New-York tribune., 1910-10-04
THE DRAMA
of Sunnybrook Farm
at the Republic Theatre.

When a pretty child peeped out from an
old red stagecoach and smilef INTO
Mtrandv SAWYER $ garden the audience In
the Repubhc Theatre knew that this dear
youngster would carry everything before
her Jerry cobb. the stage driver. said that
she had "a carrying voice, ;" and tina. her
smile would kill al a hundred yards" But
her smile and her voice were moi the only
resnonsibIe agencies by which she made
canttva all who saw and heard her: she
was an amazing combination Of art and
natural charm. 10 begin with, she is one
of the Tal.aferros. and the TaHa1errOs
seem 10 he numerous, and are known 10
be pleasing and clever. But this girl i1dtt1.
who pIaved Rebecca, the ''Rebecca of
Surnvhrook Farm is the most pleasing
and is likely TO prove the cleverest OF tnegn
all
Some persons affect a belief that per
souaIitv' is a vain term which has no
meaning for them. If they viii see Edith
Taliaferro play Rebecca there's a chance
they NAV be enlightened. Here's lovely
little person possessing every gift with
which nature should dover actress,
and so Young that ste looks Rebecca's age,
fourteen when she comes in the coach.
seventeen when she leaves school and bids
Mr. Aladdin wait and hope. The years
Miss Edith TaIiaferro has may be four
teen or seventeen. or whatever she pleaseS.
but for the play they are precisely tie
years which Kate Douglas Wiggin has
given Rebecca. And SIZE is Rebecca's self.
Not for an instant does she give the i'm
nression Of a precocious child actress: she
is every instant natural. and natural with
most delicious art She captivated the
audience as easily as she captivated Jerry
Cobb. II was easy enough to understand
how sour suappish Aunt Mirandy soft
ened a little under the light toucn of that
Child's hand and the warmth O. her
sunny nature. How Aunt Mirandy man
aged to hold out against her at all you
" ont understand unless you know the
State of Maine and some Of the queer
natures that grow in it.
The play which Kate Douglas Wiggin
and Charlotte Thompson have written has
none of the features that Broadway is
fondly supposed to delight in: it has no
plot to speak of. no climax, no thrills,
no "situations-'; 1t is as simple as simple
can ne. Il is made Up of d succession or
chapters from Rebecca's life, adapted for
the stage from the Rebecca books: done.
too, with skill. or the arrangement would
not hold together as it does. Seeing tins
play is like spending a vacation in Maine
The play is as sweet as the Maine woods.
Undoubtedly everything depends upon the
actirg, because no matter low sweet the
spirit or how pure the atmosphere, the
plavvrights could not hold an audience
as the Republic audience was held Monday
night without acting of special appropr1-
steuess and understanding. The acting is
so good that praisIug II becomes more
than a duty, a positive pleasure Inc
characters are what Kate Douglas Wiggin
meant them 10 be. Seldom, indeed. are
stage characters like what their authors
lad in mind. But here-Jerry Cobb, for
one. Archie BOYD understands him and
portrays him ia a way that wins YOU
When Sam Colt plays Abner Simpson
YOU see Abuer He's as real as the stage
coach. And Miss Days Aunt Mirandy IS
really worth remembering. SO we're all the
queer gfrls-Emny Jane Perkins, Minnie
Smellie and the rest-bIt every one in the
cast IS worth d word, If there were time TO
give it Nevertheless, If there we're not
such a Rebecca as Edith Taliaferro's. who
can tell what would happen? The part she
plays is g long one, difficult one, a de
IigEtful one. and she Il the embodiment of
girlish BEAUTY. sweetness, high spirits,
drpar1iness and witcherv. Was ever A
child's part 50 we'll acted before? Little
Miss TaIiafcrro has added TO New York $
joy She is we'll worth seeing, very
well worth it. This simple, rural play is
bound TO be enjoyed by many thousands
in New York as il has been enjoyed else
where Its very simplicity is a merit It's
performance could not be improved And
its chief character, Rebecca Rowena Ran
dali with sparkling eyes, and dancing
dark curIs, and a smile all her own, and
fetching voice, fits before you as q win
some elf who can never be forgotten.
A. ".
CAST OF "REBECCA OF SCNNY-BROOK
FARM
Miranda SAWYER. .............-.....M Marie l. Day