Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-17
HARTMAN SINGERS WIN
IN MEL0OIOUS COMEDY
'Mary'S Lamb Provides Excellent
Vehicle for Company at
Grand on Reopening

In a vehicle garlanded with catchy
tunes and clever lines, Ferris Hart
man and his capable company gal
loped back into the hearts of Los An
geles music lovers yesterday after
noon behind "Mary's Lamb" The pro-
duction of Richard Carries merry mu-
steal melange was up to the standard
of a No l company out of New York
Hartman, the meekest of meek
Lambs for three laugh-filled acts
tickled the risibilities of the capacity
audience which packed the Grand.
Each principal on entrance was ten
dered hearty greeting. In fact
sort of a Internationally feeling
pervaded the theater.
The story of the musical comedy Is
built on the life of one Leander Lamb,
who is blessed CD with a better-sev-
en-eighths of the militant amazon
type. Henpecked Leander submits to
the indignities heaped on him by the.
woman who led him to the scaffold-
pardon-altar, until voice from the
past gives the suffering spouse the
right to command and be obeyed. The
leading character in story the recital
of which is almost made a religious
rite in the Lamb household, turns up,
exposes the warlike wife's f1gmentary
tale, and she loses her power to COM
mand.
HARTMAN PROVES ORIGINAL
Ferris Hartman was original and
clever in his delineation of the lead
ing role. The character he portrayed
Is we'll described in one of his lines,
a reply to the question:
"Are you not master hereF
Nope" he answers, I'm sort of an
assistant deckhand around this place"
There is not a dull moment in the
three acts of the show. The music Is
bright and catchy. 1t Is safe to say
that 1.-The Belle of the Bathers" Will be
whistled about town today.
Myrtle Dingwall faVorite with An
geleno audiences, repeated her former
triumphs. Walter De Leon and Mug
gins" Davies came in for a big share
of approval, as did Robert Leonard
and Joseph Fogarty. George Poultney,
in a weak part, showed that the fogs
of Frisco town had not stolen his
sweet voice.
The feminine contingent of the cho-
rus is passably pulchrtudinous, while
the gentlemen of the merry-merry are
of the variety that can be attired in
natty cadet uniforms without showing
up like a platoon of white wings.
The costumes of the production are
new and tasteful. The scenic settings
are up TO SLdnudTu
A lively, exciting and even at times
thrilling melodrama is this weeks Of
fering of the Girton stock company at
the Empire theater. The play is Hal
Reids "a Womans Revenge" which
opened to two good-sized audiences
Yesterday. While it has plenty of the
sensational element about it, the play
could nevertheless be called a filtered
melodrama, and in the fltering pro-
cess much of the gun play and bullets
which are always found in Hal Reid's
plays have been eliminated.
The play tells the story of a young
New England girl, Jean Ingleside, who
is loved by two brothers, Earl and
George Leighton, the former an in
dustrious, hard working young man
and the latter generally no good IN
diyiduaI who won't work if he can
find anything else to do" The worth
less brother embezzles a large amount
of money, lays the blame upon the
other, and runs away to New York.
From the first act develop a series
of situations that furnish an inter-
esting and exciting series of scenes.
The new leading man, Leslie Bassett.
made his first appearance with the
company yesterday in the role Of Earl
Leighton, and, judging from his recep-
tion yesterday, he will become very
popular with Empire audiences. Iva
Shepard as Jean Ingleside, afterward
"I,a Belle Marie" takes advantage of
every opportunity and makes the part
one OF the best in which she has ever
appeared Ray Switzerland is this
week seen as the "heavy," George
Leighton. Chester Stevens furnishes
considerable good fun in a humorous
character study. Lillian Hayward,
Gertrude Claire, Sydney Diamond and
the other members of the company are
well cast, and the play is extremely
well mounted.
The company VIII next week oner
the famous farce, my Friend from
India"