Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-16

give it a hearty handshake as to an old
friend whose stories we have heard, but
who tells them so well that we are glad
to listen.
The story Of 1.-THE Man on the Box" Is
we'll told. A young army officer mas
querading as a coachman lands in the
police station. He had driven off with
a carriage in which was a young
woman with whom he had fallen IN
love, although they never had met. But
he didn't know the young woman was
In the carriage until later. She sus-
poets he is no coachman, pays his fine,
and to solve the mystery engages him
as her groom. To get a chance to be
near her the young man consents. The
mans good breeding and freedom from
the obsequious airs of a servant prompt
the young woman to put him to all
sorts of tests to try to make him betray
himself, when suddenly the plot takes
a serious turn and an international af-
fair intrudes. The coachman saves the
honor of the girls father and marries
her. just as everyone knew he would at
the very start.
The great advantage Of this story for
comedy purposes is that it is free from
buffoonery. 1t is funny in clever
way; it's comedy does not consist of
queer antics and a multitude of COM
plications, solved at the last curtain
like the severing of the Gordian knot.
1t gives opportunities for acting, in
stead of horseplay.
A. Byron Beasley plays the leading
part in an altogether different spirit
from previous presentations here. While
he makes the masquerading coachman
man very fond of a joke, enjoying
himself hugely, he still upholds the
serious side of the character. 1t is
comedy plus personality. He does not
strain for the laughs. He insists that
while the prank shall be appreciated
the character shall be respected. Mar
jorie Rambeau enters into the fun of
the thing thoroughly, but she looked
almost "dowdy" in the second act. The
girl is supposed to come in after an ac-
cident while riding. Other actresses
who have played the part have made q
complete change of costume in the
middle of the act. Miss Rambeau
wears a none too handsome riding skirt
throughout the act. She is too pretty
to let opportunities to show go by de-
fault. Her acting is in the same airy,
care-free style that she assumes in all
her lighter moods. David Landau as
the Russian spy also departs from the
conventional Interpretation of the part
in both makeup and manner. His
Karloff, like everything else he does, is
an intensely interesting study. Agnes
Lee, who makes her debut in Los An
geles in this piece, has only a small
part, but she is winsome and pretty In
her little scene, and adds much bright
ness to the comedy while she Is on the
stage.
Kolb and Dill started the second week
of their biggest success, 1.-THE Merry
Widow and the Devil" at the Majestic
theater last night, and the signs are
that this great fun and music show
is growing in popularity, and promises
to do a bigger second week business
even than it's first. Kolb and Dill GER
tainly have got clear away from the
stereotyped burlesque this year, and
such productions as 1.-THE Merry Wild
ow and the Devil' and THE Rich Mr.
Hoggenheimer" are establishing their
regulations in an entirely new line of
work than any they heretofore have
attempted. Kolbs unctuous humor as
the leader of the neither domain is a