The Washington herald., 1914-02-24
NATIONAL.
Ruth Chatterton in ..Daddy Long
Legs.n

The cultivated will patronize classic
drama; the morbid and the curious will
hoCS TO the r,-que and the sensational;
the overworked brai: will find pleasure
an, relaxation in -mething frothy and
mirth-provoking. but I'll classes VIII be
drawn-as by a powerful magnetic the
play which tells a tender tale of love,
strengthening ones faith that even In
this age of commercialism romance Is
still the well-spring Of life.
Never was this truth more obvious than
ye5.erday afternoon vhen capacity
audience filed the New National Theater
for the premiere of Daddy Long-Legs,'
and settled with deeper sighs of happi-
nesl and satisfaction as each one of the
four acts of Miss Jean Webster's -
+ tic comedy brought the quaint little
story nearer happy issue for a most
win-ome little maid and her middle: -ad
lover.
When Miss webster's story first ap-
peared in serial form in a current mag
szir- il attracted a deal of attention by
virtue Of its originsr and appeal to the
heart r novel form it reached a still
wide- field and. gained in popularity so
that nobody was very much surprised
when Henry Miller announced that he
had persuaded Miss Webster to dramatize
the piece for the express purpose of hav-
ing his erstwhile leading lady OF The
Rainbow Miss Ruth Chatterton. create
the role of Judy Abbott. the young or
phan girl Of the John Grier Home whose
superior mentality and quaint originality
was pointed out TO the wealthy bachelor,
and aristocrat, Jervis Pendleton. by his
friend, Miss Pritchard, with the result
that the bachelor sent the girl through
college. The one condition of his gen.
erosity was that she should not know
the name of her benefactor, nor expect
any personal communication from him,
although she was to keep him informed
of her progress through letters addressed
to him under the pseudonym of John
Smith.
Now Judy was much too original to
adhere to any such rule, SO she con-
jured up in her own mind a nice benev-
olent old gentleman with white fringe
around his bald head. and of such lean
and lanky physique that she dubbed
him Daddy Long-Legs." and thus ad-
dressed him when she poured out all the
condolences of her sweet young heart to
him in letters which were never an
swered save with brief instructions
Through his secretary. Notwithstanding
all this Pendleton became SO interested
in the quaintness and originality of the
girls letters that he basked in her So
ciety for several years without arousing
her suspicious that it is he who is
Daddy Long-Legs." until, through the
insufferable cadishness of his friends
and relatives, he come near losing the
little gem he has taken so much pains
to polish, and Judy learns the truth
about Daddy Long-Legs" and the mys-
terry is all cleared away, leaving her skies
like those of a June day, and her life
crowned with love and happiness.
The story may sound trite in the tell
ing, but it is not so, for in the drama
Miss Webster has succeeded in holding
all the scintillating wit and cleverness
of Judy's letters which went so far to-
ward telling the tale in book form, and
the characters she has drawn are flesh
and blood people.
For instance, one feels inclined to rise |
up and strangle the deceitful Mrs. Lip
petit, matron of the John Grier Home,
who 'darlings" her charges when the
trustees are in hearing, and treats them
like scavengers, when she has them
alone. Just as real are the children who
stand in mortal terror of matron and
trustees alike And when the PLAYWRIGHT
transfers the scene. in the second act, to |
the girls study at college, she gives a |
most realistic picture of the irresponsi- |
Bile nature of Judy's wealthy room |
mates, and of the snobbishness of their |
relatives who come to visit them, while |
in the third act, when We have arrived |
low Farm, with its rows of sunfiowers |
and hOllyhocks. We find Mrs. Semple, |
the nurse of Jervis Pendleton's golden
haired babyhood days just the simple, |
gentle, old-fashioned soul we would like /
to give the care of our own babies, and |
Jervis Pendleton himself, whether in his |
own handsome library of the fourth act |
or visiting Judy at Lock Willow, is a
fine, manly figure whom We began to
like the minute he first showed his ap-
of Judy, and determined to
give her chance.
As for Judy herself-well, in the crea-
ton of her Mr.. Miller's charming young
star has assuredly come into her own.
Judy and Miss Chatterton are one, and
that one is a young girl trimming over
with originality and that evasive thing
We call charm: spirited girl capable of
deep emotions; a girl whose heart is
tender for those who are alone and
lonely and suffer injustice-a thoroughly
human girl whom Jervis Pendleton could
not have helped loving for the life of
him.
Miss Chatterton is pretty; she is dainty;
she has a remarkably winsome person.
aIity and a voice that fingers in ones
ear long after she has stopped speaking,
and she has also another quality which
is going TO make her future a big and
splendid thing, aad that quality is sym
pathy. She is an exquisite artistic and
there is no wonder that Henry Miller
settled INTO a deep corner, where he
thought nobody could see him, and
watched her first metropolitan perform
ancs in Daddy LonS-Lsgs' with such
obvious pleasure and satisfaction.
He has staged Miss webster's appeal
ing little drama with elegance and tacte,
and has surrounded Miss Chatterton with
A most capable cast. Frederick Trues-
dell presents a manly and technically
Artistic portrait of Judy's bachelor lover,
while Charles Trowbridge, as James Nc ]
Bride, gives a convincing portrayal Of an
cad; Miss Cora Wetherspoon L
IS effective as his sister; Miss Jennie :
sastace is eXcellen. as Miss Pritchsrd: !
Miss Ethel Martin and Miss Agnes NIL 1
er mads the roles OF the aristocratic 1
Pendleton mother ard daughter stand 9
,ut with distinctncss; Mrs. jacques Mar !
in is = thoroughly natural Mrs. Semple. s
md Miss Margaret Sayfe is capital as I
he matron Of the John Grier Home. I
The little orphan children impersonated S
,y diss Lillian RosE, Miss Ruth Nc q
Vine. Miss Virginia Smith, Miss Maud ]
Isylam a most realistic air Of deprivation c
md hardship, and even the minor roles
III in such capable hands as to make
dr. Millers new production an entirely
Lrtistic and effective one.
In its direct heart appeal and the
Iuaintness and originality of its Lead Y
ng character. Miss wsbster's romantic
omedy, with its enigmatic title of