The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-05-07
POLL PLAYERS
 OPEN SEASON DAVID BELASCO'S PRODUCTION "NOBODY'S WIDOW" WE'LL PLAYED BEFORE LARGE AUDIENCES. MISS BLANCHE HALL AND GEORGE ARVINE SCORE
 HEAVILY IN LEADING
 PARTS.

The "Poli Players" opened their sea. son yesterday when two large audi ences saw them present 'Nobody's Widow" The company was selected ,,ny Edward Benton, MT. Polls genera representative, and 1t appeared to be agreed that in all respects the com pany meets every requirement, being splendidly balanced and possessing ths proper elements of strength.
 "Nohodys Widow" Is from the per of Avery Hopwood, a young man who already has number of successes in New York to his credit. David Bel asco produced "Nobody's Widow" as yehicle@to star Blanche Bates, and 1t proved one of her best roles. A Belasco production Is of course re- garded as the pinnacle of excellence
 but it is safe to say that the Poli per- formance loses little if any by com parison.
 The plot concerns the marital trou- bles of Roxana Clayton, who finds thai she has been deceived by the Duke o1 Moreland, to whom Ahe. ,hassjust beer married. She finds him in the arms of an old flame named Suzette. an6 immediately calls everything off. She goes away and shortly afterward an nounces that her husband is dead Donning widows weeds, she accepts the condolences of her friends and ap- pears to be bearing up under great sorrow,
 Imagine her dismay when she en- counters her supposedly dead husband at a house party in Palm Beach where tries to tell hubby that he is dead but he refuses to shuttle off. He wants to be live one and be Rox- ana's husband. He tries to explain the affair with Suzette but is jeered at for his pains. And so it goes for three sparkling acts. The duel of wits between Roxana and the Duke is re- freshing and the other characters fur- nish plenty of comedy. Of course il ends the right way.
 Miss Blanche Hall. the new leading lady of the company, ran away with the honors in the role of Roxana- She had the proper conception of the char acter and made the most of her part She was a coQuette and termagant by turns. She scolded, coaxed and
 made love to the Duke until his brain was in a whirl. Miss Hall, who re- gently played 8 leading part in "A Bird of Paradise. one of the seasons hits in New York, promises to be the
 most popular leading woman in the local history of Poli stock. She has the personal magnetism, the good looks and also the dramatic skill At the close of the biz scene in the geo. ond act she was recalled again and again.
 George Arvine, the leading man, will make the fair patrons forget John Ince. Mir. Arvine Is of distinguished appearance and his long experience as member of the late Richard Mans fields company has given him the proper poise. He handled his part iu excellent fashion and wooed the fair Roxana in an impetuous manner that carried her by storm There will be many lovelorn maidens writing mash notes to MT. Arvine this summer.
 |. Miss Marguerite Starr was great in the role of Mrs. Betty Jackson. She has a fine comedy touch and in the scene where she exposes some of the feminine beauty helps. sine brought down the house. Miss Starr has prev iously. appeared here In vaudeville and is popular with local patrons.
 Thomas Moore, a well liked member of last years company, made one of the hits of the evening as Ned Ste
 phens, a youth who likes sleep bet ter than anything else. Miss Flor ence Hart as the Countess Manuela Valencia, Clarence Chase as Baron
 Reuter- Gus Tapley as Peter and Mise Evelyn Warden as Sadie were an good.
 The scenic equipment is lavish but the same time appropriate. At the close of. the second act a number of bououets were handed over the foot lights and each member of the cast was remembered, It looks like a
 prosperous season for the Poli Play