The Washington herald., 1914-04-07
| AT THE THEATERS LAST NIGHT
COLUMBIA.
Mile.ton-..n

L|M1AEnlom1-1s
...rn..,.,.,s 80 that delightful combina-
,s-,, - r1.ntnce and satire blended into
: c.oefr Of laughter and OF tears by
,,x 1ennett and Edward Knoblauch,
- at tie Columbia Theater, having
- n the fnal week of the regular sea-
AZ the street playhouse last night
- ding the success II achieved last
Il when first presented in Wash
ause st is saturated with the spirit
g onth and eniiment.-touchede, d. here sr
e picture OF the life and mistakes
trre generations has universal ap-
- iespsfe the fact that the locale Is
.znxiard the scene Of all three acts
being laid in the same room In aChouse
IN Kensington Gore, the folk pictured
being British TO the core
But types Of character are MlnoSt ~
,ocaIe. conseouently we all recognize in
Samuel Sfbley (the unprogressive, ohst-
-afa shtnbuilder VINO will not accept an
sdea because it has not been held by his
family for generations p3so folk we often
meet by the way IN any country at the
present time.
Then there is John Rhead. the big
strong, progressive member OF the nrm'
-, d.sfies his own family and his part
rer- dissolving partnership with the latter
even AT the risk of losing his hancee De-
cause he believes in building ships OF Iron
instead Of wood, ana will not rellnouisn
his idea
Twenty-nve years later the same John
Rhead, married. prosperous, ana ABOUT 10
become baronet. opposes proposioon
~ buiid ships Of steel instead OF iron'
: project devised by his daughter
sweetheart. a brainy young draughtsnai-
Ne prevents his daughter Emily from
marrying the choice Of her heart anu
fcrces her into q union with q peer old
enough to be her father, and thus does
history repeat itself. .S,,-
Another generation passes. Inc I sntP
building baronet. now in his seventy
--~-sh, year on the day of his golden
,.-.d6in1 tries to frustrate the matcn oe<
tween his granddaughter and worthy
SounR engineer who in his turn mas pro-
greSsive ideas. This time the old baron
efss efforts are opposed by ms "Ie,
who pleads for the girls happdnes' anu
the girls mother, now WidoW' mees
again the msn who nao couISeu -.
earlier days, Arthur Preece' the IortieI
s-aught~man. who has now become a
,realfhv manufacturer and labor leader IN
narlIarnent-a and thus does happiness come
io the dominating characters in the story
An save Gertrude Rhead, who gave up
sam Sfbley in the first act because OF ms
obstinacy in opposing her brother Jonn
in his then ITetncnOOOoAs
ideas concerning shipbuiloing.
rvhiie there are some important changes
IN the ssAIilestones'' cast since we saw II
last wear the English company present
Inr the piece here this week Is quite
noual to that seen when the play was
rfven its initial Washington presentation
Miss Auriol Lee and Stanley warming
~ as John and Gertrude Rhead, make
artistic an appeal as did Malcolm
---..rrv snd Gwendolyn Floyd, while Miss
s,Bl Walsh (who was seen here last
SON. -still portrays the role OF Rose
saIey with exquisite taste and admira-
shading, each in their respective parts
!. ling the spectacle Of aging humanity
p re4narkably appealing growth when
H. he last act We lnd the once dainty
Isrsse and the more brilliant and piquant
.,lgtrude grown into very old ladies. We
isal that the transition has been accom-
| 1iis aed without jar to Gus sensibihties,
.L.ch Is a sure test OF the ability OF
matte artiste Nor can there be con-
un a more appealing picture than
.prSsented by John Rhead and the
---v fenoer little old lady who is his
size. sitting in the flreglow listening to
;.srfrude sing "Jaunita," even as they
med when life was at its spring
l5ss and, their hour at dawn; when the
of their book OF romance had just
7a1 turned back that the audience
y mt read the story to be written by the
rrsss that were TO be- e-s-.--...
pporting these central figures of the
O. ! generations is a most capable COM
ga. Aof players. including Miss Katherine
X, Harold Holland, Ernest W. Lace
o.. Miss Florence Born, Miss Marie Has
-a'E Frederick Lloyd, Montague Weston,
~ Wood. Miss Louise Hamilton,
slas Jefries, an6 Frederick Penley.
piece is produced under the direc-
" Of Frank Vernon, with that con-
E nate artistry which characterizes all
LE7 productions OF the English wizard
"a sagecraft, and has its American pres
nation at the hands of Klaw & Erlan-
SSs, under the direction Of Joseph Brooks.
Ailestones" has a fourfold delight
Jonal, romantic, psychological, and
historical, the most significant of which
Is its sentimental side, or, as Aunt Ger
trude" concisely states the matter when
In the third act Mr.. Preece asks:
What is the matter, Aunt Gertrude?
Nothing serious, I hope?''
And she makes reply: THE usual thing,
Mr. Preece: the usual thingI A new
generation has got to the marrying age"
JULIA CHANDLER MANI.