The Washington herald., 1911-09-24

tronage. The usual number OF more or
less effective comedy situations ensue.
The music, however, far outstrips the
plot, and II the operetta wins popularity
it will be solely through the effort Of
the composer, who has provided several
songs whose Hitting music will soon ,
mutilated on that home music provider,
the piano, from Kankakee to Rissimmee,
The opening choAus Of act 2, ''O'er the
Blue Waters and Love is Like q
Ldttle Rubber Band in particular earn
vociferous applause y
Miss Flora Zabelle, as the baroness,
sang extremely well. Mr.. Robert War
wick, as the composer, looked well, but
sang badly. Miss Elsa Ryan played and
sang the flirtatious wife with spirit, and
Mr.. Charles Bigelow allowed not a single
hair to mar the comedy effect Of his
shiny dome.
The honors. however, were carried OF
by the Misses Elsa Ryan, Adele Row.
land. and Mr.. Robert Brown. Their song
is encored nightly. until their appear
ance takes on the complexion OF a mara
thon.
"Passers-by."
Out Of a foggy London night Hadden
Chambers has drawn a tale Of humanity
whose pathos and humor are destined to
| fill the Criterion for many weeks to
come. The play is "Passers-by."
The scene opens on the well-lighted
study Of a wealthy bachelor. Peter VOL
verton, where Pine, his valet. lightens
the gloomy hours by entertaining
Mighty, a philosophical cabman. VOL
verton returns, becomes interested in
his servants pastime, and summons to
hospitality a half-witted wastrel. Sam
uel Burns. This queer duet is further
augmented by a care-worn woman OF
the streets, seeking shelter from the
| rain in Wolverton's doorway.
Despite her bedraggled appearance,
wolverton recognizes her as Margaret
Summers, a former nursemaid in his
fathers house, with whom he had once
fallen in love. The recognition brings
back old recollections. The girl tells OF
her eviction by an officious step-sisterr
the birth Of a child, and her struggles
with poverty Wolverton answers with
tale OF his lonely life and present en-
gagement to Beatrice Dainton. a woman
of society The curtain falls on Peter
musing over a photograph Of his fiancee
and thinking of the girl who has so
strangely crossed his path.
Then Peter meets his son in a scene
brimming with pathos, and Burns is
brought In, mud-stained and unkempt.
after an accident in the street The
climax comes with the kidnapping OF
little Peter by Burns.
Next comes the inevitable meeting be-
| tween Peters fancee and his old flame.
| The tete-a-tete is broken into by the ap-
pearance of the butler, with the news
of Burns departure with the boy. Mar
garet breaks down; Wolverton hastily
confesses to the sympathetic Beatrice,
seizes his hat and rushes out in search
Of his boy. leaving his mistress to the
condolences of his fiancee.
The final chapter Of this unusual play
reveals the renunciation of Peter by his
affianced wife, the dissipation Of Mar
garet's sacrifcial claim to an engage
ment with a mythical Mr.. Robinson, and
reunlting Of a romance broken by world
ly interferepre.
Around this simple tale of the streets
Hadden Chambers has woven character
parts with an ingenuity and dramatic ef-
feet that deserves the highest praise. He
has probed beneath the veneer of society,"
unearthed a common and pathetic story,
and clothed II with an art that has sell
dom been excelled in modern drama.
Not only is the piece OF the first water,
but the actors, without an exception, play
their parts with convincing simplicity
that successfully eliminates the stagtness
that could easily mar the difficult char
acterization. II it is possible to pick one
above another, the work of Richard Ben