El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-01-09
Marie Dressler and George
Cohan in New Plays; a
Play With a Texas
Ranch Locale.

7 W YORK, Jan Cutie as ever,
nj Marie DressIer bIossomed forth
\ in a screaming farce called "A
AIixup," at the 89tn street theater. Ma
RE, the dainty little elephant did the
screaming and those who could hear
her and not scream with her ought to
be in that old women's home from
which Miss Dressler congratulated her
self on being still barred, in her amia-
BILE curtain speech.
"A Mixup" is pure. unadulterated
fun; and ever-youthful Marie of the
grimaces showed especial genius in it
because she has rather poor backing
from the author, a. Hord.
Marie is Gladys Lorraine queen OF
the Boulevard butterflies. but at home
a domestic Mrs. Sam Landmark, wife
Of a second rate pugilist
She mistakes the Coronado apart
ment house for the Colorado and so
wanders into the home of Robert Hilk-
man in the dark, humping over chairs
and things and hurting her corns.
Hickman lights the room up and hos
pitably offers his burlesque actress Wis
itOr a drink and a cigaTet.
Just at this moment arrive Hicl1-
mans wealthy uncle and aunt, the lat
nephew Hickman has boosted of his
wife's virtues. of COurse-Of course
Hickman obeys the ancient rules of the
stage and passes off the large size
Gladys as Mrs Hickman. The substi-
tute wife strives manfully to measure
pp to the real Mrs. Hickmans reputa-
ton, but is somewhat handicapped by
a gown cut for the display of her
charms and red silk stockings.
The plot is thickened by the arrival
e g IL IL "a
the pugilist husband Of Gladys. The
muddle is solved in no more clever way
bouncing, eThausting performance.
On this unprOmising background of
story Miss Dressler projected her fine,
boisterous fun. She cut IN, made faces,
danced, sang. fell over sofa and even
shivered for five minutes on end. When
she was off stage the audience was
bit restless, but the merriment never
Jagged with Marie in view. II was
cOuncing. exhasting performance.
Not only did Miss Dressler do all the
acting worth noting. but she was cred
tied on the program with the novel
lighting effects. When a person spoke
over the telephone, semi-transparent
screen in the rear revealed the person
on the other end Of the line, set in a
Is foot picture frame 1t was clever.
but had the drawback Of the five ring
circus where the little boy looks so
rapidly from the clown to the ele-
plants and then to the trapeze per
formers that he gets a good idea Of
none. The same picture frame was
used to show the arrival of the apart
ment house elevator on the floor with
more success.
-
In the renamed Bandbox theater, the
New York play actors are presenting a
charming comedy by Jerome, called
"The Poor Little Thing" It is an
adaptation of a French play by Jules
lie Maitre. In some ways it reminds
one Of 1.-THE Concert" The chief char
acter is NJ. Nareze, who is dear mas
ter" to a large number of girl pupils |
His art however, is not the piano, but I
the paintbrush. The part is played by
Eric Blind in excellent style. Blind is !
remembered for his "Petruchio" in (
Margaret Angelin's The Tanning of the |
Shrew."
"The Poor Little Thing" is one Of NJ. !
girl pupils who, like the rest, |
goes into raptures over his rather poor I
efforts. Mareze, it seems, has heart /
for other things than his art and /
while THE Poor Little Thing" played !
by Janet Dunbar. is somewhat blind to |
what is going on in dear masters" /
mind there is no curtain before the 1
eyes Of dear masters" wife.
This awful situation is prevented |
from developing into tragedy by the /
masters son, with whom The Poor /
Little thing falls dead in love, even /
deader that the master" is in love
with her
The play suffers n little from too |
much literary speech in parts It would 1
have been better if the emotional pas
sages were a little more conventional.
Despite this defect it is thoroughly
amusing and ought to stay in the
charming BandbOx theater for some
time. The work of the supporting com
pany is of a much higher grade than
III is usual tn The New XnTE Q
play actors have a very good begin
ming.
x
"HelIo Broadway" in which George
only Street" at the Astor theater, is
much like a whirlwind trip from play
house to playhouse in the course of one