Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-05
GOOD COMEDY IS
AMERICAN WIDOW
Burbank Players Are Seen at
Their Best in Kennett Cham
berS' Great Work
NEARLY A HERO GREAT BILL
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage
Patch Appears at the
Majestic Tonight
NEARLY A HERO GREAT BILL

the Burbank company is playing thlS
week, clever alike in plot and dia-
logue. The play is by Kennett Cham
bers and was first seen in Los Angeles
last summer, when 1t was presented
here by Virginia Harmed and her COM
pany. The author seems to have drawn
upon E. p. Roe and Bertha M. Clay
for his story, but he has made such
excellent use Of his material that the
source of it almost escapes recognl-
tion.
IAN American Widow is a young
woman who. under the terms of her
dead husbands will, forfeits her mil
lion dollar estate If she ,weds tltle
Surely Miss Clay can justly claim pro-
prietorship to that situation. How
ever, that talented authoress having
done her best to muddle the widow s
plans, for of course she aspires TO a
coronet, Mr.. Chambers gallantly comes
to the rescue. We discover that the
prohibition applies only to her second
husband. Truly that's point gained
for are there not divorce laws and Is
not Reno on the map?
And so IL befalls that this most
charming widow takes to herself an
American husband 'in name only
Miss Clay again, you see-and then
the American, in true E. +. hoe 1ash-
ion, falls in love with his wife While
the wife similarly comes to prefer her
legal husband to the fortune hunting
possessor OF the strawberry leaves,
whom she had expected to make her
third, following a Reno matrimonial
immunity bath.
Altogether the little story is neaty
with plot and it has been excellently
handled. Marjorie Rambeau played
the widow skillfully and delightfully."-
Byron Beasley, mildly Petruchio-like
lat of xunnin0 Er0rng his
customary success as the husband. In
addition to these two Miss Grace Trav-
ers contributes a very excellent CHAR
acterization of q temperamental prima
donna and Howard Scott, in a silly
ass" role is humorously satisfying
The cast throughout Is good and the
play is staged in the usual Burbank
style.
Ferris Hartman and his company
sent a large audience out of the Grand
opera house yesterday afternoon
whistling the airs of Nearly Hero"
a musical farce used in the east by
Sam Bernard. The Hartman produc-
tion was the first the piece has had in
Los Angeles.
NEARLY a Hero was written for a
star and the star is pretty much the
whole show. Hartman, of course, plays
the part of the impecunious but re-
sourceful tailor, and he plays it We'll
The music is not in the least like De
Koven, who is credited with having
composed 1t, but it serves we'll enough
without being notably tuneful or melo-
dious.
Apart from Hartman the honors of
the piece fall to Walter De Leon and
Mugglns Davies. Myrtle Dingwall has
little to do, and yesterday acted as
though she were somewhat disgruntled
at her lack of opportunity. Her cos
tuning, too, was not up to the stand
ard set by the other principals of the
company.
AS a whole the production moved
smoothly and proved pictorially ef-
fective. There were, however, in
stances of uncertainty in the con-
certed numbers, both with regard to
singing and to chorus evolutions.
Among the popular musical numbers
are 'I Was a Hero, Too" sung by Mr..
Hartman and chorus; Louisiana Liz
abeth,' contributed by Muggins Davies
and chorus; "Napoli" and the minuet
song of the first act, sung by Miss
Dingwall with chorus accompaniment
and I'm Waiting Here for Kate" by
Mr.. De Leon, Miss Davies and chorus.
Nearly a Hero is not one of Hart
mans best offerings, but 1t is far from
being unentertaining. and Hartman
himself in the comedy role is funny
enough for anybody.
The popular comedy of philosophy in
poverty, Mrs. Wigs of the Cabbage
Patch" dramatized from the stories by
Alice Hogan Rice, will open week S
engagement at Hamburgers Majestic
theater this evening. Although this
play is typically American in every re-
spect, it is due to j. M. Barrie, the
famous English novelist, essayist and
dramatist, that 1t made it's appearance
on the stage. George c. Tyler, manag-
ing director for the Lieblers, was Bar
rie's guest at the celebrated Savage
club in London, when Barrie suggested
the procuring of dramatic version of
the ''Cabbage Patch" stories. He was
so enthusiastic over the possibilities OF
the material that Tyler became inn
pressed, and upon his return to Amer
lea had the dramatization made. It's
success is a matter of theatrical his
tory.
Sherlock Holmes, the most famous
detective of all stage literature, will
be added to the list of eminent roles
that Lewis S. Stone has known at the
Belasco tonight and is expected to adj
no little luster to that actors already
brilliant reputation as a portrayer Of
character. While the Belasco company
is playing sherlock Holmes here, st
the Empire theater, New York, Will
liam Gillette, who took the detective
from DIR. A. Conan DoyIe's books
and transferred him to the realm of
the footlights and grease paint, Will
be appearing in his original role in a
big revival of the play.
In the Belasco performance f. A.
Camp will have the part of Prof. Mori-
arity, one of the most interesting GRIM
inals of the stage; Helene Sullivan will
portray the heroine, Alice Faulkner;
William Yerance will have the i'm
portant part of Larrabee and Adele
harrington will be his stage daughter,
a villainess of the most modern and
up-to-date type. Lloyd Bacon, new
conner to the Belasco forces, will make
his initial appearance as Sid Prince, a
safe wrecker. The entire list of Be-
lasco players will be concerned in the
production of Sherlock Holmes"
The next new production for the
first time in stock to occupy the stage
of the Grand opera house will be "The
Earl and the Girl" in which Ferris
Hartman and his company will appear
next week.
"Old Heidelberg" the delightful
play that has charmed thousands of
local play patrons, win have its an
nual production next week at the Be
t1asrO