The Washington herald., 1910-10-11
THE COLUMBIA.
"The Girl in waiting.

A large audience was present al the
Columbia Theater last night upon the
presentation OF J. Hartley Manners
comedy. The Girl in Waiting" with
Laurette Taylor In the leading role. The
play is basieally the same as when used
some time ago by a stock company In the
city under the title Miss Brown, Bur
glar" Mr. Manner has made numerous
and judieious changes. and as the thing
now stands II Is highly entertaining
vehicle clever in both conception and
construction. with witty lines. and plenty
of opportunity FOR character work. which
latter Is entirely taken advantage Of; In
fact, the whole play is finely interpreted.
A young man, George Hemping, re-
turning home at 3 O'clock in the morn
ing. finds a young woman, In company
with a middle-aged man, protecting them
selves frcm a vigorous shower under the
canopy of London doorstep. He is at
tracted by something in the personality
of the girl and makes inquiry as 10
their situation, which inquiry is coolly
met by the girl, but a snore from the
sleeping man. who is in fact her father.
andSwho has fingered too long over the
I wine at dinner, stimulates the young
mans interest He insists, learns that
they are waiting for a servant TO return
with a forgotten night key. offers to
break into the cellar window and open
the door from the inside, and. indeed. be-
fore the lady could prevent, does SO.
but unfortunately makes the mistake OF
assuming that they were on their ov
doorstep and smashes into tho horse
/ OF their next-door neighbor. creates
rumpus, is seized by the servants, and
/ turned over 10 the police, during which
proceedings inside the servant returns
with the missing key and let's the people
on the outside into their own adjoining
house, OF course, the young mans iden-
/ tity is established in the morning, he
| is released, but the opening episode leads
/ to a chain of events which are exceed
ingIy humorous in places approaching
the hilariously farcieal.
The young man, Hemming, Is OF a
| serious turn of mind. a condition which
/ has been accentuated by his education
and home treatment. He has made, or
! thinks he has made. a study OF criminal
/
reforming this class Of people. and so
/ when he meets the girl, who is masque-
rading as a waitress at her aunts tea
shop. he determines 20 marry and, IN
| cidentally. reform her, going through a
| series OF experiences which would lose
| edge In the Witnessing thereof II told in
| too great detail beforehand The whole
| truth OF the matter Is that he Is In love
| with the girl al first sight. while she
/ gradually falls in love with him as his
/ character is unfolded. There are A num-
/ Der Of tributaries 10 the main story. in
/ volving some interesting types. and
several lessons adduced. chief among
/ which is the dangerous proclivity of the
/ feminine mind TO jump at conclusions.
! as evidenced in the conduct OF Mrs. Hem
ming. the hero's mother. and the mistake
/ that men often make in thinking that
/ they love woman on account Of some
| circumstances surrounding her. when in
| reality they simply love the woman for
/ herself. as was the case with this young
windmill litter
/ Miss Taylor, as Lillian Turner. is dis
I tinctly interesting She has a striking
Z ACA oolldi4ltr Win q BlAN OF spontaneous
+ humor, and carries the role through with
I fine spirit She knows the effective
points and brings them out clearly.
! A II. Van Buren, is very effective He Is
/ particularly so in imparting 20 the char
/ acter its prime element. that OF almost
J somber seriousness, even IN the most lu-
dicrous happenings. Percy Ames is present
with one OF his inimitable delineations Of
! the lackadaisical Englishman. this time
/ with a criminal propensity, while all OF
/ the other roles are eXcellently sustained.
including Wilfred Draycott, as Sir
/ Charles Greville; Wallace Erskine. as
Joshua TurneI NJ. p; Z. II. Kelly. as
Allen Barker, the Scotland Yard detee-
tive; Julia Ralph as Mrs. Witherspoon:
Ada Gilman, as Mrs Hemming, and
many others.
The play is beautifully mounted. with
( a realistic dOwnpour Of rain during the
first scene, and altogether the perform
! ance is enjoyable.