The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-10-22
FINE PERFORMANCE
 BY POLL PLAYERS
FRANCES NORDsTROM, A. H. VAN BUREN AND MARK KENT SCORE HEAVILY IN 1.-THE DAWN OF TOMOR-
 ROW.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's great
 play '"The Dawn of a Tomorrow in which Eleanor Robson formerly ap- peared with remarkable success was presented last night before large audience by the Poli Players. The people in front of the footlights went into raptures over the production ana nothing but praise was heard for the players.
 lesson n. in optimism; As S n ene neFG,na as ha9 as you think it is.' The playwright has made this cheerful philosophy the keynote key o, of the whole n neec9 nougn froe gi1 walks of life ranging from belted
 earls to denixens of the London slunas,
 each is made to see gt 5nat s;ds IS of eJiee Iiee
 and forget petty troubles in the effort to do good for others.
 The central figure is Glad, child
 of Apple Blossom court, one of the
 worst slunas in London. You wouldn
 think she had any reason to be cheer
 rags and she seldom knows where her
 next meal is coming from. But while
 an inmate of g. hospital she has been
 told to pray for the things she needs
 She tries it several times and as she
 expresses it .'the trick worked"
 So she was in a happy frame of
 mind when she met in Apple Blossom
 court, Sir Oliver Holt, a. wealthy man who had been condemned as hope lessly ill, and who came to the court with the intention of killing himself. Sir Oliver becomes interested in her quaint optimism and forgets his own troubles when he starts to help the slum dwellers.
 The love element of the play is in- trodueed by the appearance of 'the Dandy a young criminal who is fond of ssGIad'' and is sought by the l happens that ''the Dandy Is innocent l of the crime but the one witness by whom he can prove an ai1b1 Is young Oliver Holt, a gay young blade. who is himself infatuated with .tG1ad.'r' How the girl induces the selfish Holt 1 to save her lover from death is the climax of the play and is a startling 1 piece of stagecraft.
 The leading woman. Miss Frances Nordstrona. outdid herself in the diff
 ont{ ho1 roie or The s,' ne & pGw1eShihg 1Sad hg her with a mixture of coquetry and l dignity that was a treat. Her work
 was frequently app1auded.
 A. H. Van Buren, who has already 1 jumped into popularity as leading
 man: was manly figure as .'the Dandy" He made the young crimi- l the big scene in the fourth act he l was immense.
 One of the most artistic perform
 Mark Kent as Sir Oliver Holt, the rich man who goes into the homes of the poor and finds happiness. MT. ! Kent brought out the Q1IeT0nC pO1nLS of the character in .master1y fashion. Wilson HummeI showed another of l his fine character bits in the part of a butler and later as a thief. -Doro- 1 thy Bernard was good as 'tPolly'' and Jessie Prfngle scored as "Bet'' the l slun Iwasherwoman who wanted an l ostrich feather. Guy Harrington was 1 fine in the part of young Oliver Holt and as a polished villain left nothing | to be desired. : The scenery was handsome and ap- 1 propriate. This applies particularly 1 to the scene showing Apple Blossom 1 court as it was almost shrouded in a l typical London fog. Owing to the l magnitude of the scenery there was some difficulty in handling it effec- l lively last night and the performance I was considerably delayed. The man 1 agement states that the delays will | not take place during the remainder l of the week.