The Washington times., 1908-01-26

n
~ AUL ARMSTRONG has demon
- strated that his arm and his
| Judgment are weak in the max
ing and producing Of a drama.
His Society and the Bulldog was
uuyerifed and scragEly society, very
ulldOggy-positively fierce. Whoever
has seen 1.-THE Heir to the Hoorah"
knows the kline of a play Mr.. Arm
strong set out again 10 indite. but some
how, he did not possess his soul In pa
tienCe, nor his wits in sequence. The
result was society gone wrong. Western
characters sent a-wauderiug on Broad
way again. and an exhibition OF raw
PLAY construction that requires charity
instead OF criticism. Elita Proctor Otis.
fat, forty, and wise, was the one shining
person Of the actor persuasion on the
stage, for, even II She did not have the
necessary lines. she looked and telc-
pathicaIly radiated the part of Mrs. Van
Rensselaer,. social merCenaTy queen. to
the mInutest stipulation. William Far
mum d.d a sturdy. elderly Nevada hero
cXCelently. This Play appeared at
Days, and goes 20 the storehouse.
Best Farce in Years.
Monday evening there came to town
the best farce for years Twenty
Days in the Shade"-Frohman produc-
tion az the Savoy theater. adapted by
Paul Potter from the French of Hen
nequin and Weber. We went with a
wish and a hope 10 be pleased, but with
a fear an1 a pTemon1tion OF dreariness.
Oh. the delight OF the surprise. Here is
rafting, breezy, sure-thing. genuine. I'M
alleged farcicaI swiftress. Everybody
looked about and smiled. hUnched up
q peg nearer the stage and began to
take more particular notice. Here was
Potter himself again, handing out lines
OF merriment, epigrammatic wisdo1a
/ terse aptness, sparkling humor, laugh
able fantasy. You could see that the
company was anxious, at first to
have the play go" and you could see
/ that all we're IN a quandary, for no
one can tell from rehearsal whether a
farce IS destined to score. But, the
| JOY Of it. when the player perceived
/ that the thing was stirring up the audi
/ euce TO unquestionable merriment. You
should have been there to hear the ring
Of the applause as the curtain fell al
/ the close of the first act. The fate OF
/ the play was settled right there.
/ The story? No use to tell It. II must
/ be seen. seen as presented by the pres
EFT company. What good would it do
/ to tell YOU the story of What Hap
pened to Jones?" Think how that alb
surdity would sound in print But re
/ member the multitudes who have laugh
ed at the farce. and remember how
much money it has made. 1 think this
! Twenty Days in the Shade" is quite
! as good farce as I have seen in
MANY years. It cannot help but live a
long time. 1t takes hold of one, wakes
/ one I'D. makes one laugh heartily, and is
| Just wicked enough to compel one to
keep awake.
Splendid Cast in Play.
! Richard Bennett, as Henri, Compile
De Marvllle," proves equal to the task
of rendering a series IF ridiculous pre-
dicaments sufficiently convincing TO
nrovoke roars of laughter. Charles
! Dickson, as "Fantru-he," a ne'er-do-
well. accompIishes a clean and vital
niece of character work. Shorty,
from Jail, by Dallas Wexford, is quite
] equal to Albert Chevalier's best style
While Pauline Frederick is the beauti-
full wife around whom the plot gyrates
The cast throughout is splendid The
/ niece mails a corIxinz hit, and after the