The Washington herald., 1912-02-13
AT IIfIlIE IIitIzAlT I2IzS
Ar THE coIUMBIA.
ssThe senator Keeps House.'


"The Senator Keeps House" at the Co.
lumbia this week. and while his some
what hazy ideas on the subject would In
all probability bring blush Of shame TO
any self-Fespecting housewife, the prac-
tice Of the same by Senator Christopher
Larlin afforded a highly entertaining
evening to the many friends and admir-
ers OF william H. Crane. For The
Senator Keeps House is essentially a
Crane vehicle. and being that, and keep
ing Mr.. Crane on the stage practically
continuously from curtain to curtain
Throughout the four acts, Is good.
This comedy from the pen of Martha
nished Mr.. Crane with some Of his great
est popular successes. lays no claim to
novelty in plot or treatment. There Is
hardly a moment when one wonders what
is going to happen next, which Is an
other way Of saying that the expected
does happen, and Mr.. Crane wends his
smiling way through the four acts from
scenes Of hilarious comedy to near melo-
drama as only this matured and genial
comedian can.
Senator Larkin. long a widower. has
had a regular procession Of housekeepers.
No sooner would one become established
In his house, and finding her employer a
most excellent catch. than she would set
her cap for him. The Senator having
registered a vow never to marry again,
these little attentions and advances be-
came embarrassing and unpleasant, and
as the curtain rises We find him sans
housekeeper and breakfasting on burnt
toast and something that might, II not
subjected to a critical examination, pos
sibly pass for coffee. Result an adver-
tisement for a new housekeeper. those
rT~fa1
barred.
Enter q palpable villain In the person
OF the Hon. Adolphus Judson. member Of
Congress from New York, where. accord
ing to Larkin. the germs OF graft are
bred Judson has a pet project under
way in the Mason claim, to which Larlin
is violently opposed. What more simple
than to introduce the innocent Mrs.
Fowler, the Mason claimant, and who
doesn't know her claim is a fraud. into
the Senator's menage as housekeeper;
then leave 1t 10 her 10 get the claim
through. This Is done, and Mrs. Fowler
proves a better housekeeper even than
those found in books.
The second act finds the Senator thor
oughly domesticated. No more poker
sessions, and only one cigar after din
ner. But he does steal two extra ones
after a hard struggle and gets a lot OF
fun out OF It while he does 1t. In the
meantime Patrick Henry. the Senator's
secretary, has been dispatched to Vir-
gtnia to find the Mason pace, which
Judson has now proposed shall be bought
for a-winter soldiers home for the
trining sum Of 800, 0o0 Of which amount
he generously decides TO give the stin
unsuspecting Mrs. Fowler $4,000 The
senator decides to rehearse a speech he
is going to deliver to kill forever the
Mason claim, and in this scene Mr.
Crane is at his best. His fights of fancy
totally eclipse all altitude records to
date
Patrick Henry returns with the in
formation that the proposed site for the
winter soldiers home is a large and
thoroughly unhealthy swamp infested
with countless millions of the festive
mosquito, and all bets are on Judson
comes in and throws the blame for the
Senator's deception on Mrs Fowler, but
Larkin announces calamity that he knew
who she was all the time. and there is a
pretty mess. Again we find the Senator
sans housekeeper, while Patrick Henry
runs away and marries Mrs. Fowler's
daughter. Through the efforts OF the
newlyweds all complications are straight
ened out. and as the curtain falls we see
very plainly that the Senator will never
again have to keep house for and by
himself
Mr.. Crane Is thoroughly at home as
Senator Larkin, and the large Congress
sional delegation in the audience fol-
lowed his delineation Of the character
with great interest and entire approval
Mabel Bert is adequate as Mrs. Fowler,
and Theodore Marston contributes a
pleasing character study as Col SeeIey,
a war veteran Jack Devereaux is Pat
rick Henry, and Lorraine Frost plays
opposite him as Eva Fowler. William W.
Jefferson was Sam, and Marion Kerby
was Honeysuckle, eolored servants. Harry
Harwood makes Judson as viIIainous as
possible.