The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-11-26
The surprise Of the season,

The Surprise of the Season.
He Fell in Love with His wife" Is
and the paper posted about on the
walls and In the windows OF the town
is of the cheapest description. COME.
quently only, small audience gatheree
and those who. went, hardly expected
much. But before the first act wa
concluded. 1t became apparent ina.
was of a high order OF merit.
The first act Is set as 1le interior
OF a farm house. owned by James Hol.
has employed incompetent or slatternly
women TO keep house for him. The
condition OF the room shows absolute
neglect. and he himself CONES ON on un,
once apparent that he is very much o!
man. and has reached the limit OF
his endurance TIE Ares both OF the
women; and witt. them the pathetic FL
been employed as his housekeeper, a
vain, silly, ignorant Ounce. who mas
left all the work for. the child. A,
this out os Of tas some
woman. who Is on her way TO the poor
house. Struck by her refinement and
her helplessness he comes TO sudden
resolution, and proposes that they be-
come married. solely as business part
ners
she hesitates. then accepts, and the
partnership begins
This act is not pleasing II is
sombre, almost sordid. in its dreary
harshness, In spite of the very excellent
comedy work OF several OF the onar-
thing is changed. The curtain goes UP
on the dooryard of the farm, and an
unusually good setting 1t u.s. with It's
bits of stone wall, its full-leaved trees,
-ojJ -hnap be- ~ ~
stile. and the big swinging gate.
IT is apparent that the partners are
beginning to think less of the business
end OF their arrangement, and the
play brightens. The clean, genuine
comedy begins to dominate, and one
of the cast. and. in particular. the real
power of Carleton Macy, who. as James
Holcroft. Is so thoroughly a man, so
big and strong and forceful, that the
house is glad with him-,glad to see
him shaven and clean and happy Then,
too, Arda La Croix. an old-time char
acter-man and stage manager. who
plays Jonathan. the hired man. gets
his chance to put across as clean-cut
comedy work as one often sees, and
OF the Circus0, as Milo Peasley. who.
in the first act. when he was selling
Somebody's Gems of knowledge. got
off marvellous spiel" concerning the
HeIltS ot ms WOIh. pia GU Will Ivan
geline Hawkins (Bernlce Golden). one
OF the prettiest little scenes ever writ
ten. In which Miss Golden also more
than held her own.
The third act shows the same room
in the house. but changes In hundred
Ways. Everything IS fresh and clean:
there is rag-carpet on the stairs,
homemade curtains at the windows, a
"lambrequin" on the mantelpiece.
Everywhere evidences of painstaktng
care. The comedy continues, crescendo;
poor old Jonathan is caught by Mrs,
Malaprop; and Peasley comes on with
his face SO swollen by the stings of
bees that he Is almost unrecogntzable.
and evokes roar after roar OF laugh
ter by his efforts to speak. Mrs. Hol-
crofts villain comes on. there is mo-
ment OF tenseness In which Mr.. Macy
again shines out with true dramatic
restraint and power, and all ends
we'll.
It is-there isn't lord or lady in the
whole piece-but 1t is replete with
fun-clean. wholesome fun; there are
many clever and amusing lines. and
the company, almost without excep-
ton Is beyond criticism. They all de-
serve NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Yon Mitzel
q; NJ. Nimball Franklin Hall and
Virginia Russell, but 1t would not be
fair not to single out Mildred Morris,
forlorn, bedraggled. little Jane made
ones heart ache, The work Of Mabel
Brownell In the somewhat lachrymose
role OF Mrs Hclcroft seemed to meet
with the approval OF the house, did
not like it.
Altogether, the play is we'll worth
seeing. W. D. G.