Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-01

sionai evidence of slowness In pick
evcry member OF the cast, appeared to
boletter perfect In his part. and there
| WAS n cohesiveness that Is not too
often observed on first nights u. -. .
Further Mr., Berthelet and his scenic
artist. Mr.. Sackerman, have succeeded
In Designing and building production
that reflects the result of artis site dis
elimination pnd .tireless Industry. The
| third act, in n nrtlcular, Is one Of the
| abandonment settings ever shown In
stock production in Rlchmond-and tho
work Of the lavish Mr.. Giffen is fully
| remembered when the statement Is
made. t-5 ~ q -.
Miss Scott has an extremely dificuit
part in the role OF Glory Quayle, and
plays 1t to the complete satisfaction
Of most Of her admirers; Mr.. Riddell
handles the role Of the pharisaical
archdeacon with 80 much subtlety that
| 1t is to be feared that the average
! audience, painting only for the story.
! will fall to appreciate the quality OF
his delicious humor: Mr.! Bertheiets
sonorous reading Of the priests lines
Is Joy to the ear, and the smaller
parts are capably played, for the most
part.
And Mr.. Warner delivers John
Storms lines with less monotony, with
| more variety, of infection, and, conse-
quently, with more expression, than he
has revealed since his engagement in
Richmond began. -
Douglas Gordon.
LnuRhnbic Farce at the Empire.
Farce replaced the sombre last
| night at the Empire Theatre. where
| Lucille La Verne and her company
presented for the first time In this
city kiss Me Quick" The change.
Judging from the reception given the
| opening performances. Is welcome
one. The new policy. according to
the program. will be followed again
next week.
Kiss Me Quick" lis typical Philip
Barthoiomae farce. which. should be
criticism enough. 1t is built for
laughter only. and at the hands
OF the La Verne company 1t is
all that 1t was Intended for. The
play is frankly an entertainment. and
a novice would not get brain flag In
anticipating the. plot-for plot there
counterbalanced By the laughs. Com
edy Is smeared on with a heavy brush
Why the name. even the author
would not be able to explain. No title
is needed, however, to carry 1t. The
performance begins at the ending. 1t
opens with the supposed authoress
sitting in front of drop curtain. ex-
planning how she came to write the
play. which, she asserts, Is taken from
her own experiences. Then comes the
play. showing those experiences.
The plot centres about band OF
movie actors. who are seen doing a
! heavy melodrama. The heroine wishes
| TO be lady" once in her life. and
to satisfy her longing she is prom
ised the treat by her lover. How he
does 1t. and the complications that
follow. bring forth a storm of laugh
ter
Sedley Brown, Jr.. again proves him
self past master Of farce. He is ably
backed UP by Miss La Verne and Ed
win Arnold, while Miss Blakeney makes
winsomc little lassie longing for a
touch Of high life. Other members of
| the company are incidental in the last
two acts. but all are given an oppor-
tunity to display their versatility in
the opening act-which is entirely a
buriesque on the movies.
Farce was welcomed by the audience.
Not funny line nor a funny situation
! failed to bring forth gales of laughter.
The contagion spread from the front
row to the highest seat In the gallery.
Even the orchestra chuckled discreetly
Only one feature marred an other
wise happy evening. 1t seems impos-
sible for tho stage hands to set the
scenery on the first night. and last
| night was no exception. The wait be-
| tween the first and second acts was
apout twice Us iOnS as necessary TO get
the results shown when the curtain
went up. The MUSICIANS did nobly.
They went through their repertoire OF
selections. but, after they began on the
second round. the. audience evidenced
Its impatience in the ways known only
to an impatient audience.
With the elimination OF the unneces-
sary wait, kiss Sic Quick" will doubt
less prove to be one of the hits OF the
Fin pirc season. from point OF atten-
dance and entertainment.
Lyrics Three Good Acts.
Two OF the three good acts on. the
Lyrics bill for the frst half OF the
when 1t was supposed to be a big time
housc--a fact which further sustains
the statement made several times In
this column al, that the class OF enter
just about as high as that presented
before It was officially stamped pop
ular vaudeville"
by by Ed; Vinton; is PLAYING return en-
wild, waggings OF his tail By the en-
matter which. "The Awakening Of the
Toys" the unusual combination OF me-
was seen at. the Lyric year or more
ago. is again presented by De Witt.
Burns and Terrence. The act is of
willie. and is particularly we'll executed.
Harry Lester, vaudeville enter
tainer of varied talents. pretty well
awaS wi,h the Shn
mimic Bert Williams and then Offer an
imitation. only slightly exaggerated, of
II. Cooper ciine as Nobody In Every
The first two acts are those OF Joe