The Washington herald., 1912-01-09
LAST NIGHTAT THE THEATERS
THE COLUMBIA.


Miss AngIIn I'm "Green Stockings"
II is far cry from Helena Ritchle to
Celia Faraday; equally as far cry from
Margaret Anglin. emotional actress" to
Margaret Anglin, comedienne. The reve-
lation of this artistic shift was made
before a delighted audience IN the A. z.
w Mason comedy, Green Stockings, I"
at the Columbia Theater last evening.
There Is hardly any question about the
success OF the actress In her new ven
ture or Of the light, clever. and volatile
play which she has secured from the
gifted English novelist-playwright who
first leaped into the literary limelight
with his "The -Four Feathers" Of dec
ade ago. II is true that Miss Anglin has
been seen to better advantage than as
Celia Faraday. II would be an injustice
TO compare her Ruth Jordan. for instance.
with the role which she presented so
effectively in Green Stockings" last
evening.
The comedy, however. is an unaIloyed
delight. In sheer drollery and rapier-
like fun there has been no scene pre-
sented In Washington this winter CON-
parable in effect to that between Celia
miss Anglin) and Col. J. N. Smith, d.
S. o. Oh. Reeves Smith, In the second
act Light as thIstledown and as clean
cut as a cameo. this roguish ambush of
cross-purposes was brilliantly and splen-
didly done. 1t was a supreme example OF
comedy acting OF the modern school. In
the hands OF a less capable player than
Reeves Smith-who entirely dominated
II, though that is nothing in discredit OF
Miss Anglin-it might have seemed dull
and fiat. but played In its present form Il
is delicious.
Green Stockings is so near the bor-
deriand Of farce that there is no con-
sistent effort TO win sympathy for the
central character, and the motivation of
the play is whimsical throughout, and,
in some respects, even Shavian in de-
velopment. An English girl, the eldest
OF four daughters. and almost hopelessly
without matrimonial prospects. invents
a fiAnce in desperation. and dispatches
him-an imaginary army Oficer-on to
Somaliland. Eight months later. after
having emancipated herself from being
the dowd and the odd maid" OF the
household. she kills him OF. Then. in the
typical vein OF farce. the imaginary
Smith becomes a real Smith, and comes
TO claim her heart and hand.
The real fun, OF course. opens with the
entrance OF the real Smith. alias Vava-
seur, upon the scene. The dramatist has
made the resultant scenes as mercurial
ana eUtENtscent as dnNlnlnE lnht mas
come from the more practiced hands Of
Haddon Chambers and Somerset Maugh-
am. The lines reveal no forced wit. no
staccato. glacial satire on the social con-
ventions, but just the glow and the
sparkle of quixotic drollery. In such
work Reeves Smith has no superior on
the Engllsh-speaking stage, and IL was
greatly TO Miss AnElin's credit that she
played up to him" so cleverly. At all
times she showed the genuine flash and
touch-and-go spirit in comedy. and show
ed the versatility Of the true artist.
The excellent supporting cast includes
Stanley Dark as William Faraday, Miss
Maude Granger as Mrs. Chisholm Fara-
day, OF Chicago. who scored in two rich
ly humorous scenes; Wallace Widde-
cCmbe as James Raleigh, and Miss Cert
rude Hitz as Phyllis Faraday.
The performance was a benefit for the
Northern Dispensary and Emergency
Hospital. and the President and Mrs.
Taft were in attendance. A. NJ. J.