The Washington times., 1913-02-11
ETHEL BARRYMORE
WINS BIG SUCCESS
IN BARRIE PLAYLET
"The TWelve-Pound Lock" Is
Story of Two Women Suffer-
ing From Wealth.

1t was decidedly cordial and eager
audience which greeted Ethel Barry
more yesterday afternoon, at her frs,
Washington appearance as a vaudeville
star And this charming young actress,
so well beloved OF Washington, proved
that all the superlatives lavished upon
her since she entered the Two a day
were deserved. Miss Barrymore, in this
play of Barrie's, THE Twelve-Pound
Look" is as delightfully."- charming as
her admirers expected her to be, alto
gether different from the Ethel Barry
more We have seen in recent years.
In fact ii seemed queer to see this
pleasant little lady, who can be so
charming in lady" parts, enter as a
quietly gowned working girl, carrying
her typewriter in one hand and pre-
pared to get down to the solid business
of tipping the answers to letters of con-
graduation sent Sir Harry Simms upon
his elevation to knighthood.
Grew Tired of Fat Friends.
As she enters. it is suddenly discovered
that she is the divorced wife of Sims.
who had deserted him fourteen years
before, and who has been making her
living ever since by means of the type
writer which she had bought for twelve
pounds. Sir Harry, important, egotis-
teal, and tiresome, cannot imagine how
any woman could have deserted him for
any other reason than a man, and he
insists that she shall tell him the name
of the other man. She declares hat
there was no other man, that Sir Harry
himself, with his fat friends covered
with their fat jewels. his fat dinners,
and their fat conversations had driven
her desperate, and that she had sought
fraadnm and indappndenpe through The
medium of work.
IF 1 were a man." she suggests to
Sir Harry, 'I should watch my wife
carefully, and secretly, to see If there
were growing gradually into her eyes
that 'twelve-pound look.
Sees "Twelve.Pound Look"
Then she departs, and Sir Harry's
wife. gowned in the robe which she Is
to wear at the presentation on the NOR
row, enters. Sir Harry congratulates
her upon being the wife of such a man
as he. of having beautiful gowns and
heavy jewels, and a coach and four.
He compares her to the woman who
has just left, who must work for her
living. Then suddenly comes into the
eyes of the wife that look that he has
been warned about-the Twelve Pound
Look
Those machines" she says timidiy.
What machines?" asks Sir Harry,
Querulously.
These typewriting machines" and
there, as he looks into her face he
sees the look which means that this
woman, too, is tired of his success,
which has smothered every human emo
ton in him.
Supporting Miss Barrymore in this ex-
cellent portrayal are David Torrance.
wno somehow reminds one of the char
acter OF Tammas. in ''Bunty Pulls the
strings. and Suzanne Sheldon, who Is
oeautiful as the second wife
Others on Bill Please.
For the remainder of the program an
artistic number is that of Ralph
Smalley, cello virtuoso, formerly with
the Boston symphony Orchestra. who
gave several classical numbers inter-
spersed with the popular He was
forced to respond to several encores'
Kellar Mack and Frank Orth. in their
sketch, The Wrong Hero furnish
the real comedy hit of the program
Being the composers of their own
songs. they have an abundant supply,
which the audience seemed bent on ex-
hausting, but without avail Although
seen here before, the skit has lost none
OF its entertaining power.
Those Four Entertainers consist of
young men with good voices who know
how to use them to advantage, the
comedians bass being one Of excep-
tional strength and range.
One of the surprising numbers on
the program was that Of The Three
Athletes, who are three beautiful young
women of fine physique whose act con-
sists of feats of strength and artistic
poses- Earl Flynn and Nettie Nc
Laughlin, with several changes of cos
tune. complete the bill.