Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-28
THE CAST
~ FLoRENCE BosARp LAWRENCE


BY FLORENCE BosARD LAWRENCE
The success which Billie Burke at
tanned here last year when she played
the leading part in MY Wife" with
John Drew aroused high expectations
for her initial appearance in a stellar
role last night. The Mason was filled
with an audience which overflowed the
entire house, and brilliant gowns and
jewels were brought forth to do honor
to this charming young woman star.
Miss Burke has lost not one whit Of
her naive charm of last year, while
her longer stage experience has given
her additional security of speech and
manner. In personal appearance she
is as lovely as the most captious critic
could desire, and her speaking voice re-
tains its charming habit of running up
or down the gamut when the occasion
offers. The fascination of this trick is,
one which might easily be overdone,
and it were well for the actress to
safeguard the nerves of her audience
just a little and not venture too near
the danger line with her vocal glissan-
dos.
1t is doubtful whether an actress of
Miss Burke's type Is quite qualified for
stardom, however delightful her art
and her personality. The innocence and
insouciance of her work is so delicate
that it requires some more vital and
potential personality to bring it into
complete relief. 1t is quite perfect Of
it's kind, but its particular kind needs
a broader and heavier background
against which it's airy touches and
whimsicalities may be more clearly re-
Vealed.
Love Watches" is a comedy of light
est quality adapted from the French,
in which it is fair to presume that
some of its humor was slightly more
broad. AS it stands now, adapted and
expurgated for American use, 1t is an
innocuous and frothy bit of work. 1t
has beautifully gowned women, chat
tering young matrons and cynical
grande danes, a priest who is neither
amusing nor inspiring and a student
whose embarrassing gaucheries make
the audience laugh.
The plot is of little consequence, ex-
cept as 1t offers an excuse for the
heroine to laugh, assume a worldly, sa-
tirical attitude in which she is more
charming, or rave in jealous anger
about as convincing as that of pet
kitten.
One constantly loses all track of the
course of events in wonderment at the
beauty of Miss Burke's reddish gold
hair and svelte figure. Nor is her
jealousy so hard to understand, how
ever it lacks conviction, when the
beautiful gowns and figure Of her rival
Maude Odell, are taken into consider
alton. The man in the case is the typ
ical French husband without enough
force to manage either his house, his
wife or his own affairs. The husband
is one of the weakest points in these
adaptations from the French, for
French writer's draw such uninterest-
ing and nondescript men that it is i'm
possible for a sane American to find
any excuse for the foolish things wom-
en- do for love of them.
On the whole one wishes there might
be one good common or vulgar person
in this play. He might be either viii
lain, a comedian, or, yes, even hus-
band would save the day for this COM
edy of manners. AS 1t is now, each
character is carefully modulated and
subdued to insure the uninterrupted
twinkling of the star. Men and wom-
en- who like drama with spirit and ac-
tion will not find it here, but those who
prefer to look at beautiful gowns. elab-
crate coiffures and graceful women will
find them both on the stage and in the
audience at the Mason this week.
Vernon Steele played Andre with
what force the role allowed and Ernest
LaWford as the student Augarde was
clumsily polite and ridiculous at the
same time. His ayowal of love to
Jaqueline five months after her mar
riage was humorously effective. even
though one felt that his comedy was
more carefully restrained than was
necessary under the circumstances.
Maude Odell was the one colorful
character on the stage, and imbued her
scenes with a delightful verve and an
appreciation of dramatic values which
was most welcome.
other members of the cast played
their parts with punctilious nicely
and the acts wers each accorded en-
thusiastic curtain calls. Miss Burke
received quantities of flowers from
Los Angeles friends at the close of the
first act.