The Washington herald., 1911-09-26
AT THE COLUMBIA.
"a Million"

1t may seem a trine quixotic to place
the only possible point of protest against
the new Savage farce, "A Million" right
here in the foreground. But It is quite
true that its title is the only clumsy or
inept element in the production. This
said. all criticism OF the piece ceases.
unless the last act meet with some dis
approval in certain quarters. and all that
remains is the glow of genuine first
night" enthusiasm.
Indisputably the electric tang OF sue
cess swept across the Columbia Theater
last evening. and the new farce went
with a sweep and rush which left no
possible doubt about what the metropoli-
tan verdict will be. Col. Savage has
found the legitimate successor OF Excuse
Me" OF this there is little question. "A
Million" evokes laughter of the kind
which the claCque never has and never
will he able TO simulate. II struck the
right note before the first act had fairly
gotten under way. and held 1t unswerv-
ingly to that clever and skillful donoue-
ment involving Frank Keenan,, Taylor
Holmes, and Irene Fenwick, at the drop
OF the final curtain.
The remarkable thing about "A Mil
lion is that it has been adapted from
the Gallo, and given "a locat habitation
and a name" by Leo Dietrichstein, with
out losing the least bit Of its sparkle and
effervescenCe. 1t has not been denatured
or robbed in clumsy fashion OF its vichy-
like fun. The veteran playgoer could de-
teCt its Continental origin in a certain
rigidIty of the farce form. and in GER
tain scenes designed to portray certain
failings of Bohemia which are charac-
teristic the world over. The American
built farce usually has trimmings of SEN
timental comedy and a dash of this-and-
that to give variety. "A Million is as
rigidly farcical and comic as a serial pic
ture in "Fliegende Blatter" or La Vie
Parisienne:" its absurdities are logically
developed and carried out in skillful far
cical construction to their conclusion.
Suffice TO say that "A Million" does
does not deal with misfit husbands and
wives ''aflinitieS' or soul mates" or
the mIsadventures of engaged couples,
II is woven about the weird fortunes Of
a blue blouse which contains a Brazilian
lottery check, -hrowing not a million. but
half million. in the way OF an impecu-
niOus-inevitably impecuniouS-New York
sculptor. This Is the point OF departure
from which a riot of fun and laughter
starts, carrying the auditor from
sculptor's studio to a fence on the
Bowery. thence to the rooms OF an Ital-
ian tenor of the "Pagliacci'' type, thence
to a wild and realistic scene in a road
house in Pelham road-according to the
programme. At several points in the
final scene realism might we'll be
sacrificed to disarm any possible excep-
tion to the piece. By-play Of this sort
has no place in a farce which appeals,
presumably. to the general amusement
loving public, and not to wine-bibbers,
curbstone weisenheimers, and cafe
habitues
Col. Savage has more than demon
strated his confidence in the piece by the
cast he has provided for 1t. II is rare,
indeed, that a farce is enacted by such
players as Frank Keenan,, Taylor
Holmes. William Burress. Eulalie Jensen,
Irene Fenwick. and Henry Mortimer. The
presence of Keenan, alone would be suf-
ficient to lend distinction to the piece,
and the common or garden variety of
producer would have been content to let
II go at that and engage second-raters
for the other parts. "A Million pI esents
no point Of weakness in its casting, as
suredly.
Frank Keenan, and Taylor Holmes car
~ off the acting honors. Keenan, plays
a notorious criminal" Frank Porter,
ease and poise and polish, as II he also
were conscious of the fact that his high
talent was worthy of weightier material.
Taylor Holmes, now a pronounced Wash
ington favorite, shows his high skill in
comedy as Lorimer Walsh, a medical
student, a part which is the humorous
lead of the farce; william Burress. as
Mike O'Leary. the sneak thief, plays a
small part deftly; Paul Ker, who played
the tenor, Danatelh. in the original Ber-
lin production. scores an immediate hit
in the present one: John A. Butler has
a typical stage newspaper reporter to en-
act in breezy and flippant fashion; Henry
Mortimer plays Ramon Andrade, the
sculptor, cleverly and we'll; Irene Fem
wick displays her appealing beauty as
Beatrice Lind; Eulalie Jenson enacts the
artists model, Francesca Roversi, brill
iantly, and Kenyon Bishop shows a char
acteristic female Of the half-world as
Pearl, the road house keeper.
"a Million" is a hit. 1t should have
a prosperous week at the Columbia, and
should stay on Broadway many months.
A. n ].
mHYT M A1A