The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1910-02-21
CAST OF CHARACTERS
In Eugene W. Presbrey's DEMONSTRATION of
Sir Gilbert Parkers Novel.
THE Right of Way"

AS an example of what a melodrams
may be and remain real drama and not
mellow. The Right of Way" at the
Savoy theater, is a success.
1t is full of fights, agreeable accidents
and fortunate circumstances. 1t is
played against a background of deep
dark woods, and is filled with what we
are pleased to call the elemental ap.
pea
1t is fortuitous masterpiece. The
suspense begins early in the first aci
and keeps the curtain up until the very
/ last OF the last act, and thus equipped
The Right of Way" is entertainment
crammed with adventuresome delight
Charley Steele's crack on the head in
: the first act not only starts him down
/ the river, with faithful Joe Portugais
on a journey that leads to regenera tion
/ and love in the old French settlement
I 200 miles from Montreal, but it also
/ opens the real story of the play and
! begins the listeners period of suspense
a TENSE SITUATION.
/ VIII Charley Steele. scoffer. unbe-
( lever cynic and dissolute wit, recover
/ the memory of his lost years and rec
/ objection of the fact that he has left
his wife in far off Montreal? When
he does recover his memory will he
remain the lover of pretty Rosalie,
whose affections we are given to un-
derstand will prove his salvation?
These issues are kept just back of
the curtains of each scene and the plot
so propelled by sympathetic suspense
moves on to happy conclusion most
gratefully accepted by everybody as
well within the range of things pos
sible.
Hallett Thompson, who played Steele,
matches well with Theodore Roberts
who assumed the role on the occasion
of the last visit of the play to the Van
Ness. Thompson gives lighter touch
10 the Characterization. Too light al
times. / should say. He is too obvious
~ playing to the audience, and his as
sumption in the first act of a new
World Nietzsche was trif1e too cava-
lierly done. He was too easily amused
by his own cynical wit.
In the subsequent acts he was better
playing a romantic role with Romeo
earnestness and sincerity. Joe Portu-
gals was presented in clearly cut pro-
portions by p. Aug. Anderson whose
one scene of confession in the third act
was an exhibition of acting of which al
{
SPLENDID BIT OF ACTING
His pleading with Steele not to con-
Jure up the past, but to let it sleep.
forgotten where 1T lap in the distance
of three happy years. was splendid,
and his confession of crime, of his
own horror of the past, of the ghostly
face of the man he had killed in
righteous wrath, was informed with
vivid verify.
A fault with his performance arose
out of his too great desire to give a
perfect imitation of the utterance of
the halfbreed, Joe. &c was, | dare
say. too realistic, for it was. on occa-
sions. hard to follow A little less
fidelity to truthsome times helps a play.
just as it makes a better photograph.
Arleen Hackett, as Rosalie. was a
surprise. A sincerity of behavior, light
ened by a pretty gift for comedy, was
characteristic of her enactment There
was some force to her art. too. as
when she stands by the man she loves
regardless Of what the gossips have
charged. But mainly it was the smooth.
graceful and blithe in her interpreta-
ton that won her success last night
SCENERY AND SUPPORT GOOD
The scenery is well designed. and the
supporting company good enough in
the principal characters, though the
former has suffered from the ravages
of railreading and the latter could be
strengthened in some of the minor
characters with good advantage The
ensemble, however, was distinctly good
and the production merits patronage
by those who like their melodrama
straight.