The Washington times., 1913-10-28
TAL|AFERRO GIRLS
SCORE BIG SUCCESS
"Young Wisdom" Is a Play of
"Different" Sort-Co-Stars
Are Delightful.

Mabel and Edith Taliaierro, co-stars
in Rachel Crothers' farce comedy,
Young Wisdom" scored a brilliant
success at the Columbia last night
Young Wisdom distinctively Is
something different" 1t has the eIe-
ments which enter into the problem play
and the sex play, but 1t does not degen-
crate into either-instead there Is a
happy, safe and sane ending with
everybody happy and about as involved
a set of the new freedom theories
shattered on the altar of love as one
could imagine.
Young Wisdom" is built on the stu
ations that arise when Victoria Claffen-
den returns from college to her small
Eastern home, her head filled with new
ideas absorbed from books surrepti-
tiously read and then hidden under the
mattress. Woman must have er free
dom for development. She must work
out her own destiny. This was the
philosophy she offered for the consid-
GRAFTON of younger sister who was on
the brink of marriage with a most de-
cidedly orthodox young man. The sis
ter, not sure that she wanted to be
married, was willing to accept the phil
osophy Of trial marriage until she
knew tat she really wished to marry.
Bewildered At First.
OF course, Peter Van Horn was be-
wildered by this turn Of events. but he
was willing to defy the conventions and
test out the new theories until Christie
pher Bruce. Victoria's fiance, who found
his engagement broken in a collision
with the new freedom" stiffened Van
Horns backbone and planned a way
out of the difficulty.
Starting out on their experiment by
an efopement, Peter and Gail find
refuge In a farmhouse studio, when
their motor sticks on a hill. Max Nor
ton, the hermit-artist, cannot accept
Calls theories, but is ready to thrash
poor Peter, until he finds how little he
Is to blame. Then, when Christopher
and Victoria start out to test the theo-
ries Of which she has prated, when she
thinks she has won a convert to the
cause in Christopher, and is afraid OF
being called a quitter, and meet the
other couple in the studio, through
Christopher's plan, the denouement
comes.
Gail is picked up bodily by the artist,
while Peter is trying to grasp the situ-
alton, and is started back for home.
Christopher carries back Victoria, and
then comes the task Of explaining 1t all
to Judge Ciaffenden, who as had things
his own way in the home SO long that
1t has spoiled him.
Mother Had Some Ideas.
The advanced thought ideas are dealt
some rather hard blows by the Judge. |
He told his daughters that there was
nothing new in their theories, that the |
oldest thing in the world was rotten |
ness" Then it developed that Mrs. |
Claffenden, whom the girls thought an
old-fashioned mother, had read the
sams books and had the same ideas |
herself when a girl, so Victoria realized |
that she was not a pioneer in the field. |
and, anyway, she found that her |
theories when put to the test were alto
gether different from the things she
had dreamed of.
Mabel and Edith Taliaferro were alto
gether charming and they were given
good support. Richard Sterling won |
sympathy for Peter Van Horn; Ray
mond CHM and Regan Hughston were |
equal to the demands made on them |
and Mabel Bert and Aubrey Beattie /
were well cast as the parents.
The closing scene, showing the double |
elopement with Peter happy because he |
was not a party to it. and the mother |
taken along as a member of the party. |
won several curtain calls from an emf |
nently pleased audience.