Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-01-23
"Rebecca" and Deep
Purple" Divide Honors
Former Play Makes Audience at the Newark Feel ITS Good to
Be Alive" and Latter Affects Shubert Pa
irons Same Way.

A FTER seeing "Rebecca of sunny
a brook Farm at the Newark
Theatre one i~nstinctively feels
that there is so much good to be said OF
the play one doesn't really know what
TO say first. "Rebecca" is 4 play Of he
simple life. 1t takes one up among the
country folks of the Pine Tree State
of Maine. 1t is as different from the
ordinary run of rural-life comedy
dramas as daylight is different from
the dark. There is nothing of the
cheap and tawdry about "Rebecca' as
a play. The whole piece is as sweet
and pure from beginning to end as is
the summer dew on the green grass
of the open fields. and it is just as re-
freshing.
Edith Taliaferro, as Rehecca. simply
outdoes her previous best. The char
acter is a lovable one and Miss ITALIA
ferro makes the most of it. She is
quite irresistible in her role of d
country girl. After seeing her por-
trayal of the part. one feels. to quote
the play, Its good just to be alive"
Miss Taliaferro is supported by an
~all-star cast. The action of the piece
is flawless and faultless. The COM
pany is probably the best balanced
and most competent in every way that
has appeared at the Newark Theatre
In months. Each member of the COM
pany makes his part a part of him
self, with the result hat one enters
into the spirit of the piece, and it
seems truly real and in no way arti-
fetal.
Rebecca is a member of the Randall
Z. p,;1., xr-Iaara ~, pant1tb 1auc 10 feed
means a great difference in what the
others have to eat. TO help out this
somewhat difficult situation, her mai
den UNITS agree to take her to live
with them while her mother struggles
to keep even a m~ortgaged roof over
the heads of her flock. The play begins
with the arrival of Rebecca at the
brick house home of her aunts. These
old ladies', really of kind heart n
good intent, have lived by themselves
for so many years in the atmosphere
of GOODNESS that envelopes most of the
New England country; they have for
gotten what childhood means and the
pranks and frolics of the mis~chievous,
tenlpestuous, joyful Rebecca complete
ly upsets their plan of life.
In the course of the years during
which the child is subjected to the cow
ing process of their discipline, both
parties to the battle are gamers by
the conflict. Rebecca learns the neces-
sity of control and the value of dis
cipline. while Miranda and Jane find
something of the joys of motherhood
ia the love of the girl, which is given
to them ~unstintedly, even though she
rebels often against their tyranny and
hardness.
The theme of the play is a big one,
and ir it's working out not only brings
serious thought. but is fraught with
lessons hat go to every heart. Bur
il is not only the darker side of this
New England life that is shown. The
ga:ety and merrymaking OF the people
have their innings. Laughter, hearty
and wholesome. is an accompaniment
TO the heart throbs of the persons
who see the play.
Besides Miss Taliaferro the cast in
cludes Marie L. Day, Eliza Glassford,
Ada Deaves. Viola Fortescue, Leila
Frost, Violet and Clara Mersereau,
Edna FiuRrath. Sam Colt. Hayward
CHM. Edwin Smedley and Archie
Boyd.