Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-24
ADJUSTMENTS
Belasc0.

A new American farce by Rupert
Hughes, entitled Excuse Me- was
shown at the Belasco Theater last night.
more merrily modern conceit has not
been seen this season, the theme, simple
as It Is. possessing inexhaustible posi-
bilittes OF fun. 1t is humor broad and
emf matte, a revelation OF human nature
under conditions Of mental perturbation
and physical discomfort, such as entail
no lasting hurt, but serve for the moment
to shatter ones most cherished philoso-
phies. There is a touch of satire in the
allusion to the confused condition Of
divorce laws which create constant change
IN the standards of morals as a train
plunses across the border lines of differ
ent states. The satire. though clever, is
subordinate, the function of the new
piece being humor. sometimes a little
boisterous, sometimes subtle-the more
general In its appeal because of it's diver
sity.
An auditor who finds nothing to laugh
at In Excuse Me- must be funproof, for
almost every type of mankind susceptible
70 the art of the caricaturist is on hand
The sentimental fat man who has drown
ed his sorrows in drink, the minister who
resolves IN mild way to taste the de-
lights Of worldliness, the petulant young
woman with pet dog, the dashing di-
vorcee, the middIe-aged woman-hater
who gets married at the first opportunity.
the csre-burdened conductor, the discern
ing but discreet colored porter, make up
q list or characters competent to repre-
sent the foibles which move us to mirth
In pubic, even though we may secretly
sympathize with some of them.
Inc stage setting is unusual. showing
the interior of railway train with more
fidelity to fact that any tourist farce
that has been shown in many years.
Though the space in which the action
ri
so much going on that the auditor nurses
no resentment at being deprived Of an
occasional glimpse Of the full stage. The
scene is panorama of ludfcrous hap
penings. Occasionally the spectator feels
that he is at a condensed three-ring cir
Gus, whose perspective no single gaze
could comprehend. In the midst OF your
own appreciative chuckle you cannot
help pausing to wonder whether the man
in the next seat is laughing at the same
thing you are.
The method OF presenting Excuse Me-
is something similar to that which made
the farces Of the late Charles Hoyt SO ir-
resistible in their appeal. Characters
with whom we are so familiar that We
look far beyond them in the quest of hu-
mon experience that they pass unnoted
are made to yield brilliant flashes OF orig
inality when magnif1ed by imaginative
fancy. In the cast are so many clever
people that 1t would be tax on space
to catalogue them. Opportunities are so
fairly divided and so competently utilized
that the spotlight refuses to pick favor
lite. There are Willis Sweatnam as the
negro porter, James L'Ackaye as the SEN
timental fat man. John Findlay as the
truant from clerical responsibilities. and
others Of equal capability, literally. too
numerous to mention.
Excuse Me" needs no apology. 1t
handles its subject without prudish diff
dence and yet without offense. It Is
bright spot OF genuine inspiration in the
somewhat murky atmosphere of current
theatric entertainment. 1t might have
been q spectacular creation, problem
play, q musical skit or an acrobat1c fes-
tival. But it Is content to be frankly
farce asking nothing but the laughter of
the moment. and getting that in album
dance.