The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-15
JUST BOYS" TALE
OF YOUNG SINNERS
Acting Of Milton Stills Feature
of New Play at the Comedy
Theatre.
OLD SITUATION Is USED

The stirring and human acting OF
Milton Stills in the third act OF "Just
Bcys' Is SO out Of the ordinary. 80 sin
cere and moving that this scene alone
should bring all New York to the
Comedy Theatre to admire and to feel
the fine emotional power and the com
municating warmth OF this unusua ex-
hibition of histrionism. Mr.. Stills had
In fact been uncommonly dry and
preachy up to this point in the play.
He can be quite rs dry az any of them
when he wants to and there was nothing
In the character OF the young Judge to
appeal to the Imagination. But 1t
seemed IA II Mr.. stills were unneccs-
sarily pedantic and gave fuller range
than usual to his mannerisms. such as
squirting his eyes and puckering his
lips.
Blu there was no trace of this man
ner in the beautiful scene OF recognition
with his youthful son. whom he had
not seen for years and met as n pris-
oner before the bar OF a children's
court. where he had been brought on
tn charge Of stealing pigeons. 1t was
the boys birthday and his father had
been celebrating 1t at home alone, only
to learn that the child had been living
In poverty and mad stolen to help the
mother from whom the Judge had been
estranged for years.
An Old stage situation.
The situation is as old as the theatre.
but II never loses its effect when
adroitly handled. II has been much more
skilfully handled in the past than 1t is in
the amateurish little play produced by
William Elliott. But the superbly human
and .NantgA,al tl.- 90 NJ Olt. ar,na,
stated for the lack OF more professional
treatment of the material. The audi
ence was profoundly moved by such an
unusual exhibition of acting.
Ii rather surprises New York audi
ences nowadays to be confronted by
good acting-such unusually fine acting
as Mr.. stills exhibited yesterday after
noon. which was the second performance
Of the play. II. moreover. rather irri-
tates the theatregoers of this city to
such a fine example Of his
trionism. They realize that they ought
to nave more OF IL in the theatre and
are peeved that they do not. So there
was the most generous applause for
what Mr.. Stills contributed to the play.
There was another very well acted
study Of an honest lrishwoman with a
weakness for spirits which was most
amusingly played by Matte Ferguson.
Ernest Truck contributed another ex-
cellently studied sketch OF a boy. al
though there are grounds for the dis
tressing impression that Mr.. Truck Is
not quite SO boyish as he used to be.
But he still has years of boyhood before
him when he acts with as much spon-
taneity as he did yesterday. Master
Macomber was the more youthful delin-
quent and played sympathetically.
Gladys wynne struggled with rather an
artificial role as the mother OF the err
ing youth.
Meaure Material for a Play.
The new play is the work of kath-
crime b. Miller and Allena Kanka- 1t Is
a naive product evidently begun with
some sort OF sociological intent. The
first act is written in such wholly I'M
idiomatic language for the stage that
the players had to struggle hard with
II to make any effect, Then the con-
tent of this act. which introduces the
characters, is so slight that the thing
almost stops OF its own volition more
than once. The second act, passing In
the outer Office of the Judges court. is
only a little richer in content. Tn
recognition scene occupies the last min
utes Of the third act, and finally comes
the reconciliation OF the parents.
This is rather meagre material for a
four act play. Then most OF II Is told
I'm narrative with artless freedom from
the devices of the playwright. There
Is occ. .1ional humor in the speeches,
some genuinely human comedy from
Miss Ferguson. but by all means the
most distinguished feature of the play
is tic skilful and artistic acting OF Mr..
ellis at the close Of the third act.