New-York tribune., 1910-01-21
DRAMA
Henry e. Direy Plays Mr..
Butties at Weber's Theatre.

Henry r. Dixey was very succsssful last
hight at Weber's Theatre In MIR. Buttles"
al hhghsh comedy by Frederick Arnold
hummer he was eminently the star of
the performance, both as regards the quail
ny oL MS actng and the amount of work
ne had TO do. He can be forgiven for this.
however because IL more had been left to
other members of his company the result
perhaps. would not have been so favorable.
The play opened with all the servants
or the Earl OF Everdun (Cyril Chadwick
thrown into CONSERVATION because the i'm
pecunious lord has decided to close The
towers, his country house In Devonshire.
butues comes forward with a proposition
to form the Buttles Company, Limited.
which shall be a profit sharing organization
or servants. which shall undertake the
management of The Towers. The guests
of the earl are to come as usual. and But
ties is TO support himself and his associates
by means Of the voluntary" contributions
or visitors The earl is to receive f1,5Oo a
year, and is to be a hgurehead, as usual.
Inc servants agree TO the proposition, and,
after some opposition, so does the earl.
he soon gets out of remaining at The
Towers by getting his chauffeur, who Is his
double. TO impersonate him. The chauffeur,
Ralph Hemenway, alias James Higgins, a
London Times" correspondent out for
copy on labor story, begins by falling
in love with Miss Sally Fighter (Miss
Minette BarretD, an American girl who,
with her mother Miss Jerreys Lewis, is
one of the members of a house party at
The Towers All sorts OF complications
arise. 1t all ends by the earl coming on
from Paris and swearing to the irate
Fighter. president of the Fighter Canned
Goods Company, of Chicago. that he does
not want to marry his daughter. Higgins
wins the title seeking American girl in
spite of the fact that he is not earl.
Incidentally, Sir Percy Palmerston tries to
elope with Mrs. Bill F'latsaddle, and Cap
tain F1atsaddle plans to do the same thing
with Sir Percy's fancee, Miss Dottie Dor
rington (Nliss Olive Terry. Buttles agrees
to assist the two men for the usual con-
sideration and tells each one of the plans
of the other. II is always Buttles who
manages everything He figures in every
predicament, with the usual qualification"
which he invariably pockets with suavity
and dispatch.
Buttles is a wonder, and Mr.. Dixey
plays his part with much skill. He is i'm
perturbable, except when the earl appears
on the scene suddenly in the last act. He
has great confidence in himself. and says
that to be a buttIes Is not profession
business but an art-Mr. Dixey makes it
So
The comedy is nothing more nor less than
a vehicle for Buttles. The characters are
supposed to be English society folk. What
ever may be the faults Of this class. one
does not usually find among them an earl
who welcomes his guests with his back
turned, and says to them scarcely nothing
at all. The characters bear few of the ear
marks of the nobility-the best bred man
among them is Buttles. The comedy moves
along swiftly, however, and it holds the
interest Of the audience-or, to be more
exact. Mr.. Dixey holds the interest of the
audience.
Cyril Chadwick. as the earl, was decided
ly and convincingly English. Frank Gold
smith. as Ralph Hemingway. socialist and
disciple of Bernard Shaw" was vitriolic
and aggreSsiYe-as he was meant to be
but, if anything, he was little too much
SO. Charles Alexander, as Sir Percy Palm
erston; Charles Carey, as Captain Billy
Flatsaddle, and Scott Cooper, as the Chi
cagoan. took their parts well. The young
man who took the part of Buttons, the
page made a distinct hit.