Evening star., 1916-04-04
Belasco.

| THE Little Shepherd of Kingdom
Come"-a mountain waif created out
| of the forces of primeval life and put
in John Fox novel-had his final en-
bodment as stage hero at the Be-
lasco Theater last evening. Eugene
| Walters faith in Washington his
! trionic birthplace for the play he has
woven from the story was well found
ed Because of the playwrights admir-
ers. the book friends of the little shep-
herd and the general fascination that
| goes with firSt-night production. the
theater was crowded. the President and
Mrs. Wilson occupying box, and the
| Pierce Guild being the beneficiary of
! the occa sion. The FoN-Walter story of
| three waifS-a boy. girl and a dog -
! has for its setting the heart of the
| erlands-literature's Olympus of
mystery ami romance. Nowhere in the
! four acts is there an echo of the every
| day world outside the mountains that
wall the action in. The green SilenceS
| and far reaches convey sense of re-
moteness, and each mountaineer of the
| dozen or more in the cast typities the
| splendid crudities of a fast vanishing
manhood, which, lacking outlet for or
dinary emotions, concentrates his pas
sion into two mighty contraSts-super
friendship and .life-enduring feud The
patriarchal atmosphere of the old south
by which every boy swears by his own
particular pap"
AS Chad, the boy who has run away
from his master and dared the road to
such a boy as everybody knows and
loves. His devotion to his dog. Jack,
must have struck memory cord in
the heart of every man in the theater.
| and his scrapping ability in defense of
the collie was of the quality that
makes a boy about the finest living
thing. Nothing too good can be said
of the dog himself. For an entire act
he lounged, calmly correct in deport-
ment, surveying the audience with the
linscrutable dignity that belongs to
dogs, and contributing instant business
whenever his cue called for motion or
bark. Mona Hungerford as Melissa, the
girl who shares the sorrows and glories
in the triumphs of Chad and the dog,
was turbulently ingenious young
person, and joy to look at-although
bit more precocious than the child
who lives in the book. Mark Price. as
cruelty as to put one in sympathy with
the little shepperds escape, and for
contrast, the Joel Turner of Daniel
Ross was an embodiment of jovial good
will to all-eXcept the Dillon clan. Red
Fox a fantastic old creature, doddering
of body. but mighty in his ability to
prove Chad the son of refined parent
age instead of the wood baby Cherry
claimed MN to be, was afllSticdilS III
terpreted by Wallace owen. and the
laughable tubby and cherub faced
squire was portrayed by Joseph r.
Mann.
The three blind mice of literature
have nothing on the three deaf old
jurors at the trial of Chad's dog for
the killing of Tad Dillon's. and who
had nothing whatever to do with the
verdict except to wonder what it was
all about after it was over. These
triple types of humorous pathos were
presented by Henry Nancleft. Herman
Bernhard and William Wilson.
Maj Calvin Buford. lawyer from
the settlements below the mountain
was admirably played by Robert
Rogers, and commentator is deserved
George Dunn. as the flock of Turner
boys, and by Gardner James. as little
Tad Dillon; Walter Thomas. as his
elder brother. and by Robert Forrest,
whose Old Tad Dillon contributed one
of the strongest characters to the al
together beautiful and well acted play.
AS Mother Betsy Turner, who piled her
spinning wheel. smoked her pipe and
mothered every living thing within
the cabin walls of her home, Louise
Macintosh captured a dozen bubbles
of laughter and James Mace did his
best by the somewhat colorless school
master. Caleb Hazel
From first to last the play moved
with an assuredness not usual to f1rst-
night productions, and that it appealed
to the audience was testified by the
number of recalls and the full measure
of applause which recognized the good
work of each leading member of the
east