The Washington times., 1909-02-09

ness Win no IetTl LBEODblLE Eltesat5t
10 tell an unwilling world. nor IN a.
problem play with . Stealthy moral
that may bee found when viewed at some
unconventional angle Ia the manner
of q puzzle picture. That would not be
Miss BARRYMORE at al. II is the same
Miss Barrymore that we all went 90
see last wear and the year before and
SO on al minimum, albeit this 4lss
Barrymore is even more whimsical and
just as winsome
A Triumph Over Odds.
To proceed Miss Barrymore triumph
is enhanced by The fact mat she sp-
pears i'm an incousequeuuaI play and is
supported by a company which. with a
few exceptions, is hopeIessIy mediocre
or G., reless. This criticism will be all the
more uuWelcome because. iu an prob
ability, the majority of the audience
last evening left the theater vowing
they had an excellent evenings enter
tainmeut. Ana righfully so. For tine
charm OF Miss Barrymore pervades the
atmosphere and submerges the play All
this is something of q notable achieve
meut And yet it Is Il pity, for Lady
Frederick" is destined TO add nothing
10 this actresses prestige and her Her
culeau efforts TO save the day might be
so much more effective 5U different
setting. Miss Barrymore claim 10
came STIl rests on Captain JlUkS. ana
Alice-s -by-the-fre. and Cousin Kate.
and while il Is dangerous TO make pre-
dlcuCus1 II IS fairly safe 10 say that
her present play viii. have been forgot
ten long before "Reminiscences OF these
other plays cease 10 be told
II is not that this play IS defective in
Workmanship Tt Is rather the prOduc-
ton OF skilled playwright. who strove
TO create, without sufficient founda-
tion of new ideas. Some OF the situa-
tons. always reckoning win the life
saving grace CT Miss Barrymore are
effective. but even these are haCllueyed.
The expedient of a public exhibition of
the art Of makeup as an enectuaI cure
for puppy love has descended from the
Legitimate 10 the variety stage and
rot very long ago a WelI-knOvn actress
appeared I'm vaudeville sketch which
could be interchanEed with the third
act OF LADY Frederick without dam
age to the plot
Situations Hackneyed.
Neither does the plot hang together.
Perhaps Fl IS euphemistic TO speak Of
a plot al all in connection with this
play Action is lacking, and in its place
are a series Of situations All of which
is well IL the situations are clever.
1t is true that these situations. though
neither new nor striking, give rise TO
some clever bits Of acting by Miss Bar
rVm0Tc, but one cannot dispeI the
feeling that she is succeeding dcsDite
her play. The lines abound iu quaint
Cpigrsms and ap0thcEms, though NOSE
OF these are too involved 90 be Ciassed
as uustudied lumOr.
II is said that ". Somerset Vaughan
is the author Of four comedies now
PLAYING TO crowded houses in London.
This relieves some OF the computations
i'm telling rhe truth about his one offer
ing that has found its way TO American
shores. At times this play shows un-
deniabIo esFmarlys OF Skin. and we can
VoU believe that Mr. Vaughan has
been more successful than fin this ven
tura fnasmuch as we are unwilling
fo admit that London has four actress
as as capable rs OUT own Miss Barry
more.
Lady Frederick
After al, the best part OF Lady
Frederick" 5s Lady Frederick. Here
Mir Vaughan showed a deep apprcc.a-
ffou of Miss Barrymore Sit rs very
hard ro keep from calling her plain
E-fna1-r0rte and infinite pains IN work
inc ont delightful character studs
Being am EuglislWau. the author ls an
fna better equipped 20 draw with bold
lines the distinction between a lady and
! ..~rs1 lady which AIiss Barrymore
declares she fs not. A delightful bit OF
acting is afforded 10y scene IN which
tfgfs Irish widow and lady or fortune
f,-G-r-cz her dresamaker % refuse pay
-.---t or q large debt through fear that
rEr win he deprived Of Lady Frcdef-
5.l.,s 1aarrouage though Lady Frederick
has never paid her one shilling ana
shows no signs Of improvement IN TINS
Adj after won laughed az the curious
things Miss Barrymore said and uld,
aha You notice thaJ IL was not the lines
that were funny 30 much as MISS Bar
rs-morcrs inimitable drolleTyt
TO disagree with an ACTOR luteiyl+-
faffgu Of a part frequently lucurs ore
dfsuIeasurc, and IL ~ certainly not q
r1assart task TO declare that he fails
fo adequately convey anything Yet
fhat is too true of several members or
RTee RarrymoTe.s supporting company
IfreY why a star OF the very uTsj rank
fr comedy should not be surrounded
with as capable cast as would re
Irre i'm q more serious vehicle IS not
unite clear Certainly there is not box
office consideration here, tOr Miss Barry
more promises to set a mark iu attend
auCe far aaead or many or the more
ureteutiOus offerings here llls Year.
A Ray Of Light
Does this brief note on the program
exrIaiu this falling -. A. Barrie aa-
delivered Mr. Frohmau o. new one-acl
piece which will be acted by Miss Bar
symore upon her return engagement
in New York tt D. not quite clear
whether Miss Barrymore &.euds 60
abandon Lady Frederick after heT
tolfr. 10 IS q fact. however, that actors
are too much inclined 10 railroad or
to talk through" their parts, both
+ u-rru they Gre engaged Do play about
30 be- taken OF and when they are tour
ing the provinces.
Perhaps Miss Barrymore most capa-
bic adjunct is Bruce McEse, who was
/ seen mere with her last year Even Le
has a curious habit Of talking 90 his
companions ou t=e stage and casting
q weather eye curSorily around the
audience which suggests giving dlcJa-
ton 10 eteUOEIapneT-
m Won have bought tickets for tho
1 National do not be discouraged. Miss
Barrymore IS always worth seeing and
engaging study 20 mark how effective
/ Iv q capable actress can battle against