The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-25
Cbe Cbeatres
"Checlers.''

Checkers may not be the great Anneri- can production that "The College Widow" and The County Chairman" are, but Checkers is distinctly American and there in Is where 1t is one of the most entertain ing and successful plays of today.
 Not that there are not some lines in Checkers" that are just as clever as most of the lines in Ade's comedies and not that there are situations in ''Checkers's that are just as entertaining and decidedly more stirring than in the Ade comedies. 4 com parison must be drawn between the three plays, on the fundamental ground that they are the only three plays that have achieved great popularity in America in recent years that deal solely and alone with true. typical Americans that make the United States what 1t is today.
 In Checkers we have before our eyes, and faithfully portrayed, American women of the highest type and American women of whom that cannot be said. We have Amer ican men of the highest type and we are given keen insight into the lives of gam blers, racemen. and hangers on at the race tracks. We are enabled to see. faithfully presented, life at Hot Springs. a resort more picturesque than Baden We see life in a good American village and 1t is all so enjoyable because we are seeing that which We know about. There was not man or woman in the audience at the Montgomery Theatre last night who did not see some body on the stage exactly like sombody I know" The ability to picture American life, realistically has put George Ade at the head of his profession today. The same thing has made "Checkers'' one of the very best comedies of the past five years.
 There are grave faults in this adaptation of "Checkers" The last act should not be in the play at all. After an audience has been brought to its feet with a scene like the Washington race track. 1t is diffi- cult for an audience to sit quietly and wit mes a commonplace act. no matter if the hero and the heroine are united in that act The last act of Checkers" vas all most melodramatic and there was a slight pang of disappointment. Some of the incidents in "Checkers'' required certain stretch of imagination, but as whole thing, "Checkers" is so clever. entertaining. so pathetic and so strong. that 1t Is not worth while to call attention to minor things.
 An exceptionally good company presented Mir. Blossoms comedy. To make Cheek ers'' go. 1t takes a company of remarkably good cahracter actors and the company of last night is chock full of character actors of exceptional ability. Checkers is not a one man piece. The title role is a good part, but there are other parts just as good in Che play. Hans Robert. who plays the whole-souled gentleman-gambler, slangy and modern Is a good actor. with an unreal, paradoxical character to present. He is faithful to his part and never stepped out of the picture save for brief second in the last act. when he addressed a side remark to the audience Jhich is all out of place in straight comedy His American epIerams were superb and there were no times when he overdid the part. His love scenes were quiet, convincing and effect i've
 But, however good Mir. Robert may have been, there were too many other people in the production to devote more space to the star No man played a part more con vincingly, more entertainingly. more breez- lily than Dave Braham, Jr,. played Push Miller the race horse tout. the interruptions little gambler with a big heart. an active mind and plenty of wit. It was one of the best and brightest pieces of work ever seen on the stage of the Montgomery Theatre and the audience gave Mir Braham the cred it that was due him.
 Wallace Worsley. who played the part of Arthur Kendall. the young man of the world, did a magnificent piece of acting. His work was even, well balanced and faith ful to a fault. He endeavored to make people realize Arthur Kendall and he did 1t.
 But there was such an array of talent that enough cannot be said. The three invalfds at the Hot Springs Hotel were played by men that played the parts for all they were worth and the same was true of the three village loafers.
 Miss Katharine Mulkins was as pretty winsome and lovable a Pert one might wish to see. Like all the rest of the people in the play, she played her part just as th' part indicated She played an American girl of the finest type. She was an Ameri- can girl of the finest type. There can be no greater tribute.
 Miss Lydia Dickson as Cynthia, the ser want girl. gave one of the most entertaining bits in the play
 The only jarring feature was the pronii- hence given a negro dancing team in the second act. It is always jar to eultur- , ed audience to see negroes and white peo- pie cavorting on the same stage and th' management might we'll leave out the ne groes.
 The scenery and costumes were adequate the hotel office scene being perfect in it' details
 Creston Clarke in ''Beaueaire" today a matinee and tonight.