Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-30
THE CAST
BY W. HERBERT BLAKE

Lady Creech. ................. Bertha Weiby
BY w. HERBERT BLAKE
His lazy, Indiana drawl somehow
suggests the flavor of autumn apples
and the bland liberation of a late In
dian summer in the middle west. His
tattered old linen duster is homelike.
His manner is better than his man
ners, as his voice is cheerier than his
smile. He pronounces each syllable
with tantalizing distinctness. He hap
pens to be in Sorrento, but you might
meet him anywhere abroad and you
would know him. He halls from ko-
komo, but that is incidental to the
more important fact that he is THE
Man from Home"
Daniel Voorhees, Pike, whom we have
been describing, is a sort of idealized
Hoosier Booth Harrington, who with
Harry Leon Wilson is responsible for
him, admits that Pike bears certain
esemblance to George AIDE. Probably
any Hoosier would find similarities in
Pike to any other Hoosier. Which
does not prevent our claiming him as
an American.
Pike loafs into Sorrento, Italy, just
in time to prevent his title adoring
ward from wedding a spineless noble
man and his rascally father. To ac-
complish this highly desirable purpose
he is compelled to expose both to the
young woman. She resents the pro-
cess. A Russian refugee, seeking shell
ter at Pixies hotel, is hidden by him,
His enemies find this out and the elder
nobleman threatens to have both ar
rested unless Pike at once consents to
the marriage of the ward to his son,
and also to a settlement of S750000 by
the girl upon the delectable pair of
them.
Pike defes them with a drawing
civility, and is Vindicated when the
elder nobleman proves to be the de-
spoiler of the refugees home and the
man responsible for his pursuit by the
Russian police. In a dramatic scene
the young girl learns the real char
acter of her suitors father, but clings
to her promised word, once given, to
wed the son.
In the last act this barrier is skill
fully hurdled by the obiging play
wrights. Pike yields his consent to the
union, but so arranges matters that
the young woman shall discover for
herself just how mercenary is the man
she has bound herself to marry and to
enrich. The plan works completely.
The disillusiOned young woman decides,
reluctantly and romantically, to be-
come Mrs Pike, and the Russian
refugee is freed from arrest on the in
credibly quiXotic intercession of a Rus
sian grand duke, travelling in disguise
through Italy, whose fancy has been
attracted by the singular and taking
ways Of the wary Hoosier.
1t is a good play, brimful Of the
stanch and humorous and gentle
Americanism which its authors know
so we'll how to interfuse in their film
lest and most daphanous comedies
tod fl4aaV
shamefully, to be sure, but it is their
inhuman selfshness and not the mere
fact of their nationality which we
judicially abhor. and that is so much
gained for international stage amen
tiles, The humor which dominates the
comedy would carry to success a much
less carefully builded vehicle. The de-
licious way in which Pike illustrates
the perils of noble alliance by reference
to humanity similar events in Kokomo
is a touch of that stalwart, if univer-
sal spirit which is the portent of hope
in our American drama There are
some good people over here. after ALL |
comedies The Man from Home in the
last act, and we perceive that the
authors are not averse to teaching
even their hero a lesson in tolerance.
An excellent company presents the
comedy. AS Pike, Henry Hall is lanSy
and awkward and robust and ruddy-a
true and tantalizing Hooser. He never
slips out of character, and he speaks
his words with a nicely of enunciation,
the credit for which the idiosyncracy
of his character cannot wholly take
from him. Mr Herman was a chummy
grand duke-the kind of character one
would like to believe really happens
occa sionally in the land of bombs and
deservedly uneasy heads. Harrington
Reynolds was quite villainous, but not
particularly English as the earl, but
Vaughn Trevor caricatured a certain
Strand type with rather more success.
! am told that this stage Englishman
does not exist abroad, fact one le
grets bitterly, one has known him so
long behind the footlights and has en-
loyed his discontinue with such a
truly patriotic zest. Mr Martin made
an appealing study out of the Russian
revolutionist. Mr., Howe quite over
played the fury of the young eXpatri-
ated American. He could show rage
without frenzy if he tried. Art CON
sists often in deucate distinctions
Miss Forbes did notable piece of