Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-08
VETERAN FARCE
SHOWS VITALITY
"CHARLEY'S AUNT" PRODUCED
BY BURBANK COMPANY
HENRY sTocKBRlDeE cAVoRTs
AS MAsQUERADiNe LORD
"The Land of Nod" Returns to the
Majestic, While Hartman Com
pany1s Reviving "The May
or of Toxic"

by Brandon Thomas staged at the i'ut
bank theater Sunday matinee, Nov Z. 1909.
THE CAST
Col. Sir Francis Chesney, BIT. late In
dian service .....,..... William Aerihee
stephen spettigue, solicitor, oxford. -.
Observation-Disclosures. John w. Burton
Jack Chesncy Ornamental. Byron Bcasley
rbarIey XVvkeham .. Harry Nestayer
Undergraduates of st. Oide's, Oxford
Lord Fancourt Babberly. Henry st0ckbrldge
Brassett college scOout. Wits MARKS
The New FOOtman. ...... Frederick Oiinef'
Donno Lucia D'Alvadorez, from Brazil,
CharIey's aunt. .......,..... .I-ouise hosN"
Amy spcttigue, spettigue's niece. 49,.
Lowell Alice Taylor
Kitty verdun, an orphan Blanche ha l!
Ella Dellshay ..........''''... Margo D"'e'
BY w. HERBERT BLAKE
Good farces die hard, and Charley
Aunt" for all it's clamorous horseplay
and cumbrous conclusion, bids fair 10
live in stock as long as the best For
in "Charley's Aunt" many things are
improbable, as in all satisfying farce
but nothing is unreasonable. All you
have to do is to grant the postulate-
the conclusion flows like a ripping
river.
Taking Lord Fancourt Babberly for
granted is a simple and wholesome
enough matter. When he dons woman's
garb to prove his histrionic accom-
plishments he has no notion how truly
he is going TO do that very thing, A
few moments later he is committed to
skirted imprisonment-for three acts.
He is literally caught with the goods
on, and he faces the music with
cheerful kind of rage-eVen his own
music.
The story of the play is probably as
widely familiar as anything in stage
literature of the last decade. For Judi
crous situations and a continuity of
them it is worthy a place with some OF
the best farces of the late Cnafles
Hoyt. The fun is of the spontaneous,
irresistible sort, and the broadcast OF II
is ELECTED from the simplest and most
human turns and twists of plot or char
acter. Everybody gets punished In
turn, and then everybody is rewarded,
through a surprising and quite unde-
served generosity of the farcical scheme
of things, by getting the very thing he
wanted from the first. 1t is ike a
puzzle that suddenly rights itself IN
your hand, you hardly see now. .IhlS
is. the legerdemain of true farce, ana a
thing truly rare among present day
playwrights
Reyond an occasional disposition 10
boredom by players temporarily out OF
the center of attraction, the Burbank
ers enacted the diverting story with
good spirit and keen appreciation. one
evident lack in the clmaXes was speed.
Much of the practical and impressive
effect of farce is lost if the preparation
for the crucial moments is not cumula-
tive. We may see the fun ever 50
quickly after the instant of mirth has
passed; we ought to feel the impression
of preparation even If we do not reallze
il intellectually. The spirits need TO he
coaxed into laughing mood before the
mind grasps the reason for II. other
wise the thing becomes little besides
succession of sparkling epigrams, with
intermittent and almost insulated ac-
ton. To combine word and acting in
one entity-this is the unity Of effective
farce portrayal.
Most of the individual work was en-
ioyable. Lord "Babs" fits Henry Stock
bridge even more trinity than the i'm
maculate dress suit which he wears in
the last act. Not since when Hnlghls
Were Bold" has he done anything bet
ter. Mr.. Burton merited second laurels
as Stephen Spettigue. Here again there
was a perfect adaptation of personality
TO part. comedy method to situations
and lines. Good work was done by Mr..
Beasley and Mr.. Mestayer and by Miss
Taylor and Miss Hall as the quartet OF
lovers. Louise Royce was the real aunt
and Mango buffet Ella Dellahay. Mr..
Yerance would profit by unbending a
trife: there is a certain heaviness with
out dignity in his representation. Mr..
Marks was diligent college scout and
Mn. Gilbert got an extraordinary
amount of applause from his admirers
when he entered for a moment as the
new footman-a character whose rela-
ton 20 the plot can scarcely be dis
cerned by the naked eye.
The setting was ample and the cos
tuning generally appropriate. One
speaks by instinct only, for one was
usually laughing too broadly to notice.