New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-22
And the Moral IS. if You're a
Forgcr Always Dot
Your Eyes.
"What Happened al 22.' play by
Paul Wi'stach. At the Harris.
Rx ACTON DAVIES.

"What Happened ~ 22' sounds as
though II might be- sort OF atterna,"
or auti-climaS 20 that charming H,,ie
comedy of Henry Esmond's, 90" hen We
We're Twentv-Ouc' As "a matter oil
fact. they have nothing m common
these two plays. Paul WIlstach q new
Offering az tie Harris is as grim ana
crisly murder play as any OF the rest
Of them. You can call b. what you
please. Many iu the audience ana so
Of their own voltiou last night. But
then. Of course, as always happens IN a
heterogeneous throns pinions VIII
differ.
Without labelling his play definitely
either fish, flesh or fowl, IT could hon
estlv be labelled either study m
hectic crimin0lOgy or more or less
society drama. II brings into active
contact the worlds above and belo"
stairs i'm manner which ls rarely en-
countered I'm real life outside OF an
English basement residence. To be
sure. there Is no moment I'm the play
when the cook, after actually scaling
the basement stairs and placing her
feet ON the Administer Of the drawing
floor. really sits down and plays
Chaminade ballads on the exceedingly
grand piano. but. being loquacious
creature, she certainly, In common WIN
both the valet and the ladEs maid
does allow herself q certain laNlty
above stairs which even on 1.-THE up
per West Side" would be regarded as
UNIQUE. II not wholly impertinent. II
must be remembered IN fairness. how
ever. that the cook Is the comic relief OF
Mr.. Wilstach's drama. Therefore moth
ing that she does while lollng ln the
drawing-room furniture must be held
against. We could have forgiven her
everything last night If She had proved
comically even a bass-rehei.
Unfortunately the dialogue Of the
plav was written with such a careful
regard for the P's and Q's OF converse
ton. TO say nothing Of the semi-colons
and the dotlets on the Us. that no char-
acter. not even the cook IN her most
debonnair and lesc-maJesty moment
talked for one second like a human
being.
But speaking Of is and the dotlets
which naturally belong to them. re-
calls the fact that the whole drama
hangs on an indicted !. It's moral. u
it has any, seems to be: If you would
a
is. Dave Wilson. the villain Of what
Happened at %" excellent valet and
desperate villain as he was, forgot this
one little thing, and eventually that
missing dotlet brought him to muir
derer's richly deserved fate. There
was no use IN having any sympathy
for Wilson. because In the opening scene
Of the play, which took place I'M
fff u
manager of this nefarious resort. who
made a specially of supplying his eli.
ents with first class crooks instead OF
second class buffers, made a point OF
warning Wilson after he had success
fully forged checks for $4,000 that if
he wasn't more careful about dotting
his as" he would assuredly come to
very bad end. And he did. Poor Will
sons fate in the last act could not have
been more narrowing unless they had
actually electrocuted him on the stage.
And, as we said before, il all came
fror the fact that he would not put
dotlet on his D.
The audience grieved over Wilson's
fate sincerely He deserved all that
was coming to him from the law, Of
course. out at the same time as "A
character he had proved so much more
interesting than any one else that even
the boys iu the gallery would have
been willing TO give straw bail for
him. I'm "a word. 10 was another case
Of Wilson, that's all.
Mr.. Wilstach's play recalled IN its
general scheme "The Master Mind
which was presented at this same
theatre two years ago, only while
equally far-fetched boz many Of its Sit
uations, 10 had nothing like "the
punch" Of his earlier play. Reginald
Barlow. as Wilson, gave a careful,
well-poised, restrained performance.
Miss Carroll McComas looked pretty
and was charming until she had TO be-
come emotional. That fine actor, Frank
Kemble Cooper, played a conventional
role exceedingly we'll, and the one
clever bit of comedy was contributed
by Miss Estar Banks as q charming old
lady.
But as a whole the play was not con-
vincng. The same subject has been
handled lately on more than one occa-
sion i'm a much more mastery way.