Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-16
OLD COMEDY
is REVIVED
BURBANK COMPANY PRESENTS
"A BACHELORS ROMANCE"
JOHN w. BURTON DOES ARTISTIC
WORK
Play PIeases, as 1t Always Has Done
In the Past-BeasIey and Miss
Esmond Are Well
Cast
BY sIDLE LAWRENCE

Few plays of recent authorship wear
as well as "a Bachelors Romance,
Martha Morton's comedy which is re-
vived this week at the Burbank. Writ
ten originally for the late Sol Russell,
the play was at once the greatest sue
cess of his later years and his greatest
disappointment. Throughout the coun-
try 1t attracted large and well pleased
audiences. 1t was acclaimed the best
comedy Russell ever had produced.
Finally he took it into New YORK,
rented theater and presented the play
under his own management. The re-
suit was disastrous. New York would
have none of 1t, and Russell died with
out the New York approval he had
worked so hard to secure, but recog-
nized outside of the metropolis as one
Of the greatest comedians of the day.
Since his death "A Bachelors Romance"
has been presented times without num-
ber by stock companies from Portland
to Portland, and always with fiatter-
ing measure of success.
In essentials the play Is merely an
other version of "The Professors Love
Story" which delighted Burbank au-
diences few weeks ago. It's motif,
too, Is identical with that which made
Anthony Hopes philosopher in the
Apple Orchard" the daintiest and most
sympathetic of his short stories. 1t Is
the love story of middle-aged recluse
for young girl; the man older than
his years from much work; self-cen-
tered and self-sufficient until the girls
entry into his life; the girl, young,
blithesome, charming, lovable and low
ing. These two are thrown together py
force of circumstances. Each loves
the other but the man, rejuvenated by
Cupid, still accounts his years a bar
rier to wooing and keeps silent until
his eyes are opened by his brother,
when the course of true love ends hap
PLY, as 1t needs must-upon the stage.
BeasIey at His Best
Both Miss Blanche Hall and Mr.. Will
liam Desmond are out of the cast this
week. Mr.. Beasley playing the bache-
lor and Miss Esmond the girl. Theirs
is the story of the play and a delight
full story they make 1t. Beasley is at
his best in this role, his David Holmes
showing the absorption in his work of
the literary man, living in yet apart
from th1 world; while at the same time
1t is free from obvious exaggeration.
The characterization Is praiseworthy,
not alone for what the actor does, but
for what he does not do. Nor is Miss
Esmond a whit behind him in the ex-
cellence of her work. Her Sylvia is
a charmingly natural young woman of
wonderful witchery, transparent to all
save to the man she would have read
her heart and whose reading is con-
fined closely to his own books.
AS Martin Beggs, a literary hack.
John w. Burton gives us a picture of
rare merit, remarkably strong in its
pathos and entirely dominating the
scene In which he learns that his story,
entered for the $4,000 price Is, as
Holmes says, hopeless" Mr.. Burtons
acting in this scene yesterday after
noon was greeted with laughter that
was as little deserved as would have
been tumultuous applause. He earned
and should have received the tribute of
sympathetic silence, for the scene,
short as it was, embraced one of the
finest bits of acting seen on the Bur-
bank stage4n many day.
Hiss Louise Royce makes an anus
ing Clementina and deserves praise for
her costpningI of the part. Where she
got those gowns is mystery. The
other roles. for the most part are in
good handc.