The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-05-26

a rev weeks ago, that tDcS neeueu
new sketches. Madame Besson of
fered prize Of $500 for one
act play. while Miss Scott didn t
offer cent, taking her own pen
In her own hand aud writing a
playlet for herself. 1t is too bad
she did not stick at her desk long
enough to write a piece for the
Besson prize also; if "Between
Trains is worth $500, almost any
other drama must get up toward
the million dollar mark. ] have
never seen any other play by John
Stokes, though the programmes In
form us he has written pieces bear
ing such engaging titles as ono
ther " Baby" and GA Regular
Business Man, Perhaps | would
have appreciated Between
Trains - more if I had worked up
to it through a Stokes Course
many people have to see three or
four Maeterlinck plays before I'M
derstanding and appreciating the
Belgian mystic s style.
Until Between Trains" was al.
most over, no one could quite make
out whether We were intended TO
laugh at it or take it seriously;
which doubt threw many Of US on
sheepish eiggles. A laborer (played
bv the author) came home TO
supperless supper. his wife being
out. He was very angry, abusing
her right roundlv when she did
come home. Indeed, he gave her
no chance to explain her absence,
but cussed her so vehementlv she
finally threw teacup at him. In
return he slapped her face. Then
she announced she was going TO
leave him forever and that she
would take nothing from his house
except the picture of their dead
babv. Business of suppressed
sobs). At this moment strange
woman enters. She is on her way
to Omaha, but has half an hour to
klll at this waysidc station be.
tween trains. She would like cup
of tea: and, as she can find no
lunch counter or hotel, she has
come to this little cottage. The
weeping wife serves her most hos.
pitably Warmed by the tea, the
traveller gets "real chatty' and
tells the couple how happy she is.
She is about to join her husband.
A wear before she too threw tea
cup at her husband: he struck her;
and she divorced him, So matters
stood until about a week before the
DISC tea talk. Then be .eIe,
GRABBED her he was lonesome. So
was she, At the time she was in
Boston and he in San Francisco:
SO she replied she would meet him
half wav. Therefore Omaha. And
vet. some people think there Is no
such thing ms bliss in Omaha,
wen, the rest seems hardly worth
telling The stranger goes her
wav to Arcadia. Neb. The husband
and wife realize how near tboy were
to wrecking their lives over
trlfle; though they hang the broken
tea cup aud the unknown IadvJs
glove beneath the baby's pictiire
as a constant reminder Person.
ally, ], should have preferred to
hang the author,
Finding myself utterly al a loss
to say why Miss Scott's nlay
struck me as good one, can
only conclude that 1t was not good,
The good part was Miss Seott's
ACTING. Are you familiar with herr
Until her debut in vaudeville. a
season OF so ago, she played almost
constantly in repertory stock com.
pauies, notably in New York,
Washington and Providence. In
appearance she is strongly succes.
tive of the Margaret Anplin of
about eight years ago, and in meth.
od she is also ike that brilliant
actress. Drifting resembles
nothing quite 20 much as a Har.
rison Fisher watercolor of spring,
The scene Is an orchard at sunset.
A girl is sitting on stile, sketch.
Ing nearby lake. 4 stranger
wants 20 cross the stone wall. She
coQuets with him BIT about bav.
Ing to make way for him. This
leads to flow of light, romantic
chatter, with an underlying indi
cation of the extent to which each
has been "struck' by the other.
She is engaged to marry man
she has not seen since childhood,
and now realizes for the first time
her reluctance TO carry out the ar
ger. Need ] add be turns out 10
be the unknown financeY Surely
there is little enough in that But
Miss SCOTS acting is so vivacious,
charming and, above all, flashing
with intelligence that the little
play almost deceives us into think
ing il meritorious. However. what
matter whether credit is due to
Agnes Scott, jramatist, OF Agnes
Scott, actress. as long as the en-.
tertainment is there'-and enter.
tainment Of such a higher grade