Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-16
HE TIL EAT R.
.That Little Affair at the Boyd's.

It is not often that a first-night audience
is treated to the spectacle of SUBSTITUTE
for the star, but last night at the Co
lumbia the audience who went to see
Cecilia Lotus and to judge what meas
ure of success awaits Gillette's new play
That Little Affair at the Boyd's.' sat up
and took q great deal of notice or Mary
Ryan. 1t was announced after the llrsl
act that Miss LOTUS had been i'll and was
still unable to take her part: MISS hsa,,,
who played the leading part in Brewster
Millions" and who has been reneafAns
only since Friday the part In which she
scored triumphantly last nlght, TOOK tie
audience by storm, and before the curtain
fell for the last time there was not a man
or woman present who was not predicting
that there would be new name among
the stars of the theatrical armament
THAT Little Affair at the Boyd's is the
story of a young man who writes play
with distinct literary tinge. but VINO
cannot possibly get a single manager 70
accent them. At the time the play opens
Stephen Boyd is at the end of his rope.
With his mother and sisters depenoell.
on him he has grown poorer ana poorer !.
until they are in want. In the wosaS u
Irritable Dallas Welsford. by Jove' ne
doesn't get enough to eat;
Kitty Cameron, whom Boyd had known
in their schOoldays. has become an ac-
tress of some fame and learning Oh ms
plight resolves to help him. Right mere
the ingenuity of the play comes In DIS
guising herself as a kitchen maid she
goes to work In the lodgings In Lohooii
suburb where the Boyds live
And what a maid she Is. slattelnly'
slovenly unkempt smudge-faced slaNeS,
she is a modern Cinderella that wouio
have delighted the heart of PM May;
DOOR unkempt and ignorant girl. the low
est of the London low. she will make you
laugh one minute and almost cry the ,1 neAt:
For two acts the little maid Ilcey
stumbles. breaks things and trembles. put
during that time she manages to gain her
ends by showing Philip just where 10 I'M
prove those parts in his play when the
MANAGERS have said were Impossible.
a chance for splendid mimicry and act
ing, and Miss Ryan carried the auoIenIe
TO the heights of enthusiasm and haroiy
a line was unapplauded Inc picture ~ u
the grimy and tattered little girl. a"h-
ward beyond description, pretending 10
feei thai the characters of the manu-
script play are real and reciting the parts
with a beautiful pathos is one that Will
become famous Mary Ryan succeeoeo
wonderfully we'll in contrasting the COCK
ney girl with the accomphsned ac, .harc
Through the CRIME of the kitchen there
shines the skill of a woman VINO KNOWS
life and love and how to present them.
The offsetting of the kitchen maid against
the actress of emotion is little FEMININE
Dr.. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which both
William Gillette and Mary Ryan may
be proud Of Mary Ryan is a splendid
mimic. Her dialect one minute ana her
reading of the deeply tragic lines OF
Stephens play the next kept the audl-
ence on the tiptoe OF expeetanEy' al .nds
o. course. being a comedy, 1t all enos
happily The little Ticey SUCCEEDS IN
getting the obdurate lines changed to
natural. plausible words, and the play
is accepted. Kitty Cameron has the iead-
ing part and the play makes a hit. ana.
Of course. the love story comes to just
that kind Of an ending that AUDIENCES
like 4.
All the way through THAT Little At
fair at the Boyd's' is charming, ana every
There is Dallas Welsford. with part
tia. reminds one of that delectable Mr.
Hopkinson" just as funny as ever, Win
the very same gestures that mace ne 1r
aid Square audiences hold their SIDES with
laughter; Jeffreys Lewis. who makes
lot of a small part; Frank Craven. as
Stephen Boyd. little melodra matic at
first but who atones for 1t later on;
Robert Ferguson an old-timer, WHO plays
a walters part with the skill of mas
ter: Frederick HAND. VINO mas os'o ~,
original part and who carries 1t off to
perfection: Joseph Brennan. who is as
natural as life--in fact. there is not one
of the company who did not work, and
work hard, last night 10 make great Dis
success.
THAT Little Affair at the Boyd's' is a
clean. comfortable play. the kind that
people talk about and advise their neigh
bors to see. 1t is easy to see that ii
will settle down somewhere for long
run. There may he one of two places
that neeu smoothing out, but it will be
an easy matter. Even with the play
unchanged the story and the fresh at
mosphere from beginning to end would
carry for many months.
# NAV he that Miss LOTUS will not be
able to appear this week. but any one
who stays away from the Columbia Thea
ter on that account will miss one of the
best treats that has been offered in
Washington for long time.