Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-24

able in first night performance, but
she should correct her pronunciation
of the good, old New England adjective,
"peek-ed," which has two syllables. ac-
cording to Massachusetts tradition.
Highly praiseworthy was her panto-
mimic expression of emotion from first
to last a quality in which her earlier
local appearances We're somewhat de-
ficient.
But perhaps most faithful of all was
Mr.. Lewis embodiment of the flint
hearted frontiersman, Pierre's enemy.
His acting in the fight scene was vivid
and realistic. despite an unanticipated
fall from which he emerged with sur
prising presence of mind. Mr.. Nor
rison had hard task with his role
the impossibly dense and addle-p -pated
road house keeper The domestic re-
partee of the road house is immaterial
TO the plot and uninteresting, rs was
the moralizing of Mr.. Applebee as
Father Goraine. The latter embodi-
ment was neither French nor priestly,
although the lines were well spoken.
Mr.. Ruggles gave good account of him
self and Mr.. Vivian acted capably. Mr..
Giblyn impaired a genuine freshness
to the role of the brother Miss Far
rington acted like a real squaw but
Mr.. Spears brave was only skin deep
at times.
Despite its bulky talk and the oc-
casional want of well-built climaXes,
the play made "A fairly good impress
sion. shortened into three acts Of
rapidly running action, it would pre-
sent a better front for critical analysis
and lose no whit of its atmospheric
charm. Generally good acting carried
it into favor last night. 1t is pathetic
to fancy what would have happened
with less competent impersonations.
"The Climax" entered it's second
week at the Mason last night. \ brief
criticism of the play from another
viewpoint than that of the editor OF
this column will be presented in to-
morrow's Herald.
Miss That's Magrane, new leading
woman at the Belasco, arrived yeSter-
day and is stopping at the Van Nuys
hotel
Miss Helen Holmes. who has pleased
Belasco patrons during the last few
weeks as leading woman, Will act ul'~
der the management of Liebler & CO.
next season. The best wishes of many
local theater-goers are hers
sheldon Lewis will join the Shubcrt
forces on the completion of his local
Belasco enlargement i'm a few weeks.
Not until Gliff meandered onto the
Ophcum stage yesterday afternoon and
began his suave and irontcal patter did
the weeks bill attain that eNanescent
requisite for good Vaudeville-class.
Griff is politely comic, with just a sug-
aestiOn of Well-bred WEAKNESS ABOUT
the dropping eyes and with a keen
toneue for satire. No man ever chatfed
his audience quite SO perslst"ntly ana
got away with it. Grtff may be Sood
juggler-We hope so--but the only lhlnS
he tuggled yesterday with any aspellty
was the English language. l have the
idea the term, airy persitlage,' was
written for him. 1t was i'm a spirit OF
sweet resignation that he allowed the
stage hand to sweep him into the
Wines. and he came back quite as
auathetically and meekly. But his
arsenal of wit is everything but meek
when i'm fun fire. once or twice the
galleries lost The benefit of his fatherly
sallics because he spoke them so depre-
catingly. Which is the only word or
mild censurc we have for the "Jesti0g
Johnnie
FOllONlile
eliminated her one really Objectionable
song yesterday and made sweet and
radiant appearance i'm a variety OF be-
coming gowns. Her powers of eN-
pressing feeling by mere facial mods
and twirls OF countenance are pleasant
to study-unless she accompanies them
with the spotlight, As presented yes
terday her act is attractive and re-
fined.
Like an animated page from one of
Thomas Hardy's earlier WeSSeN novels
is the entrance of sam Watson and the
first consignment Of his farmyHd cir
cus-being principally a frantcaiIy
British policeman. And jolly and de
lfghtfuI is the remainder of the pro-
gram A donkey. dogs that dance, a
cat that plays the jockey, four roosters
of aWe-mspiring intelligence thre'
geese, two sheep and "a sheerish little
pig with Il foudness for the nursing
bOttle-hcrc are the dramatis persOnae,
thank you! Not the least of the
charms of this act lis the rubicund face
of Sam himself, who is rinSmaster,
stage mother and philosopher for his
brute artists all i'm one, His domestic
attentions to Sin Pig are peculiarly
delicate and sympathetic.
The other acts ON this weeks bill
range from the shouting mediOcrity Of
Herbert and Willing TO the whirlwind
finale with which Walter Schrode and
Lizzie Mulvey redeem a sketch that
begins about as tamely as possible
Herbert and Willing are in black face
and some of their jokes pleasantly re
mind us that there used TO be a team
of capital comedians known as Weber
and Fields-especiall the one about
the bar and the cents, 1t was good
gag-once
The Schrode- Mulvey act winds up