New-York tribune., 1910-08-30
THE DRAMA
miss Patsy" at Nazmova's
Theatre.

There was play last night that was
not unlike the jig-sawed puzzle pictures
which soothe the aching intellects of SUD
urbia. Much ingenuity was required for
assembling the queerly shaped parts. and
great patience was required of all who
tried to put the fragments together. But
all the placing and patience and all the
eXclamations Of the curious could not
make anything more of the contraption
than a jig-saw play which came to an end
unfortunate as Humpty Dumptys 3. All
the managers horses and all the man
ayers men could not pull the puzzle play
together again. There were times when
the author seemed TO forget what he was
about. and then somebody would throw IN
a song and dance Just to keep the pot
a-boiling. Then there was lady who
seemed 10 be the star of the occasion. be-
cause her name printed in extra large
type and she talked slang and sentiment.
and gave effective limitations of bad man
ners and acted as if her part were intend
cd to be 4 low comedy one. with branch
connections into the realms of pathos,
bathos and overgrown childishness- What
the play was about is for the most part
mystery but how ii ever found its way
10 q New York theatre and the backing OF
greater.
The play was called Miss Patsy 1t was
about naval people, theatrical people and
ordinary people Each class had a section
of a programme page to itself. Miss
Patsy lin a class by herselr had. with her
impersonator, the large type above men
toned. The star of the theatrical class was
not the star of the evening, but she was
ct in 10
actress-in the pay-of powers so miracu-
lous that she performed for fifty nights in
Anna polls, Who shall say that Mr.. Sewell
Collins the author of this troubled dream,
has no imagination? No one will doubt that
he has a memory. say a memory for the
nightmares of plays. he had cut up SO many
familiar bits of plays in his jigsaw work.
little snippets OF all the absurdities and
compIca tons that ever were known on the
stage. There was even the female villain.
in Shimmering green. of course, who was
spoken OF as the most dangerous woman
in our theatre: there was an irascible ad-
miral (why are stage admiraIs always rude
and peppery?): there was a dashng lieu
tenant. an old fool of a stage manager, first
violin, property man or stage doorkeeper. or
something. it doesn't matter what there is
always tiresome, doddering old stage
party in plays which deal with thea trical
life; there were German dialect, Irish dia
lect. negro dialect and Broadwayese, and
there was property room. 10 which the
entire popula ton OF Annapolis seemed at
odd moments 20 have access while the
ladies of the great stars great troupe were
dressing therein.
Now, it is mot necessary, the world
knows, that playwright should know any
thing about the world outside the theatre
in order to secure the production of his
play, but it might be thought by some
credulous souls that playwright should
know something about life inside the
theatre in order TO secure from theatrical
people respectful attention for play deal
ing with theatrical life. But perhaps this.
too. is a delusion. Let play be like moth
ing human and it shall not lack a stage.
The actors of the evening did the best
they could. They worked hard-ever so
hard. But they could not sa the play.
Nothing could save 1t. It was described on
the bill as farce. But there is 4 current
prejudice in favor of fun in a farce. Last
nights fun was chiefly of a sadness I'M
mentionable. There were few good laughs
for the right reason. there many in
the wrong places. The friends of the per
sons interested did their best TO make
things go with the sound of success. but
the odds against them overwhelmed their
generous intent. Why the play was writ
ten, why produced, why some OF its play
ers were cast for the parts they played,
why the star OF the performance was
starred at all--who shall say? Messrs.
kirkland, Mason and Wheat are entitled
to some ConImendation. But the others
we're not in their proper places. Nor was
the play. \. ".
CAST OF MISS PATSY'.