The Detroit times., 1910-12-22
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BY w. q. SHEPHERD.

by w. ". oUGVHGNO.
This IL about Avery Hopwood and
his mother.
Avery Hopwoods 'Nobody's
Widow" is running first OF all the
shows In New York. from a financial
standpoint.
Last year his Seven Days" made
more money than any other piece.
His musical piece, July Forgot,
Is reaping a new store OF honors fo'
Marie Cahill.
And that's all--about Avery him
self
Now for his mother-she's only an
other proof of what wonderful things
mothers are. know about her, and
I'm going to tell what | know, though
il Is the inside OF the family life.
The mother with an only son, de-
termined that he should have the
chance TO develop the best there was
In him. There were little funds IN
the Hopwood household In those
days. and that was only dozen years
ago. She toiled to help her son
through school in Cleveland, o. She
learned stenography and encouraged
him 10 write. She always banked on
the fact that the right stun was In
the boy. And 1t was. He never fail
ed her once while she struggled and
planned. She made him write. She
made him dictate to her He went In
to the newspaper business. She did
not let him rest He must 90 higher
than that. The magazine stories
which he dictated to her she sent 10
the magazines. She became a com
polling, upward power in his life. And
up he went, before her urge. His
plays he wrote without her aid. for
she had given him his start And
today, though he is less than thirty
years of age, he is one OF the most
successful of American plsymakers,
even though he il lght-haired.
clean-cut young fellow who hasn't
learned that girl may be more in
teresting than a fellows mother.
You can be sure that this young
fellow will never be one of the
Broadway squad. There's a light al
home for him that out-shines all of
Broadway's night-whiteness.
There is horror in The Speckled
Band" that puts its finger right on
your heart. Edwin Stevens, who
plays DR.. Rylott in this Conan Doyle
stage story, has even over-reached
Tuily Marshalls drug fend In THE
City DR.. Rylott, wealthy surgeon,
Is half Hindu and half English. In his
mansion in England he has murdered
one OF his wards and all during the
course of the play is preparing to
murder the second girl. It's melo-
drama, in truth but Stevens acting
raises II above the ordinary Almost
any one Of the lighter shows Is do
ing better than this one. Who'd want
to be tortured by the twitchings Of
drug fiend when he could be made
TO smile by viewing play of a DIFF
ferent sort? Wherefore Charles Froh-
man has guessed wrong in THE
Speckled Band" though he has
brought to light a remarkable actor
Folk are laughing about Emma
Trentini in Naughty Marietta" The
piece itself Is poor, with little music.
But short, stubby Trentini, as q fly
away school girl! One trouble is that
she has no ankles. Her calves 90
all the way down to her instep. And
yet they make her wear short
dresses. Everyone forgets that she
has a good voice.
Mrs. Leslie Carriers Two Women"
gives her a splendid chance to show
an audience how bad woman can
reform. artist loses his wife by
death. Two years later he meets an
other woman who resembles his dead
wife In every feature and he falls in
love with her. But she is bad. He
does not know 1t. He takes her to
his country home to have her sit as
model for a picture which he Is
painting of his dead wife. As the
days pass in the country the bad wo-
man slowly finds that she is becom-
ing pure in heart And then. lust
when she has put evil into her past.
there comes on the scene a man OF
her worst days. The truth comes
out. The bad man and the artist fight
duel The artist is blinded for life.
The bad man goes away, and the wo.
man. redeemed, remains to spend her
days in caring for the helpless, blind
ed man.
But there are not many grislv
plays going. The farce is the thing
New York insists on laughing. II
doesn't ask logic or sense. II asks
fun.