Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-11

u j
ateur architect sets to work 10
Il build a house for his own use'
that he violates pretty much every RUE
formulated by the masters OF his craft
When completed his cottage. as Boucl-
cault phrased it, may likely enough De
Queen Anne in front and Mary Ann
in the rear; but at the same time II
,,,ay ha an altogether comfortable little
house in which to live.
That's the sort of play Rida john
son Young has written in Ihe BOYS
of Company b" In 1act u is uliliouis ..is
TO conjecture how so bad play could
have been made into so good comedy.
The story is old and II is trite. More
over il is wretchedly constructed.
Queen Anne and Mary Ann are mixed
in inextricable confusion. Incidents
which have no bearing upon the matter
at issue are dragged in and added TO
the original structure like so many
wings to an old baronial castle, until
the whole foreground is Uttered up
with immaterialities and the plot is
lost to sight. 1t is there, however, just
around the corner: and il keeps bob
bling to the center of the stage at the
most unexpected moments, until finally
il resolves itself, as you knew it would
all along, and the comedy is over.
Two Men and Woman
IN its essentials this story involves
one of the two inevitable trinities-
two men and a woman-with a man
aging mamma in the background and
a dozen or so of other folk still farther
in the rear. One of the men has
money, the other rather nebulous ex-
pectations. Of course the man with
te, ND Of ft1a cyiy
loves the other chap. Equally of
course mammals Vaccinations are ex-
erted in favor of mammon.
The girl catches the poor young man
kissing another girl. He explains he
did it merely because he wanted to
see how it would feel to kiss a girl who
lisps.' That explanation is contem-
poraneous with the main plot, but 1t
always is good for a laugh. The girl
forgives him. Then he writes a love
letter to the lisping young woman, not
for himself but for a friend who has
sprained his wrist; and of course he
doesn't sign it.
iirl number one sees the letter Fail
ing to realize that she is merely a
character in a comedy and not SEN
tient being. she naturally thinks she
has been Tilted; and she plans to throw
herself into the arms of the young
man of millions just to show that she
doesn't care a hang, so there, Incl
dentally she is led to believe that
young Midas papa has secured
strangle hold on the family finances
and viii turn the whole aristocratic
bunch into the street if she doesn't
accept his sons bank account: but that
is merely a concession to custom. 1t
isn't needed to explain the young wo-
mans reasons for the course she is
determined to pursue
How It Works Out
AT the last the poor young man laws
the facts in the case before Midas
senior, who. strangely enough-and this
is the nearest approach TO actual nov
city the plot can boast-shows himself
human; tears up the notes" which
he never had intended TO use and takes
himself and his precious offspring away
TO New York. Then the mystery of the
love letter is solved and the poor young
man gets his reward in the shape of a
delightfully."- silly and headstrong young
tinancee.
That's the story, and if you haven't
heard it all before I should advise you
to consult an artist. You'll find his
ad elsewhere in the paper. However,
the story concerns itself only with the
play. The comedy is quite another and
a much more delightful affair.
The comedy shows us a lot of kid
soldier boys. first in their gymnasium.
second in camp and last in the home OF
course, there are a few boys grown up.
and two girls, one of whom is a liberal
education in the important art of fiirt-
alton. This particular girl lispS. Also
she has a penchant for being kissed.
The combination, of course. is irresst-