Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-14

5aGts 5s by by ENdwhrd NhSrdl Locke. Lyric Theatre.
Emilia Mueller, his wife. Auguste BuTmester lester
i,oSc Mueller. his daughter. Laura Walker
TIlshard Graham. ........... George wellra,on
Scene Living room back Of Mueller T - grocery SetSr
Act IIigissaISs'en store Act Alter supper
N't ill-Same Ten minutes later
Enough amt enough II you can get
more" LGustaye Mueller
When two or three are gathered to-
Eether i'm spite of a young blizzard, 1t is
possible to doubt that remark. so far as
snow is concerned And when they are
watching Louis Mann fill tiny little
plot just plum full of Celebrations and
uetaiIS and accrctions in the way of
otherWise perfectly good character acting,
ihaJ observation becomes positively alb
surd. Enough is too much
10 get the easiest thing out of the way
tlrst consider the plot OF "The Bubble"
Act 1: a delicatessen dealer ready to re-
tire on legacy and savings of t25 900.
But instead of settling down with his
good old wife and letting his pretty
uauShtcr marry q rcpOrteT-boy who can
wheedle $500 out of podd Mead & Co. for
"a story he listens to the Establishments
Of the most transparent mining stock
scamp that ever darkened a first act. He
ought to have suspected the morals of
man who said "supposltious" for Sup
posititous." But he didn't.
Act IL: The result Mining stock BOOM
ing, wife miserable over moving into "a
'partment' where she won't be allowed
to keep her old furniture or to cook the
reporter-boy busy with an inside tip that
the mining shark is going to be raided
and-"broke!' as an astute financial au-
thority in the balcony informed the house
Act Ill: Fifteen minutes for the villyun
TO call and choke the old gentleman. and
for the reporter-boy to arrive with $4,000
i
tNou see, a short and discreet investment
in fake mines frequently pays 100 per
cent?
Unfortunately, Mr. Locke has "dolled
up his simple familiar little tale with
a good many repctitions. People do
things like telephoning to the raided
scamp over and over again. The daugh-
ter hauls out that oldest inhabitant
"Why, Dick, ! can't believe it," no less
than three times. There isn't an angle
Of the nouveau richie question that
escapes restatement The whole thing
could be told i'm half the time.
AS for Mr.. Mann's variations on the
variations of Mr.. Locke, they are a good
deal pleasantcr and more entertaining
After all, Mr. Mann is n skilful actor of
pungcut comedy with perfectly amazing
repertory of moods. If he rears around
the room every three minutes in comic
and impotent rage, at any rate II is
amusingly done. If lie scods his wife
in German every four minutes it is at
least in character. If he makes the old
man a nagging, ill-tempered, disgusting
beast every five minutes. he does it with
n thorough disregard for ''the usual
thing that is highly commendable. If he
desccnds to tragic relief every now and
then to show that he is something more
than Il comedian, he may be pardoned
the fact that he has made the character
so utterly unsympatetic in his seltshness
that nobody can be greatly worked up
over his misery.
There is a good deal of fun in The
Bubble" largely due to Mr.. Mann and
Nine. Burmester There might be more,
relatively, If that excellent actor weren't
so sure that enough amt never enough
If you can get more" K. NJ