The Washington times., 1911-01-10
THE SPENDTHR|FT
TELLS OLD STORY
Extravaganza Main Theme
on Which Author Bases
His Play.
WOMAN'S SPHERE AND
RACE SUICIDE ADDED
Robert 7. Haines and That's Ma
Crane in the Lead
ing Roles.

After Porter Emerson Brown util-
lied the theme of Kipling's THE
Vampire" for a play that gave hint
of better things he amassed num-
ber of ideas on extravaganza of mod
ern living, race suicide, the sphere
of woman and other topics. All
these he generously threw into
dramatic hash entitled THE Spend
thrift" The result is an occasional
pleasing flavor and some clever
epigrammatic seasoning, but no di-
gestible food for thought or remem-
brance.
In "a Fool There Was" Mr.. Brown
had the aid of that excellent actor,
Robert Hilliard, to lehd strength to
his theme, but by a curious inversion
of casting, the principal roles Of
1.-The Spendthrift" are poorly acted
and the only CLEANS of histrionic
ability shine from under a bushel of
small talk from some of the minor
parts.
Hackneyed Story.
The play at the Columbia attempts
to tell the highly hackneyed story
of a frivolous wife. extravagant and
pleasure loving, who spends a few.
thousand dollars more each year than
her husband makes. BY a strange
oversight her husband fails to realize
the situation for fifteen years and
some months, and when he discovers
that such a course is likely to bring
financial diSaSter-how he escaped
that long the play does not say-he
puts the question squarely before his
wife. She makes the traditional error
of borrowing $4,000 from another
man. Her husband suspects her of
being unfaithful and does not learn
that his suspicious are false until
the woman leaves home and becomes
a clerk in a department store. The
author might be forgiven much had
he not suddenly topped all these in
cidents by happy and joyful ending.
This time-honored tale was poorly
told. BY way Of contrast to Frances
wards eXtravagances. a younger sister
and her fiance were brought on the
stage, though no place had been pro-
F1ded for them in the plot. This young
er sister also was introduced as a but
terfiy, and no inkling given of her truly
economical disposition until she launched
upon a sociological lecture attired in a.
6o"n WHICH, according to her state
ment, cost more than 500 The cost of
the attire of feminine members OF the
cast, even to shoes and hats, was ex-
plotted In inventory form at various
points IN the second act
1ncongruous Situation.
Neither was the audience prepared for
the news that Frances Ward had men
friends who were willing to make little
loans of $4,000 on short notice The
most incongruous situation was the third
act, evidently meant to be daring. but
which proved ridiculous.
The indignant husband decided that
the only way to find out the truth about
the loan was to make his wife telephone
10 the lender to come TO her rooms at
night. He then placed the money on a
table and opened a drawer in which Law
q pistol, so that the intruder might see
what was awaiting him when he took
back the loan" Only the minIstra-
tions of most daring playwright pre-
vented the visitor from picking I'D the
pistol for self-protecuon About the
only time the play departed from the
obvious was on similar occasions to defv
proba bility.
The settings were carelessly luxurious.
One detail which needed EXPLANATION
was lIS IedSOH why a Door husband
could not have a room of his own or
at least some corner for his desk and
business papers in home that boasted
-four spare bed rooms" than in the
drawing room
The Last Act.
The last act was laid in a tenement
house room. where the reformed wife
had fed to begin her business career in
department store and class room. When
the curtain fell on the third act the hus-
band slammed the door behind him,
and there was a reasonable suspicion
that It was he who left home However,
the fourth act sets forth that he had
Been searching high and low for his
wife.
Miss That's Magrane. playing the
wife, wore a much advertised gown
with distinction in the second act She
should not be given all the blame for
failing to make any headway in a part
that seemed hopelessly impossible from
the start. Robert T. Haines delivered
his lines in sophomore fashion. Good
hits of acting were furnished by Matte
Ferguson, as an aunt who tempered
sympathy with common sense, and by
Daniel Frawley, who played a hard
headed business man. Robert Cain por-
trayed a wobbly villain, but that also