The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-12-31
in THE THEATRES
"WILDFIRE" COMES UNDER
THE WIRE A WINNER.
Broadhurst-Ho Hobart Racing Comedy
Scores at the Enthusiastically
Acted by Lillian Russell and Co.

Acted by Lillian Russell and Co.
"Wiidfre' was the play at the Newark
Theatre last night. and good reports of its
entertaining qualities have doubtless
spread like wildire through Newark over
night. Certainly those in the very siza-
bic audience present last night must have
felt like telling all their friends to go
and see it, or else miss a good, brisk
comedy and some highly agreeable acting.
"Wildfre' is the second comedy without
music in which Miss Lillian Russell has
appeared since deserving the field of comic
opera and burlesuue.. Her first venture
was not a success; her present is very
much of a success. With her work on the
musical stage, her personal charms and
her vocal achievements, the public Is thor
oughly familir. With her ability of inn
~personation in straight character 1t is not
so familiar. Miss Russell acquainted a
Newark audience last night with the fact
that she has indubitable acting ability.
and that she knows how to direct her
talent intelligently.
Her role was that of Mrs. Darlington,
a widow. who has inherited the owner
ship and management of the Duffy racing
stables. Mrs. Barrington's tastes do not
run particularly to the sport of kings
She thinks more of helping along her
younger sister, who wants to get married
to a young man who happens to be In
financial difficulties. But tbs racing sta
bles are her only support, and she makes
the best of 1t, running them with the
assistance of Matt Donovan, the trainer,
with great shrewdness and success. The
special pride of her stables Is the mare,
Wildfire, which is about to run the race
OF her life. If the mare wins, Mrs. Bar
rlngton proposes to sell the stables. If
she wins, Ralph Woodhurst will make
enough money to enable him to marry
Mrs. Barrington's sister. If she loses. he
VIII get into serious financial troubles and
probably be cast off by his father, who is
a pious old reformer, crusading against
the evils of the race track.
Mrs. harrington is averse to acknowl-
edg1ng publicly her connection with the
Jury stables, and this gives the villain
OF the piece, John Duffy. a a
chance to throw the race and cause
Wildfire to lose. Duffy takes advantage
OF the Jockey, Chappie Raster's. ignorance
OF VINO owns Wildfre to represent him
self as the owner. He i%nstructs Raster
to bring Wildfre In a winner only If he
sees a handkerchief waving from fho
stable window as he turns into the home
streteh. He also makes it appear that
John Garrison. who is Mrs. Barrlngton's
lover, is involved IN the deal.
But 1t so happened that Bud. the tabla
hoy, had overheard Duffy's instructions
and imparts them TO Mrs. harrington. She
rises to the occasion nobly: inveigles Duffv
INTO making love to her at the crucial mo-
ment and waves the handkerchief herself
from the stable window. The remainder OF
the action is concerned chiefly with Mrs.
Barr1ngton's two lovers. One of them.
Garrison, whom she really loves. she sns-
poets Of crookedness in trying to ruin
Widfires chances. The other, Fred San
derson, she promises to marry, but he has
agreed to play fair and when he learns
that Garrison has been unJustly accused
releases her from her promise and bids her
wed the man of her choice.
There is a good deal that is artificial in
the play, though a good deal more that is
real. Miss Russell has to exert all her
power to make a few Of her sentimental
speeches ring true. The subsidiary love
affair of the younger sister and Woodhurst
is a bit mechanical. There are several
bitches In the exposition and development
of the story. But these are all after
thoughts. While Witnessing the play one
has only time and thought to be enter
tanned and one is entertained richly.
TIL best OF the play. besides the excel
lence of its acting, Is the success with
which the atmosphere Of the race track Is
reproduced. The speech is of the track,
racy. and the characters are impersonated
with complete fidelity to life.
Miss Russell realized her every oppor-
tunity as the widow. She remains re-
markedly youthful in her beauty. Prob
ably the makeup requires n little more
and care, but the effect is as charm
ing as ever. Her acting was consistently
true to the warm-hearted, impulsive
widow. who was unaffectedly charming in
her every mood.
But the most thorough-going comedy
characterization of the evening was that
of the honest horse trainer, Matt Donovan,
by Herbert Corthell. This breezy, natter
of-fact master of slang was rendered most
amusingly individual by Mr.. CorthelTs
crisp and spontaneous method. Equally
effective work was done by the diminu
tive Will Archie as Bud, the stable boy,
and between the two of them the audience
could do nothing but laugh for as long as
they were in view. owen Westford was
funny as the pious roformer; Hugo Toland
was good as Duffy. the bookmaker. Gil
bert Douglass interpreted the conventional
stage type Of Englishnan successfully; and
Boyd Putnam and Morgan Wallace inn
personated the rivals for the Widows
favor wen. Norman Tharp Miss Gene
We've Cliff and Miss Rosalle De Vaux were
cast in minor parts. It seemed a bit odd
that the jockey who rode Wildhre should
have been made n oolored boy. but Harry
q. Stafford in the role, contributed r1uch
TO the amusement Of The audience. Miss
Annie Buckley played the colred maid,
who was duly impressed with the Jockeys
Importance and the scenes between the
were delightfully."- funny. The entire
company, in fact. WIS much more than
ordinarily competent. The staging Of me
piece. particularly in the stable scene If
the second act. heightened the effect Of
atmosphere and the Illusion of reality
The play was written by two skilled
playwrights, George Broadhulst, author of
several famous farces and one highly she
ceesful serious play, THE Man of the
Hour and Georgd v. Hobart, who also
u.ritna fnrcnn aud Il IN crnnrf IN the writ