Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-25
THE CAST
RY sInLE LAMRENCE


LIVER GOLDSMITHS fine old
comedy, "she stoops to Conquer"
~ so cut, slashed, abridged, expur-
gated, transposed and otherwise NAL
treated that it is scarcely recognizable
to theatergoers moderately familiar
with the original text, was presented
last night upon the Belasco stage with
conspicuous success as regards some
few of the characters and conspicuous
success as regards some few of the
characters and conspicuous fallure as
regards the play as a whole.
Granted that the comedy, as Cold
smith wrote it, is too long for modern
usage, granted also that certain
changes in text and omissions are nee
essary to safeguard modern modesty'
there are still ample grounds for COM
plant against the ruthlessness and the
clumsiness OF the unnamed adapter.
Goldsmith was fairly gifted writer
The author of the greatest poem, the
greatest novel and the greatest play
Of his time, he did not write his COM
edy backward. The adapter did that
for him, presenting the second scene OF
act 1 first and utilizing the opening
scene of the play to introduce act z
device which should win better favor
from the stage hands than from au-
dienceS.
Originally written in five acts and
eight scenes, the comedy was pre-
sented last night in four acts and five
scenes. Moreover, the cuts We're SO
bungled that much of the dialogue
bore reference only to incidents duly
set forth in the original manuscript,
but omitted IN their entirety from the
adaptation. How much of this Is just
ly chargeable to the adapter and how
much to unintentional omissions on the
part of the players I cannot say with
authority, but the result in any event.
proved woefully confusing.
Earlier Presentations
First acted at Covent Garden, Lon
don, March Is, 1878, "She Stoops to
Conquer" was conspicuously revived
on the American stage some twenty
years ago by Robson and Crane, before
the unhappy dissolution of that ad-
mirable partnership. In more recent
years 1t has been presented only occa-
sionally, Miss Ellen Terrys infrequent
assumption of the role of Kate Hard
castle being the most noteworthy. 1t
was last seen in Los Angeles, l believe,
at the Gamut club playhouse, where 1t
was offered by one of the local dramat-
ic schools.
The presentation at the Belasco last
night was made enjoyable chiefly
through the excellent acting of Richard
Vivian as Tony Lumpkin and of Ho-
bart Bosworth as Young NARROW. Wv
ian's Interpretation of the country lout
proved an admirable bit of burlesque,
buoyantly comic and carefully con-
trived. The Young NARROW of Hobart
BosWorth, likewise, was an achieve
ment in effective histrionism. Apart
from these two the most conspicuous
merit of the cast was the work of
Howard Scott as Diggory
Miss Jane Grey failed utterly to re-
alize the sprightliness, the coquetry OF
Kate Hardcastle. The characteriza-
tion was without enthusiasm, colorless
where it should have been colorful,
bland where it should have exhibited
Establishment. The Hardcastle of Will
liam Yerance and the Mrs. Hardcastle
of Miss Eleanor Carey were substan-
tally effective, as is most Of the acting
done by these reliable players.
Perhaps there is some political Sig
nifcance in the fact that when a Re-
publican convention was held in Strike
Vile pretty nearly every workman and
every workwoman In the town went
out on strike. At any rate that is just
what happened and when he set to
| work to show Orpheum audiences the
| humorous side of the resulting indus
trial apathy Sedley Brown, whose one
! act play, 1.-THE Cook Lady" Is a head
| line attraction at the Orpheum this
week, didn't consider it necessary to
comment enthusiastically upon the
"full dinner pail Perhaps, like many
a q. o. P. spellbinder. the astute Sed-
| lev considered it political wisdom to
! fight shy of that shibboleth.
saThe Cook Lady," however, is rich
ly humorous character. Her humor is
! not always as new, or as hackneyed,
as the sheath gown, for instance, but
| it ali provokes merriment. Curiously,
| too, the oldest bit of foolery in the
sketch, the time-serving incident of
the green cook who was instructed to
serve the tomatoes undressed. won the
biggest laugh of the afternoon.
The farce is well acted by Carrie
Clarke Ward in the title role and Harry
Won Meter and Florence Barker as 9
pair of rather sudden young lovers. All
three players and the playwright are
we'll known here, giving the ofrering q
made in Los Angeles" label
George Clancy, another actor whose
local appearances have made for him
many friends in Los Angeles, returns
this week in support of Walter Mon
| tague in an intensely melodramatic