Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-23
capt. UlVKS'
DELIGHTFUL.
RATHER FRoTHY FITCH PLAY
GIVEN FINE PRESENTATION
ETHEL BARRYMORE SHOWS DE-
clDED ADVANCE IN ABILITY
Atmosphere of a Generation Ago Ad-
mlrably Preserved and Many
Quaint Touches Make Com
edy Happy Offering

Thirty-odd years-one generation-can
make a huge change in a1airs IN tnls
rapidly-moving United states OF ours
The chief value in Captain JlnKs, the
Clyde Fitch comedy which Ethel Barry-
more presented at the Mason last nlsnt'
is in emphasizing this fact.
What youngster of today would sup
nose. for instance, that only generation
baek-a time quite familiar to many pres
ent whose hair is not yet gray or gone
that hoopskirts and bustles were as es-
sential portion of the attire OF every
modest woman? Or that chignons, nets
and reaches were necessary In thelr
coiffures? .,
Or, again, that Champagne Charlie"
sTassels on Her Books" "Up in Bal
loon. Boys" or Captain Jinks" supplied
the position in the musical world now
usurped by ragtime and the coon
song?
or that street transportation was con-
fined to horse cars-that uptown In
New York was Fourteenth street-that
transatlantic steamers were all sidewheel
paddlebox affairs-that Horace Greeley
was running for president-that Los An
geles was a 'dobe pueblo?
All this was thirty-odd years ago-after
''the war"-the time wherein Captain
Jinks is laid!
This of course, has nothing to do with
the play-save the odd costumes. 1t is
merely recited that one may the better
get into it's atmosphere, for outside, of its
atmosphere it has few claims to won
drous merit.
Fitch has really caught this atmos-
phere, too-admirably He has chry s.
tallzed it, and about it has reared a
slight but withal interesting fabric of a
play. His plot is not startling. Nor is
his work overly enhanced with the usual
frank, cynical, sneering smartness of up
to-date society which characterizes most
of his writings. The flavor of lavender
and old lace makes up for the lack of
irony and iconoclaSm, and it is rather a
relief to record the absence of these very
modern attributes.
The comedy was written for Miss Bar
rymore, and its great redeeming feature
is that 1t keeps her young maid instead
of making her a middle-aged mother, as
in 'Alice-Sit-by- -the-Fire," or an old hag
of a charwoman. as in 1.-The Silver Box. q"
Miss Barrymore has youth and good
looks, and she will lose both soon
enough. heaven knows, to make it worth
while to utilize both while time is kind
to her. =
The plot of CAPTAIN Jinks" does not
burden one with complications-in fact,
It borders close to the transparent and
the oblivtous, even it is susceptible of
being the overworked.
1t tells Of the alteration paid to the
girl who, unnoticed at home goes away
and under a fictitious name becomes a
prima donna, and of the attentions show
cred on her when she returns; of a bet
made to win her, and her reputation of
her sporting suitor, only to take him in
the end(
.ButSthere is plenty of whimsical char
acter drawing, some rather clever hits
at the popular conception of grand opera,
few tender love passages and the in
evitable happy denouement. So that
after all, it is not half bad.
As Marie Trentoni, Miss Barrymore
wins everyone The writer saw her in
the same play some few years back and
is pleased to record a great advance in
her art. She is fresh winsome and she
possesses strong sense of humor, and
In this rather trivial part she endows
1t with a truthfulness that almost makes
one believe it quite a possible reality
Her growth in broadness and ability is
most decided
Bruce Moray as Captain Jinks is effec-
tive and vivacious. George Pauncefort
and Echlin Gayer are good as his Goldfish
friends; Eugene Jepson is especially fine
as the ballet master, and the smaller
roles are well handled by the clever COM
pany, Especially do Effie Germon as Mrs.
Greenborough and George Swift as Pete
deserve good word
Carrots" will be added to the bill be-
ginning Thursday.