Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-25

these commonplace eXpedients were
evidently deemed too plebeian and
oVerw worked, so Mr.. Fitch has recourse
to gas. In this he utterly destroys the
dramatic point. For gas is impalpa-
BILE, intangible and unseeable; unless
one know the story of the play before
hand one cannot for ones life tell
what the young wife is doing till it is
all over and thus the point is lost. She
chambers on chair in the semi-dark
and turns on the jet, but who knows
what she is about? Hence, it is mere
curiosity that takes the place of tense
interest and sympathy, and the impos-
sibility of comprehending her actions
puts away the keen objectivity of her
move and leads ones mind to stray or
to be obsessed by the unknowable. 1t
is therefore an anti-climax and the
play is ruined-as a dramatic work.
However, this comedy has been seen
here before in the same house and pre-
sumably the majority of playgoers are
familiar enough with it to interpret
correctly the mysterious actions of the
girl and thus not to lose the thread
of the story. In that case the end is
not so disastrous, and the play gains
in strength through familiarity-which
is not always the case. Anyhow, 1t
has passed muster for several years
since Clara Bloodgood reached a brief
stardom in it, and Isabel Irving utilized
it, and the public certainly enjoys the
rich farce in its earlier acts, so it has
cause for recrudescence now.
Naturally, being a we'll known skit,
interest last night centered in its in
terpretation-for the Belasco company
has changed considerably since it was
given before. Mr.. Stone and Miss AL
bertson had no part in it's former pro-
duction, or did number of others.
1t seems that in every part Miss
Albertson plays she is just little bet
ter than in any she has played be-
fore. AS jimmy Austin she was almost
perfection. In the heavy climaxes
her voice Jared trifle, but the subtle
portrayal of a jealous woman was
otherwise one Of the best that local
playhouse has seen. Sudden changes
from love to hate are difficult to por-
tray and not be laughed at, and when
Miss Albertson did not want to be
laughed at last night she was not. Her
rapid changes of face and motions of
hands and body gave vivid picture of
the varying mental states of the
woman with the green eyes of
jealousy"
Lewis Stone as Jack Austin, the hus-
band of jimmy, gave another subtle in
depreciation of a difficult role. Always
reserved in his action, Stone acted much
in his usual manner, the only difference
being that he used smile that spread
over his face with such gladsomeness
it seemed to be able to make anybody
love him. Stone belongs to the school
of actors who believe that acting is
not all done by stacy physical motions.
He played the part as a polished gentle
man with big, broad-minded heart.
Miss Virginia Berry, who played the
parts of Susie and Carrie Lopp, was
good both as the little mischievous girl
and as the countrified old maid. John
Daily Murphy, with his pills, tablets,
bromo-seltzers and other indigestion
remedies, never failed to bring laugh
and his cadaverous looking makeup
added to the effectiveness of his acting.
Richard Vivian as Jeffry Tillman, the
weak-minded man who loves two
women, is a trife weak in his acting.
His eyebrows have tiresome way of
raising themselves for every emotion
in the same manner.
AS whole the play was balanced
and the performance was well-rounded
in all the details.