The sun., 1910-02-01
FRANK KEENAN, IN A NEW PLAY
MS ACTING THE MAKING or
"THE HEIGHTS

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Together with That OT y. Harry BenrimO
The star an Alpine Guide Converted
nv the Purity OG = Girl From London
Miss keenan, u Also IN the Cast.
Unexpectedly last night. The Heights"
by William Anthony MCGUIRE. with Frank
Keenan, as the star. had been announced
so long ago that it had been almost for
gotten. Meantime the play had been
in rehearsal at irregular intervals. had
undergone frequent changes OF cast
and finally had loitered around neighbor-
ing cities waiting for a chance to get
into town. II had it's chance last night
at the Savoy Theatre and 1t compelled
a high appreciation from the audience.
No one except the assembled friends
Of the actors seemed TO expect very much
Of the play and for that reason the sue
cess that it won was all the more pleasant.
1t is a very simple little piece. with scarcely
any plot at all to speak OF. and no second
ary plot whatever. But the skill with
which the dramatist has used his material.
the directness OF his appeal and the un-
commonly good acting OF Mr.. Kecne and
most OF the cast carried it to q success
that can scarcely be understood from a
bald recounting of the story.
Georgia Warren is a London girl who has
fought her way up to young womanhood
clothed in the strength Of her ideals. She
knows evil exists and even that she lives
in it while keeping herself spiritually
Richard Sidney, her employer, with whom
she has what she fondly believes is a purely
platonio friendship. When her eyes are
opened to the fact that Sidnep's love for
her ls not Of the same pure quality as hers
life and goes to Italy, to seek there. on the
heights. FOR the lost ideal.
The first act is devoted wholly to build
ing up this character OF Georgia and
making her plausible. in which IL must
be admitted neither the author nor the
actress is wholly successful.
The second act occurs In Joe MoredU's
hut in the Alps. Moredu IL a misan-
thrope. whose self-respect has been
crushed by the knowledge which came
to him after he had been carefully edu-
Gated and when he was on the point OF
marrying a girl Of his choice that his
parentage was far from being certain.
The girl had thrown him over and he
had returned to his birthplace. the noun
tains, and became a guide.
He believes in nothing in the world but
its pleasures, and his only philosophy OF
in a gathering storm comes the girl from
London. who has lost her way. She is
lovely, and MoTeIE is half drunk He
claims her As the hostage Of fate Only
when the girl to save herself from him
attempts to stab herself does he realize
that he has found what he believed did not
exist, good woman. He covers her
With her cloak and goes out into the storm
himself leaving her alone by the fire.
IL is this second act, with its fine char
acter drawing OF Noredu, superbly acted
by Mr.. Keenan,. that carries the whole
play.
The third act develops the effect OF these
two characters-the girl OF ideals and the
man OF regrets-upon one another. There
is little too much talk perhaps after the
barring OF human emotions in the preced-
ing one, and one cannot but feel that the
author has not had the skill. or perhaps
experience. to round out the results OF
his own character creation.
To Joe Aorrou the girl gives back his
self-respect. To her he gives her lover,
or rather makes it possible for her TO
take him back and still keep her IDEAL
She chooses between the two men, the
Alpine guide, regenerated with the pure
love that has come to him, and the Lon
doner whose mind cannot grasp the
human miracle that has occurred OF
course she chooses the Londoner and
perhaps she is the kind of girl who will
never have regrets. But one wonders
IL her mind will not return some day to
the lover she left behind on the heights.
Miss Willette Kershaw a. Georgia
Warren gave a pleasing Interpretation
OF the girl OF high ideals, but she left
much TO be desired. While she was
sweet and winsome and moreover sin
cere. she seemed to be lacking in the
force that made her philosophy entirely
convincing.
Frank Mills has very difficult task
in attempting to make much Of the lovs:
Richard Sidney Mr.. Mills's Sidney may
be worth the sacrifice that his sweetheaIi
thought necessary, but somehow he does
not convince you that he ia.
The author has not given so much
prominence to Pietro PdceILo, the friend
OF Joe MoredH and whom the latter him
self calls liar, cheat and thief as the
excellent acting OF the part by j. Harry
Benrimo gave it The strength and weak
ness of the rugged old Alpine guide. the
simplicity OF his philosophy OF life and his
code OF morals we're all so admirably
set forth by Mr.. Benrimo that he pro-
duced a most admirable piece OF work
Granny Mellon, the London lodgings
Keeper, was a pleasing bit OF character
as given by Mrs. Charles q. Craig.
Miss Hilda Keenan,. a daughter Of the
star, in the role OF the chorus girl Nellie
Bdrnum, made her first professional
appearance. She is a pretty/girl and she
made the product OF the American stage
who had wandered TO London a vivacious