The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-21
CDe Cbedtres
{ ,,~. nrev A. DeLancey.

nieht. not on account of the play but in spite of it. The audiences went away iron, the Montgomery Theatre delighted with the evenings entertainment and bonair Impotence and cherishing recol- lectlons off the clean cut intelligent work of his supporting company
 The latter day Montgomery audiences are not acquainted with MT. Drew ex- cept by reputation. They had only seen his name in the papers and his pie lures in the books except the fortunate ones who went to New York and came back to brag about the time they saw John Drew. Montgomery met Mir. Drew last night and was charmed.
 Mir. Drew. has most fetching way of uttering fiippancies and smart impud- ences And he wears his clothes so well too. When he rocks back and forth on his heels and toes, wearing loose but distinguished looking morning suit with his hands showed far down In his pockets, showed down until the el- bows are nearly concealed. with tie tied In the proper degree of careless- ness and the collar with the right shade of dull laundry finish; when he stands there that way and tells in smart lines how useless he is and why no woman should love him, he shows very fasci- mating figure of a modern young man.
 A word might be said, too of how handsome he looked in hunting suit with red coat and of the distinguished frock coat he wore in the last act, but to harp upon his clothes cheapens the broad and intelligent art of this fine actor. Even in such a play as Delaney he showed his worth, he showed his polish, his finish and his intelligence
 The play Is a conversation with three backgrounds. One of the most excit- ing things that happened during the evening was the practiced mixing of a rye high ball by MT. Drew. It was that something happened. He had champagne served to him in the same act. In the second act he refreshed himself with a long toddy, and in the third act the ingredients of a Scotch high ball were in sight, but they were not put to a practical use in the sight of the audience. It certainly was dry work. MT Drew had to do so much talking. One fancies if 1t Is possible that when he read over the tailorr made play Augustus Thomas had written around him, MT. Drew insisted on the i business of the drinks being put in. Mir. Drew was luclSier than the audi enee.
 It Is a difficult thing to realize that MT. Thomas, who wrote Arizona, | Alabama" "Colorado," and other ar- | "a | the Union, would let the play Of "De | Lancey" go out with his trade mark on | 1t. It resembles, in no little degree, | one of the pieces of fiction with which | each weekly number of Town Topics begins and which you have to read be- fore you get to the black-mailing para graphs. Jim De Lancey is West Pointer. an ex-army man and an sex' | husband. His wife, who never appears has secured a divorce before the cur tain rises. De Lancey, in the opening
 acts, is q lovabie, lazy fellow, who is
 sort of a pensioner upon the gen.
 erosity of his aunt and a friend. This
 friend is engaged to Jacqueline, 8 con nection but no blood relation of the ex- husband. The wife had named Jacque- line in the divorce proceedings, and, tf keep, the name, of the girl from .ths mouth of the public, De Lancey con
 sents to the divorce and the girl nevel
 knows that she had the unenviable dis
 tinction of having her name figure a:
 the correspondent in divorce proceed
 ings. a.
 It so happens that the girPis reall' in love with De Lancey and by tn
 same token the ex-husband is deepl, in love with her. But it happens tha
 she is engaged to the generous friend
 De Lancey spends two and half act
 protecting her honor and shielding tn Ignorance of the girl of the seriou
 situation. Her irate father arrive
 from Missouri, where they shoot pee
 pie when anything happens to the Hem
 mine members of the family. But tn
 friend develops 6 romantic attachmen for a young girl he had kissed in
 geranium bed six years before and Lancey receives the reward for his Joy atty and his sacrifice. as well as
 commission to go to Tokio and teac the Japanese cavalry how to ride 10 | a fat salary.
 Now MT. Drew takes thls play of "r
 Lancey' with its dearth of inciden , it's warmed over smart lines and make
 a delightful evenings entertainmer assisted of course by gifted and In telligent company. Mir. Drew does hi
 part by right of merit. Does any mod
 ern act6f speak the lines of moder
 play and illustrate the graceful busl
 ness of a drawing room drama so we
 as MT. Drew? He has not come lMontgomery. Nor has any other ma , come to. Montgomery who can be 6 . fascinating and so graceful as MI Drew in the ungraceful and unroman
 tic clothing of modern life. And , modern actor In modern play ca
 so carelessIy, but so surely reach owe
 the footlights and clutch the interes and admiration of his audience, as tn i descendant of line of stage stars. MT. Drew and MT. Thomas, especial . fly MT. Thomas, are under deep obliga
 tlons to the costellation of stars whtc
 clusters around MT. Drew and wh
 joined their radiance to the effulgene
 of the big star last night. particu
 lar debt is due @ charming young we man who appeared on the program a
 Doris Keane. She was the girl kisse
 in-the geranium bed and nobody blame . the man that did the deed. The audl ence was quite ready to believe, as tn author would have 1t believe. that tn young woman was so fascinating an . charming that she won an engage man from his loyalty and his allegiance But she excelled not only in gracefl { and svelte beauty. she shone as we In the finer points of her art.
 s The misunderstood heroine wa played by Margaret Dale and she wa , played splendidly, too. Miss Dale quite worthy of being the leading wo
 man of even so distinguished an acto as John Drew. She went through he role a veritable dynamo of magnetisi . and vitality.
 A handsome young man of the nam of Walter Hale, played the physlcia
 lover of Jacqueline, who kissed tn : girl in the geranium bed. He acte ' Na