The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-01
ADJUSTMENTS
Metropo c. Goodwin In "The
GenIus.n

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS c. Goodwin In "The
Genius"
Into his own particular land Of en-
chantment-a land to which hardly an
other American farce comedy star can
even point the trail2Nat C.. Goodwin
once more leads a, Minneapolis audience
into the sunny uplands of mirth Usu-
ally when coming into this land of his,
tears are ever close behind the smiles,
and there are moments when lust another
minor tone In Mr.. Goodwin's voice would
change 1t all from the uplands of mirth
to the valley of seriousness. But last
night at the Metropolitan, with his first
entrance in THE Genius" he took the
audience with him easily into the realms
of laughter ..E
In Blaze of Glory the curtain
raiser which preceded, is a character
study from life, by, Paul Armstrong, and
is really not play at ALL but Just bit
cut out from days happenings in a hos
p1tal. A dead body is being wheeled out
from the wards glazing whiteness as tn.
curtain goes up. Directions are given
that the bed be made up for the next
patient. A millionaire's child has Just
been saved by tramp from death in a
runaway accident. The father instructs
the hospital attendants to do everything
that can be done for the man who has
saved his daughter. The poor battered
body Is brought In and the ambulance
doctor says that he has less than an hour
to live. Restoratives are applied, which
brlng the patient to consciousness. but
little is learned Of him save his name
and the fact that he has no relatives
The little girl sends him flowers, the
I physician gives him champagne and the
strains OF Killarney come floating up
| from a handorgan in the street below
rcl,t mi, ~ hi
the peace and luxury, the hero Of rags
sinks to find his final rest.
Mr.. Goodwin plays the tramp with fine
d1scernment and good effect. There was
no hint Of the mawkish sentimentality
which might so easily creep in to spoil
such a delineation. The role Of the fine,
manly, sympathetic surgeon was in the
hands Of Gordon Johnston, and he made
it one Of the best bits of the evening.
THE Genius is a three-act farce
comedy, and has to do with the affairs
of Jack Spencer, "a young millionaire who
has fallen in love with Josephine Van
| Dusen, who Is madly devoted to art
Clutterbuck, an art critic, is the man she
prefers to Spencer, because OF his endless
flow Of art talk In his endeavor to rem
edy his deficiency Spencer falls in with
three jovial artists and. urges them tc
teach him art in a month. When they
lHdhS IL CledT 10 him no" Impossible
such a thing would be-, he decides that
with their help, he will become a genius
over night. By posing as the teacher Of
these three artists, and by signing al
their works and allowing the art-adorine
Miss Van Dusen and Clutterbuck to dis
cover him. he finds himself, at the enc
Of two weeks, the feted lion Of the hour
But when Miss Van Dusen turns from thu
creator Of the lion to the lion himself, thu
newly discovered genius finds he ha!
ceased to love her, but has come to love
the beautiful model, Nell Graham. Spen
Ger, to break his engagement with Mis-
Van Dusen and so shape matters that h,
may marry the girl he loves, finds it ex
pedient to denounce himself as an i'm
poster, but his friends do not believe him
and regard his declaration as furthe
proof that he is a genius, Just a bi
crazy. But, Of course, Spencer wins hi
point in the end with everybody happy.
.. Robert Patton Gibbs, Neil O'Brien an,
. Gordon Johnston play Spencer's thre
artist friends in a way wholly worthy O
: Mr.: Goodwin Edna Goodrich. who ha
the leading role, is an unusually beautifu
! young woman. Her head and shoulder
: make one think of Maxine Elliot, but he
/ beauty is Of a warmer, more piquan
type. While she lacks somewhat i
spontaneity, she plays pleasingly.
The girl with the artistic Temperament
, is capably portrayed by Suzanne Perry
= Louise Rial as Mrs. Van Dusen, H. c
3 Longdale as the art critic Carey: Living
ston as the suffering student Of paint
4 ling. are satisfactory in their respectiv
s iroles. "'...'- 80 J,'"!'
y While the play is only a very ordinar
S piece of work with a, theme not novel an
8 Echaracters not especially interesting,
: is attractively staged and pleasingly, pre-
Esented. and the leading, role fits NJ
t IGoodwin admirably. So what matters til
e play, the cast or the staging; there
once more Goodwin role with Goodwi
s in it, and that spells success in large lei
:, tiers.