The Washington herald., 1911-01-01
THE WEEKS PLAYBILLS.

| NatfOnal-JOhn Drew In ssSmith.n
Beginning with a holiday matinee to-
morrow at the New National Theater,
! Charles Frohman will present John Drew,
| and the medium for that popular actors
| temperance before local playgners is a
comedy called Smith The new play
| is by w. Somerset Vaughan, author of
Lady Frederick" Jack Straw" and
others. In Mr.. Drew's supporting COM
pany are Mary Boland, Isabel Irving,
Sibyi Thorndike. Jane Laurel, Morton Sell
ten. Hassard Short. and Louis Casson
The principal character in Smith" is
Thomas Freeman. who has been rough
ing ii in Rhodesia for eight years and
who comes back to England to visit his
sister, Mrs Dallas Baker She is mar
ried to middle-aged man, but is enter
taininS at her home young man, Algy
Peppercorn, whose duties are to go shop
ping with her and escort her to the the
ater and restaurants in her husbands alb
sence. In return for this attention he
gets his meals free at the Bakers fiat
The sister is also surrounded by bridge
playing coterie, among whom are Emily
Chapman. spinster of thirty, who Tilted
Freeman when he lost his money, and
Mrs. Otto Rosenberg. the wife of a rich
old German and mother of a baby whom
she does not care for. In this fashionable
crowd Freeman discovers a fresh-faced,
fresh-minded girl, Smith, the parlor
maid. One of his reasons for coming back
to London was to choose a wife to re-
turn to Africa with him. and he selects
Smith as the fittest among all those he
has met He does not pretend to love
her. but he proposes to her. She how
ever. is of a romantic disposition, and
does not care to marry for no other
reasons than health and wholesome
mindedness. Meanwhile Miss Chapman
discovers that Freeman is wealthy again
and tries to win him back. only to reject
him again when he proposes. The cli-
max of his disgust for the falsity of life
he has found comes during one of his
sisters bridge parties. to which Mrs Ro-
senberg has been invited. Shortly before
her arrival a message is received stat
ing that hsr baby is seriously ill. The
bridge players do not think it worth while
to distress her with the news. and keep
the message from her until the end of
the game, when another arrives announc-
ing the child's death. Freemen then
takes up the task of converting his sis
ter and her friends. and succeeds by the
end Of the play.
The Belaseo-The City,
Clyde Fitch's last and most serious
play. THE City," after year in New
York. will be seen at the Belasco The
ater this week, beginning with a special
holiday matinee tomorrow. Tho Shu-
berts have retained the original players.
Tully Marshall. which COM
pany will be seen here
Mr.. Fitch has gone to a small village |
in the upper part of New York State |
for most of the characters in his play. |
George Rand, ST., a banker of Middle |
burg, N. Y. is the father Of an illegiti- |
mate son. Although he secures him en- |
ployment in various positions, the boy |
prefers to live upon the bounty of his !
father, realizing that he has some claim |
upon him. without knowing the true cause |
Of his hold. His demands become so IRE
quent. however. that the banker finally |
refuses when he asks for N.OC0. De-
clining to give him this sum. the boy |
threatens his own life. The shock Is too
much for the hnancier. He Is stricken |
with apoplexy. and before his death he
to his son and heir. George |
Rand. t.,. that he Is the father Of
IN iilegitimate boy and asks that he
be cared for. The family has long
desired to live IN New York. the only
obstacle being the objection of the
Iather. He now being removed by death.
he Rands lose no time IN taking up their
lbode in . handsome residence In Fifth
avenue.
The son engages In business. having
- his secretary the illegitimate son. L
3eorge Frederick Hancock. Eventually
b enters State politics and u about 70 /,
- nominated - . candidate for COVER |,
lcf. Hanccck, who h . dope fiend and a
nan utterly without character. demands
hat he drst b -nxed" infoF1n4 that he II
sents seme gceap I'm heth 4end - !