Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-06
BELASCO FOLK IN
A LYRICAL LARK
H0YT'S FARCE-COMEDY R0BS
THE LEGITIMATE"
RICHARD BENNETT AND MISS
REED HEAD FUNMAkERS
"The Umpire" Shows Princess Com
pany at Its 5est-George Webb
Hurt in Strenuous Bout
at the Grand

at the Grand
"a Day and Night in New York." a
farce comedy in three acts, by Charles h.
Hoyt, staged under the direction of David
NJ Hartford by the Belasco Theater COM
pany, Monday afternoon, july ., l9O5
THE CAST
Lyon Hart, Commodore of Z. 5. n, re-
tired. Northumberland MIR. Louis Morrison
F,uchsia his wife .......... Miss Ida Lewis
Marble Hart, their son. Richard Bennett
Savage Noyes, his uncle Howard seo't
Rontt Booker, manager National thea
ter, New York. ...-.. De Witt Jennings
Sharps n. Flats, musical director. .....
james X. Applebee
n. Cage Chipps, stage manager
.................. Richard VIVIAN
VIII Hammer. carpenter .Naylhnd IFaSk slA
Dewing Mumkittrlck. 'ttIL9 M - 80, o.l,o
Iona Broughan. Miss Adele farihg ton on
Fay Kerr. rr.........'... MISS trace Sa.un.n Ss..,,
RhOda Race. mss Jessie
Laura Mann. ......,. MISS bessie lsnnei.,'. ,n't
Sue Brett. ...-.... .''..' MSS IaS
The Clean Man, stage door keeper. ,;....,,.
Observation-Disclosures. Charles Murray
Annette winner, who gets an engage
ment .......... Miss Beatrice Noyes
Otto b. Psckingham, who doesn {. - -. -. L.,
...,............. Richard Daley
servus wright, BoOker's servant; MI,
Ada Marr, known professionally as Mile;
Bawn Touraine. ..... Miss Florence neeu
W.
IT is a uuixotic quest to seek esoteric
meanings in a Hoyt farce, but l be
lieve that versatile playWrlght
scratched off the caricatures Whlch
form the cast of "A Day and Night
in a spirit of buoyant defense or the
dwellers in stageland against the
thrusts of their traducers. The result
is nothing so tedious as an argulIle1t, l.
nor even palliation. Scornlng TO
GLOSS the shortcomings of his fellow
footlight folk he did a braver and a
merrier thing: boisterously admitted
them. but contrasted them somewhat
extravagantly with the shams ana
hypocrisies of the detractors. Ihe re-
suit Is Lyon Hart, apologetlc rounueI'
and Marble Hart, his SON. ikaple
youth of spirit who is compelled 10
hazard his Joyous entry into the lie
of the world under the cover of sup
posed search for choir recruits. Ihese
are humanized hypocrltes, IN so tar as
thev are not rectilinear wash drawings
of American types. We laugh at thelr
hypocrisy which, after all, mantles
nothing more awful than a normal m
stinct for gayety and we are glau
when the vortex of humorous incident
nurges the false shame from all con-
cerned and SnatcheS a pretty actress
from stage spinsterhood, while II saves
a good fellow from being provincial
prig.
While that is the philosophy of the
Hoyt farces. you'll have to pick 1t up
as Won go along, as / did, for on the
surface it's all grotesque foolery ana
gracefully interjected melody. You
see the cobweb of stage illusion rent
in twain and you hear the stage car
penter bawling his stentorian demand
for the back drop, and if you watch
sharp you'll see Stage Manager Hart
ford off in the flies smoking a peace
full cigar and unconsciously acting a
rather essential part. In the fore
ground of the first act romp the Vari-
Gus and component members of the
Belasco company, like pack OF chill
dren on the last day of school, each
speaking his piece and singing his
song, and occasionally forgetting to
"act" in the lark of it all.
| never suspected such antiC drollery
was concealed behind the respective
Legitimate" miens of Richard Bennett
and Miss Florence Reed. If Miss
Maude Adams could have seen her
best leading man ricocheting about a
music room, as if under the spell of
a rickety gin-rickey, 1 am sure, like
mother" she would have been
pleased" Yet, with all his extrava-
gances Mr.. Bennett is still the nat
ural" actor. He handled some broad
lines and broader situations with dis
arming delicacy, and neither over
played the mollycoddle nor coarsened
the wholesome man of the world.
Underneath the milksop we deserted
the man. The good scout" miracu-
lously was metamorphosed into the
good husband.
With Charlie Murray Mr.. Bennett
showed us the jig which was the proud
achievement of his boyhood as "Dare
Devil Dick" He covered several
lapses of memory in the "B. p. O. E."
song so skillfully that I cannot even
now aver he didn't do it on purpose.
And he danced with Miss Reed as if
ne never expected to be dignihed
again.
l hope the role Of the star abandon
ing the scene of her dramatic tri-
umphs which Miss Reed cantered
through in q wicked blond wig and
two very naughty orange gloves, isn't
prophetic of the possible length of her
six weeks vacation" She sang Marie
Cahill's Arab love song with such a
plenitude of mimetic charm that I for
got to appraise her voice as to place
ment, timbre, ct al. Ii may have been
weak and squeaky for all l know, for
it seemed to me it was Merely Mary
Ann singing of her bluebells, and wig
and train and makeup We're all part of
some fantastic dream. So much for a
lIlGh VI lIudl4l LIleillOIS.
Charlie Murray did well for himself
when he scaled the wall of burlesque
and marched into the domain of seri-
Gus impersonation. In a sort of Me-
thuselah makeup he embodied the
relic of the dramas palmy days (the
days the critics mourn for, haD and
lent a touch of genuine pathos to his
clever song, I'm Glad I've Got a
job"
Mr.. Jennings and Mr.. Vivian appar-
entity didn't do any acting as theater
and stage managers, respectively, but
seemed to speak as TO the manner
born. Mr.. Applebee still struggles
with an indistinct articulation, which
was not helped by the fact that as
musical director" he had his back to
the audience. Mr.. Morrison and Mr.
Scott were two ludicrously contrasting
brothers-in-law. OF the purely mu-
sical numbers 1 think first honors must
go to Miss Bainter'S "Billie Possum'
song. Her castanet dance with Miss
Marion Rochester was also pleasing.
Miss TannehiI surprised those who
have heard her only in knockabout
comedy by an impressive and pure
toned rendition of "The Last Rose of
Summer" AS Marble Hart observed,
her voice appears to be quite Timber"
"A Day and a Night" is a jolly show.
If you abhor the philosophical mood
in which 1 began this criticism you
can go and laugh and marvel, perhaps.
at the CATO -nine-l lives perpetuity of
a thin-edged, razzle-dazzle Hoyt farce
in the hands of an alert and resources
full stock company.
s4,.