Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-17
7 HE TIL EAT E R
New National.

This season Mr. Crane is in one of his
lighter moods. Occasionally he concerns
himself with a drama of serious plo;,
even Shakespeare. Then again he will de-
lineate- some type with the truth to ma
ture which artists make bold to plead
as excuse for grewsome impressions. Yet
again he is the philosophical hOrSe-tradinS
rustic, and now he is a whimsical towns
man. Father and the Boys is a sketchy
character deiineation. from the pen of
George AIDE. who has become prolific
in farce as George Cohen is in musical
comedy. Father. as played by Mr.. Crane
is pretty nearly the whole show. The
boys nice. manly chaps. but Mr.
Crane eclipseS them completely in the
acting OF the piece as his character
eclipses theirs in the plot. OF course.
some slang is expected from Mr.. AIDE. and
he equips a handsomely gowned young
woman. whose experience has evidently
been in rather more dignified lines, with
fluent argot worthy of Shorty McCabe
i'm his happiest Sunday magazine vein. In
spite of the fact that the appearance and
manner of the actress are rather too re
fined to fit her talk, the slang has eXhli-
arating pungency. 1t is not the hack
neyed street chatter of years gone by: it
is the vocabulary OF the fippant present
and a little ahead of the present in that
Mr. AIDE does not wait for the homely
metaphors which constitute his greatest
cess of speech evolutiOn.> He makes them
I'D himself and they are always sparkling
and apropos.
1t is due largely to MI AIDE that a new
unabridged dictionary is required by the
enormously placid and absorptive pupl1c'
before the preceding ed1tlon mas peen
exhausted.
Yet Father and the Boys is not wholly
a slang comedy. True, the genial old party
portrayed by Mr.. Crane relapses occa-
sionally into the sportive vernacular. but
such Incidents are merely details in a
character sketch that is radiant in its
geniality and which rings true in it's
humanity 1t may he that very few
staid and selfrestrained people actually
break loose" as does this mature but
merry parsonage: but it is certain that
a lot of them would like to. The in
tense sympathetic interest manifested in
the piece by the elder generation sug-
gests that the author and the actor may
find themselves burdened with some grave
responsibilities.
Let 1t not be suspected that Mr.. Crane
draws a mere picture of superannuated
skt;ishness. On the contrary, the cen
trail figure is high-class old chap with
big heart and fine head. that enable
social regions. 1t is a wholesome and
happy creation; an improvement on his
rather constituencies predecessor as
stage favorite, My Awful Dad
The events outlined by the piece are
entirely subordinate to the central figure
They lead through three acts of spirited
comedy into q RAJ her subdued fourth act.
But there are three engaged couples at
the finish. and that fact should be some
COMPENSATION for the return of father
minated to his Office, where. presumably
he is expected to resume his piodding
career and regain his Illinois whiskers.
An excellent though transformations bit of
character work is done by Scott Daley as
Cal Higbee the miner. The role is made
to serve as the medium of some keen
satire on the gun-packing hero of the con-
ventional backwoods play. The audience
at the National Theater last night was
thoroughly entertained.