New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-20
new H. A. JONES PLAY
"Mary Goes'First" Thin, but Of
Much Technical Skill.
BRITISH SOCIETY SATIRIZED
Woman Makes Husband q Bar.
onet Just to Triumph Over
Mere Knights Wife.
IBy Cable TO The Tribune


London. Sept. 19-Henry Arthur
Jones's new play, Mary Goes First
nroduced last night at the Playhouse.
nroved an extremely light comedy. with
very thin theme on which to string
four acts. 1t required a man Of all
Mr.. Jones's technical skill and mastery
If dialogue TO sustain interest, as ne
has so successfully done.
Mary Goes First" has for its theme
the question OF social precedence in
large English town. Mary Winchelio'
the wife of large manufacturer ana
the leader Of society in Warkinstall'
has recently been supplanted in her gu
premacy by Lady Dodsworth, the wife
Of Sir Thomas Dodsworth. another
leading manufacturer. who, though
Tory, has been knighted through the
liberal government for building
sanatorium which has come In very
onnortunely to support the Lloyd
George insurance act. Mary is nnt-
urally very much upset at being de-
throned from her place in local society.
The play opens at a dinner party
given by Felix Galpin, a young law
YER in honor Of the new DodsWor'h
title. The two women have already
had a little quarrel after pubic
meeting. and they both arrive at the
party in a state Of suppressed excite
ment. Galpin manages TO calm them
down for the moment, but after din"
ner Mary applies certain eplthet u
Lady Dodsworth. which Is oVerneard
by her and resented.
The husbands come in and the quar-
rel becomes general. Sir Thomas de-
mands an apology and lawsuit Is
threatened. The imbroglio is comph-
Gated by a political quarrel between the
husbands Mary sets 10 work 10 per
suade her husband to change his poll
tics. become Liberal. win the town from
the Tories and gain a baronetcy for
his services 10 the government. Win
chello. an easy goii.g fellow. who cares
very little for politics but very much
for golf, accordingly declares himself
Liberal and a candidate for Parlia-
ment.
In the third act, however, wan
chello's political ardor has died down
He has made Il mess of his speech at
public meeting and is being ridiculed
bv the local papers, so that when the
leading Nonconformist minister OF the
town forbids him to play golf on Sum
DAYS he throws up his candidature.
BY a happy inspiration Mary gets Felix
! Galpin 10 become the Liberal candi-
date. Meantime she has obtained,
through the aid Of the Junior Liberal
| whip and by the payment Of some UNI
/ known sums TO the Liberal party
funds. the coveted baronetcy for her
husband. which. ranking above Dods-
worth's mere knighthood. enables her
again TO assume her position as queen
of society in Warkinstall.
Galpin is launched in politics and as
member for Warkinstall He is giving
a dinner party TO reconcile the Dods-
worths and the Winchellos, and the
scene Of the first act is reversed. Mary,
as Lady Winchello. is entitled 10 go in
first. but seeing that her old enemy,
Lady Dodsworth. is broken-hearted by
her defeat. Mary, deposing Felix, takes
Lady Dodsworth in to dinner herself.
In less competent hands than Marie
Tempest's for the leading part il is
extremely doubtful If such a successful
first night would have been achieved.
She played Mary Winchello for all the
part was worth. and managed to get
the sympathy of the audience for a
woman who really was rather spiteful,
mean spirited and catfish. Charles V.
France gave the necessary light COM
edy touch 10 Mary's husband
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