Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-20
Belasco.

Cyril Scott in Rida Johnson Young s
comedy, THE Lottery Man, was given
a hilarious reception at the Belasco The
alter last evening. By the sheer force of
its farce situations the play boils and
bubbles and seethes, sweeping aside such
| trif1es as dramatic unities and plausibility
of plot in grandilOQuent fashion. Built
Of the stuff of which pleasant dreams
and laughing gas are made. it spins its
yarn of scintillating absurdities without
ryhme or reason, but with facetious APP
peal that will not be denied. 1t cannot
| be taken seriously; it must be laughed at.
Moreover, 1t is rip-roaring falce COM
edy that does not depend upon horse play
and the slap stick for it's hits, but upon
situations as truly humorous as they
are free from moss. Snappy lines, and
| as clever a cast has been seen in
farce comedy for 10 these many moons.
! The tyranny OF laughter begins when
Jack Wright. a newspaper chap, who
enough to call him "old pal and borrow
thousand dollars from him. takes a
hint from W. S. Gilberts Bunthorne, AMI
puts himself up as prize in a sort
and ''human-interested' by the yellow
| journal in question.
A coupon from the Sunday edition.
with 81, entities the holder to one
chance on the aforesaid Jack Wright as
| husband. Three hundred thousand
women avail themselves of this last
chance to worry about the cost of liV-
ing for two. That means 100000 Of
course with Jack Wright thrown in
| for good measure, for the lucky winner.
Moreover, should the successful con-
testant possess an affinity of her own,
or for other reasons wish to sideStep,
she can do so and walk off with one
half of the accumulation of one dollar
bills, minus the lottery man" On the
other hand, should he balk at the cere-
mony the entire gate receipts go to the
helpless damsel as balm for her wound
ed feelings, and Jack Wright dOesn t
even get a thousand dollars out of it
with which to repay the loan from the
owner of the paper, and for which he
lent himself to such a perilous scheme
| 1t looks to be fine business for Jack
until he meets Helen Heyer cousin
of the proprietor of the paper. Helen
Is the kind of girl who in reading the
,Sunday edition, turned her dainty nose
up st the lottery coupons and went
right along with the fashion notes anC
the advice to the lOvelorn. Neverthe.
; less she takes several thousand chance:
in the contest without being aware OF
the fact she has done so. Jack goe:
without lunch and cigarettes and buy:
i, coupons on himself in the name o.
Helen Heyer His mother follows suit
: as does also Helen's aunt, Mrs. PeytOn
In fact nearly everybody, the audience
included. is hoping for Helen to win.
: But the lucky number. BIB is hel'
| DIV one Lizzie hOUtItS, d "
Mrs Peyton. To appreciate Lizzie on
! has to see her, and. having seen her, on
d. cannot fail to appreciate what a tin.
' bit of money three hundred thousand is
if Lizzie has to go along with it. Jacl
! sees il right away. But he also see
: that he cannot honorably ask Heller
, Heyer TO marry him without the three
hundred thousand one-dollar bills, 70
Helen, be it known. has nearly hal
million in her own name, not won in
| either,
Lizzie is appealed TO, but Lizzie il
adamant 1t eventually develops. how
ever. that the lucky coupon belonged
not to her, but to the downstairs mait
in the Peyton home, and this down
stairs maid is in love with Hamilton, tn,
, elevator boy. Half of the prize none,
, with Hamilton and without Jack contents
her The curtain descends with Jacl
' Kissing Helen in plain view of her aunt
, his mother the servants, the audience
, al" IN he Lottery Man Cyril Scott ha
o,ite the most drOll part in which i
has been his fortune to appear for SOM
2 time His humOr is spontaneous an,
infectious. Helen Lowell is Lizzie T,
.ay more of her work would be but t,
: analyze a continual laugh. The re
2 mainder of the cast was uniformly ant
unusually excellent.