The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-04-21
YORK
A REVOLUTIONARY WAR PLAY
AT THE GARDEN.

Edward VrOOm ReappeaS In His own
MelOdrama, '"The Luck Of MaogreGOr"
He Is a Much Better Actor Than He
II an Author and Can Prove II,
Edward vroom ia an excellent actor. He
has been absent in England, however, for
many years, which IL our loss, But Mr.,
Vroom, II be is to be judged by The Luck
Of Macgregor,' a play Of Revolutionary
days in New York, written by himself, in
which he chose to make his remittance to
this city at the Garden Theatre last night,
Ia a far better actor than author. Frankly,
-The Luck Of Macgregor' won't do.
There is a fourishing tradition in theat-
rical circles that any play about the Amer
lean war for Independence lie doomed In
advance, Nathan Hale but testing the
rule. The reason. the managers say, isthat
the American public are not interested In
such plays. Possibly the real reason Is
that most Of the plays are 30 bad. Henry
Irving always wanted TO play Washington
but could never get a play about him good
enough to produce. However, our play
wrights keep on trying, though the goal
il not won. the Luck Of MacGregor'
leaves il as far OF as ever. The best play,
perhaps. about the American Revolution
remains that by q. B. Shaw. an lrishman.
The scenes of Mr., Yroom's play are laid
az Fort George, at Spuyten Duyvil and at
Stony Point on the night Mad Anthony
took il. That you see exactly the same
landscape from Fort George and Spuyten
Duyvil is a detail. The story is concerned
with the implication OF Cdpt. MdcGre9or,
a dashing young Scotch lrishman, in a
Continental plot to secure the plans Of
Stony Point fort, and his failure TO eNtricate
himself because TO do 80 would hang a sweet
little rebel with whom he falls In love,
The third act is the oourt-martial at Stony
Point. AacGrcgor played a spring and
danced il round below the gallows tree,
and it seemed all up with him
But bark! What sound upon the mid
night silence breaks? Yes, Mad Anthony
has arrived; a bit early for history, but just
in time to save Mdcgregor, who sympa-
thizes so strongly with his rescuers that he
turns coat and shouts "To hell with King
Georgel' or words to that effect. Mad
Anthony himself enters and demands sur
render in the words Of Ethan Allen, A
man in the audience got so excited that
he declared his interest was OF the Wayne.
and was promptly hit in the eye by his COM
panion. Four years later the hero took
the Fort Lee ferry back to Manhattan and
married the girl,
In the form Of this story there is a hint
Of Shaw's Devils Disciple But in the
writing Of it Mr.. Vroom's idea OF
preparation Is rudimentary, When he
wants anything TO happen, why, 1t Just
does. II is easy to make plays that way,
and they would be just about as real or as
interesting as this one. There Is never even
the illusion Of melodrama about It, because
the train Of circumstance has never been
carefully laid and the hero's p~redicaments
are trivial, not inevitable; at times they
are absurd. How with this bungling he
escaped a court martial till the third act
only Mr.. Vroom will ever know.
But the author star wrote himself, as 30
often happens in actormade plays, many
stirring speeches, which he delivered with
fine distinction Of voice and gesture, and
otherwise he comported himself with ease
and grace and that charming, devil may
care swagger Of the romantic stage Irish
man. Mr.. VrOOm is a skilled actor and at
together a pleasant one to see and hear, 1t
is a pity as much praise cannot be accorded
his play.