New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-06

p. HrCTOR TURNBILL.

By HECTOR TURNBULL.
.-., vsn Who stayed Home" came
-. comedy Theatre from England
,irh, under the title, The White
e'..beT." j.. is = frankly meio-
.~s,lc war play. dealing with an
&c ,r Che exciting career OF an
r-gsb spy. and makes no attempt 20
is.,-+ problems FOR discussion nor
~. si6cs Ion the prcScn; co1filct m
-'.,7c Barring the fact that me
r-tsh~s~ wins out On the end, there
..-so,binc go the play that would OF
Il the most rabia German sym
.Li,er IFS purpose IS TO thrill, and
.ssover,.v the atmosphere Is thick
- crafty plans. jumbled love pas
Is German and English spies 81
y, secre. wireless machines and sub
-,,ine raids Il Is exciting, however,
- even Z the handsome Englishman
IS. win his love and the battle OF
-. AZ least the equally handsome
Ct-nsn spy goes TO his death like a
tero. ~.
Brent. presumably n silly ass, without
uHeiert courage TO enlist. lie is be
iors6 by the daughter Of an NJ. F.. and
;,tler puts his foot down, metaphor
,,iIv speaking. on KIT and his suit.
Inst As YOU begin 20 suspect that Kit
/. no, the frantic ass he looks, you
earn that he is actually British Of
f,s- in the secret service, with beau
..fpl Burre-Jones lady as accessory
before the fact. The Burne-Jones lady
sstresscs the VI. P's daughter dread
fllly. and Kit cannot explain away
most daurirC mack Of lies he has told
"a account for their intimacy.
After a bit the little sescosst board
M house is quite upset. Kit dlscov-
s-s that there are four German spies
IN the house. finds a secret wireless
tpparstus hidden in the fireplace; pots
q carrier pigeon with his airgun and Sc
cures trscinrs OF Notifications; signals
the British cruiser TO attack German
sBbmsrine, and finally, at the end Of
the rlsy. folds the pale pink pelgnoir
which contains his love unto his bath
robed bosom just as the thud. thud Of
the troopers feet hint AT the awful
fate that awaits the vsnquished Ger
nan. -,
Il is indeed an evening o. thrills,
md every one. cast and audience, were
70 wrought up that they forgot TO de-
nolish or devltalize the incendiary
bomb that was left ticking away on
Inc sittlng-room table as the curtain
'er 7, was set 70 explode and de-
.trov The house Al time seemingly
ear a, hand. so Il really should have
leeu attended 20.
This. however, is minor detail. The
important affairs were dispatched with
yrea- JUNCTION. and while there was
nothing starthnE'v new in the play, the
I'd reliable thrills were so ingeniously
arranged that they performed their
Junction very well, indeed
Leslie F8ber gave 4 good perform
.nce Of the Spy, who went about under
cloud Is coward and rose 10 such
ublime heights al the climax. Jessie
ilendenuing was ris own true love,
md, barring g tendency 70 read her
mes rather stif7y, she presented an
attractive, ingenious figure.
Arthur Elliott gave the New YORK
audience another opportunity 10 see
he accepted stage idea OF British N.
P. which seems 10 be very silly,
b,her corpulent, pompOus old cur
nudgeon, who couldn't get vote from
be pupils of school for detectives.
he did quite we'll with what the au-
hors prOy,ded Elaine lnnescort was
he Burne-Jonesy assistant English spy,
ard she laid on the secret stuff for
sI ). was worth.
No spy ever Kissed instructions bet
r Alan Nude was stalwart re-
nut. and Eric Naxon ran Miss lines
or, close second in delivering drs-
matte intensity when there was some
hing dark in the ofing. Cynthia
Brooke and Mabel Reid gave careful
incere characterizations that were
most welcome and refreshing. .
On the whole. "The White Feather"
good entertainment, and, considering
Is close relation TO the daily dis
s:ches from the front, it should be
opular.