Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-27
Tbe Third Party
Official Chaperone

Cor a three-cylinder farce, 1910
hsSF ~, of France by England, Jockey
srAfs Take one of those dismal old
lfF w s,ho have such dismal old homes
ila, have to indulge in dismal old
/ ~ wlth dismal young ladies-and get
A,, m IL. That is the business of
FROM the premise of infidelity
fb~.a az lllogically as possible to q
fFNganIal conclusion to meet the APP
of Mrs, Grundy. One of the favor
I EFh,hads Is to Introduce the dismal old
& ~ lunch with the dismal young
rapfront them with his wife, and
w Nc the young lady as the spouse of
Wand who happens to be hanging
10 provide plenty of amusement
wv loo more acts, transplant to spot
ppn,sd by the friends hetrothed. Then
eese everybody off. The result is never
8oubt n,.,.., ,-,..,
ernelishmen and an American and
sctors-weren't satisfied with this.
...,duently, the farce at the Adelphi
ss.sst ~ very close to being really amusing
n y the time. They introduced some
msliss. ., e, :. Au,or,oo,,o.
4 rsaneyer you women have anything
j. ralcglarly rotten to do you call 1t
IVA ~, A militant suffragist as a foil to
y IVA yaung lady who is trying to win a
3 4ts..srnnment " most for her flanee by hold
& 2N kspnds across the luncheon table with
s ~ Itsnal old husband. Care must be
& s..Sisod with this; Votes for Women vs.
.nap,s influence may not come off Just
! tsAt these days ,.,...., =,
8 4 ss,mTsrt restaurants, the Official Chape-
Y ..s hsignor Gazzaza Unable to speak
i uord of English, he is no trouble in
4 4. least. If any difficulty arises he in
,sdrees perfectly as the lady's husband.
I sss nniy trouble is keeping a supply on
/ ana -Four dinners, three lunches and
"a summers q day undermines the con-
sitution frlghtfully. or course, there has
Y ~ one other complication to make u
4 Errs and that is when this Third Party
s,ns out to be q young gentleman on y
i M VINO forces himself and wife" on
N dismal husbands home and enjoys
smself hugely till his fancee appears.
ma opportunities for fun in all this are
,,ent enough. The producer of The
ElIra Party" thought well to add to them
n 4 supply of regulation COMIC effects.
lsoss get stepped on, and collars torn
|Svuhons squirt about. The principles
Gtow howers and bread in the air. They
nugh and stutter. One of them performs
rme marvellous gymnastics in the way Of
ihints and attempts to escape.
Ths really novel feature of THE Third
IParty,P however, Is the gentleman of the
.Eynnastlcs, Mr.. Taylor Holmes. Walter
jones Il funny in his way, the rest of the
leas keep a stiff pace; but Mr. Holmes is
|tho one to lift it all into fields of giddy,
sey grotesquery. There is very little in
Ina way of humorous eXaggeratipn that
|le doesn't accomplish with face or feet
He makes his amorous tendencies the
lndiculous exuberances of youth. He gets
away with even the dullest of his lines by
being SO genuinely amused over them that
10 one can have the heart to disillusion
klm. He makes the two last acts one
long explanation that is only equaled by
his eonsummate suffering feat in THE
AflonH If Mr.. Holmes ever learns to
discipline his effulgent talents, he will go
faI And maybe he will anyway.
Philadelphia's "Critic" in New York
The Little Theatres production of "The
Critic seems to have done very well on
rs first presentation in New York. The
reviewer of the Times seems the only
ege nat inclined to unreserVed praise:
@Mr. Payne himself gives q good per-
iormance in the role of Mr.. Puff, the
Incorrlgibly complacent author of "The
Spanish Armada" He very amusingly
Eggests Puff's CHEEKY resiliency. Will
I'm Moulton, Lawrence Grant and Whit
lora Kane do nicely in minor roles, but
Ne Anderson fails of Il neat performance
n Bangle"
The Sun, recalling Drew Lewis. Mat
news Rehan, Wallack and all the ia
nous players who have appeared in
shsridan's little masterpiece, speaks very
hshly Of the work of the company.
"a Tribune catches just the note in
sAeh the Philadelphia company seeks
4lieking production so badly acted by
hs excellent cast of players Mr. Payne
sas assembled, The play, of course, is