we shall probably see before
long the dramatization of Mr.. Hornung's
'Stingaree" stories, in which the principal
figure was an Australian bushranger