New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-24
THE NEW SECRETARY"
Tame Comedy from the French
at the lyCeum.
PLAY HAS A GOOD CAST
prt Provides Nothing for Any
of Them to Do-General
sleepiness Prevails.

"The New secretary II dliii'St dS IN
.,,;,, as game OF tiddle-de-winks.
Vat Il may have been in the original as
,.-i,,eu and presented by Francois de
C.oisset a year ago at the Athenee in
pe,is cannot be gathered from the adap-
ito, made by Cosmo Gordon LennoX
Nd offered last night at the Lyceum.
IN its present shape The New Secre-
.orv" performs the Office of a muzzle
non the actors There is something al
most irritating i'm spite Of its air of SOM
,,lence in the way that the play check
r,ates tie players. One Of them is pre-
yopted from speaking by having to rush
from, the room TO cry. Another, when he
a. ON the edge Of a revelation, finds that
The terrace calls him out to smoke his
c,oar The leading young lady deliber-
otely saves her acting for the last scene
and then muffs IL through lack OF praC-
,ic. The new secretary himself moves
little only when jostled into action aud
then swings feebly and stops as though
his handspring were broken.
The only note that was lacking in the
general air of sleepness at the Lyceum
last night was the presence of a grand
fathers clock in the corner somewhere to
lick rlythmically and strike the quarter
hours,
The story of the play is not one to make
the spectator feel that he will never be
the same again after seeing it. The head
of a wealthy French family acquires a
new secretary. The young man comes in
with some unripe ideas about how TO get
on I'm the world. and among his youth
fully cruel notions is that of marrying
the daughter of the family for her money.
In the course of the action he prevents
the father from being swndled out OF
his Algerian property, and keeps the
noby born swindler from marrying the
daughter of the house. AS is usual in
these cases. he gets himself in the bad
crsces Of the whole family and humiliates
himself by falling in love with the girl.
Every one is blind to his virtues except
a sculptor friend. until the bell rings for
the final curtain, and then the whole
muddle clears up as suddenly as stage
thunderstorm.
When a playwright chooses theme OF
this description he depends on ms style
and dialogue to make the play worth
while. 1t is not unlikely, judging from
the reports of it's popularity in Paris, that
the piece had these qualities in the origi-
nal But in a level and for the most part
naiyely grave translation, the play is
quite without a reason for existence.
group Of capable players ambled along
through this dont-care comedy without
anv spirit They were all mlscaSt'
charles Cherry is too authoritative TO rep
resent fiighty youth airing its cruel ana
lormless doctrines. When he came in ana
declared he was going TO do great things
in his new work, one believed him. his
lines proclaimed him an inexperienced
impulsve clever boy. Mr.. Cherry was a
seasoned man, without illusions or en-
thusiasm. His impersonation clashed with
his lines.
Frank Kemble- Cooper is so hopelessly
honorable in look and bearing that X is
like seeing a baby swear to watch him
taking the Villains part. Ferdinand
Gottschalk put wink into dreary as
sistant villains role and spoke so well
that he was a pleasure 10 listen 10. u Is
a long time since this delightful come
dian has played in New York and the
stage here has missed him. Claude Gill
lngwater played with his accustomed
unctous crouch and it was hard-oh!
hrutally hard-to imagine his doing any
sculpture.
Marie Doro was the supercilious yet
good hearted daughter. When Miss Doro
is on the stage the looker-on is so busy
making mental pastels Of her that there
is no time left TO notice whether she Is
acting or not. She is better, in fact. when
she is sitting or standing quite still. Her
white skin and black eyes. the flush on
her checks and on the tips OF her ears.
her eyebrows arched high. the long waves
in her hair. the shapeliness Of her little
head and the patrician way she holds il
are all exquisite. She would have made
wonderful Lawrence.
Mrs Thomas Whffen gave an enjoy
able Characterization Of human and
humorous grandmother. She and MI.
Gottschalk. by the way. we're not mis-
cast But il is not easy TO mscast
really capable actor.
CAST OF THE NEW SECRETARY