The Washington times., 1915-03-16
I Plays and Players at Capital
* TheaterS This Week -
49, ----=-----
BELASCO.

drama with tense moments that
contain no hint of crime: a play that
presents tho lights and shades of char
acter drawing with the incest preci-
sion with no hint of the eternal tri-
angle; a real evenings entertainment
that sends an audience from It happier
and better though perhaps a bit tear
stained-an these sum up Laurence
Eyre's The Things That Count" which
William A. Bradys thoroughly capable
company presented at the Belasco last
night.
THE Things That Count" Is some
thing more than a year and a half old
as the age of plays is counted, but this
is It's hrst presentation in Washington.
FOR just a year and half, there fore,
the people of this city have been de-
prived of one of the real pleasures of
the theater one of the prettiest dra-
matte productions of the present gem
Grafton. 1t would not be too extrava-
CANT to call 1t. 1t Is a play that tells
of mother love, of happy Childhood. Of
fairy. tales come true, and yet OF real
people, with real virtues and real fraIl-
ties
Further than this, It is a play that
fortunately provided with a cast
that seems to be thoroughly In SYM
pathv with each part, and to be able
10 present 1t faithfully. The play pre-
sents' as further unusual feature, four
stage children who are less stacy and
more naturally children than any
youngsters seen here for months
Inc play tells the story of a rich old
couple who have persistently refused
70 recognize a widowed daughter-in-
r,, anu her child. The dead son had mar
Tled an actress against the wishes Of
MS parents The father and mother
nave never seen the daughter-in-law or
her chiid, and refuse to listen to any
appeals In her behalf. The young wor-
an makes brave fight for existence
against big odds. as she cannot go back
10 the stage because of the child She
lives In tenement with the usual COL
lection OF tenement dwellers.
The child is in poor state of health
ana an operation Is necessary. The
mother keeps her apart from the other
children In the tenement and tells her
fairy stories which the child. in her
lonely hours. makes believe are real.
home castle. while the roaring child
rem In the adjoining rooms are termed
the heather who rage"
The old people are brought into con-
dent. and the little human story that liz
enacted on Christmas eve in the tene-
ment when the grandmother meets her
little granddaughter without knowing
VINO she Is. and provides party for her
and for some OF the heathen." with its
very dramatic denouement. furnishes the
big contrasts of the play. The big
scene in the last act between the hum
bled grandmother and the proud young
mother was skillfully conceived and no
less skillfully presented.
Florine Arnold in the part OF the
grandmother, Mrs. Henrietta Henna>
berry, Is probably the high light OF the
play. II 1t is possible to select a single
bit from a composite picture so gener-
ally good. Miss Arnold's INSTALLATION of
the fussy. domineering old woman was
gem of character Interpretation.
Hardly less conspicuous was the whole
some young womanhood presented by
Evelyn WELDING in the part of the
daughter-in-law. and the character Of
the Swedish maid as acted by Hilda
Hellestrom. George Paige made an ex-
cellent Mr.. Hennaberry. and Francis
Gillen was a stalwart DR.. Marshall
The children OF the play. Grace
Dougherty. Nick Long. jr.. Maxine
Hicks. and Edna Hopper. were particu-
larly effective in what might be called
serious child character parts. The gen.
eral excellence of the entire cast was
due as we'll to the efforts Of Wallace
Erskine, Rena Howard. Ella Baker,
Florence Mack, Louise Muldener, Nick
Long. and Idalene Cotton as to those
who have been selected for special men
tion. GARDNER MACK.