The Washington times., 1912-03-26
Julia Murdock Says "Pon1ander Walk
Is Most Charming of Quaint Comedies

Pomander Walk? Where is It? Under.
| stand!
Up Cheswick Way, half way to Fairy.
land!
| The rhymester could go on forever
almost. rhapsodizng POLITICALLY over the
| haunting sentimental beauty of this
| play by Louis N. Parker; of the quaint
atmosphere of the ave little houses
set in an arched row; of the scent OF
the roses that Chamber over them: of the
| river Thames at the left, half hidden by
the hedge that surrounds the nook
where lovers could whisper their dull
Get nothings into each others ears for
ever and forever. without fear of In
terruption; of the tree with seats be-
meath, which spread it's leafy branches
over the little life stories and romances
OF the neighbors of Pomander Walk,
those plain, delightful, humble folk, who
went through the little daily routine Of
existence which goes to make up the
story of Pomander Walk which is be-
~ played in the Belasco Theater this
week
We have had plays and plays and
plays this winter. plays ad nauseum, Of
the eternal triangle type; other plays
where scenery, colohed lights, and
splashing mountain waterfalls took the
place of dramatic merit; plays with
'iltinC songs and shimmering satins, in
lieu of plot and interest; plays through
which grim-faced tragedy stalked, and
plays of the underworld. which have
narrowed up our souls unnecessarily.
But not during the whole season have
we had a drama like this, play full
of atmosphere, yet so restful, so full of
love, so sweetly simple, so sparkling
with wit, so entertaining in conception,
so gossamerike that one almost looks
for a fairy to pop out Of one of those
tiny doorways almost any minute.
Characters Lovable
With One Exception.
The people in the simple little neigh
borhoOd of Pomander Walk are all
gentle folk, all except one. This is the
"eyesore," as Pomander Walk has
dubbed him: the vagrant chap who,
standing on his rights as a British cit!-
zen. sits and fishes seven days every
week, from the front yard Of the ad-
mirars house, the last house in Poms n
der Walk. Every one else in the play
is decent, terribly so, Notwithstanding
Is leading a double life of a very mild
sort. There is Madame LaChesnais, the
wcll-bred FrcnChwOman and her daugh-
ter, MariOlainC, the latter delightfully."-
played by Dorothy Parker, daughter Of
the playwright, whose voice is the most
musical thing that | have ever heard;
and then there are Admiral Sir Peter
Antrobus who. before the play is ended,
dips his ensign TO the charming widow
with an income Mrs. Pamela PosIctt,
who lives next door to hin in Pomandcr
Walk; and there Is the dashing, de-
lightful John SaJle, son of the tenth
baron of Otford. who loves madly the
daughter of the French woman, and
finally wins her; and there is John
Saylc, tenth baron of Otford himself,
who in the long ago loved the mother
of the girl whom his son loves: and
there is the charming collector of an
tiques, the Rev. Jacob Sternroyed. who
comes in very handily when parson
Is wanted to apply the cure for any
number of seemingly incurable love af-
fairs; and there is the Hon. Caroline
Thring, who is assigned a ve:y small
part in the play; and the Misses Ruth
and Barbara Pennymint, spiTsterS who
live alone in the house numbered seven
in POmander Walk, and who possess a
parrot with the vocabulary Of a pirate;