Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-08
FUNNY FURNITURE
FARCE AT GARRICK
Twin Beds" Demonstrates
What Ibsen Didn't Know
About Playwrighting

apartment. Act lll-The same as Act IL
Most farces are Ibsenic
Most people expect irwin Beds" TO b,
obscenc.
As matter Of fact It is neither on,
nor the other.
Most farces are lbsenic because they
put the cause OF the whole trouble way
back IN the past. The wrong gentleman
gets found in the wrong lndy's company
the loving and innocent husband can't
explain why he has been out all night
And then the thing gets fought out for
three acts.
Margaret Mayo prefers another dra-
matte method. Whether it's Baby Mine"
or Twin Beds" she starts with a family
quarrel, which isn't supposed to do much
more than supply atmosphere" and set
the sails for trouble. Along toward the
beginning of the second act she lets you
begin to see the rocks ahead. At the drop
OF the curtain the breaking waves are
dashing high and saying, "Montl, the
Dago tenor, has picked ont the wrons
IA and gone to bed in tho absent huH.
bands half of the twin couches." And all
through the third act the stern and rock
bound coast of tcmpestuous farciCal
trouble Is pounding UP and down under
that poor couples shallow shallop of
happiness.
1t isn't bad system. Il makes YOU
think that the opening acts are n little
slim-in this case much simmer than in
Baby Mine"-but 1t leaves you with the
final. lingering impression )f having
rocked wildly in your seat for good deal
longer time than you actually did. And
In Twin Beds" the system hns been
pushed to the point OF producing a more
crowded and complicated and confused,
ana therefore, more cachinnatious last
act than the American stage has known
In many years.
Very probably the whole thing would
nave been funnier yet If the company
at the Garrick had played 1t In that ever
best farce key--the deadly serious. the
absolutely natural. Instead. they-most
OF them, anyway-shouted and grabbed
chairs and did things which would have
betrayed them to the others II 1t hadn't
happened up on platform about 10 times
better lighted than any room.
They got away with it," Ray Cox
can get away with anything. A man who
can disrobe In such amazingly funny
ways as Mr.. Carr!llo can put wordless
but rousing climax on the quetest OF
second acts. And in the excitement OF
the moment nobody is going to notice
that Earle Eoothe acts just like stage
manager.
But how much more the actors would !
have got out of Twin Beds IL they had |
tried 20 put real characters into It, lmag- !
me JOnn Westley playing the husband as |
genuinely nervous young man instead |
OF well-fed. bounding broker who |
couldn't possibly worry over his wife |
Imagine IL they had all tried as hard |
as Zaina Curzon. who was really very
charming and naive and therefore pIausi-
Die and amusing as the young wife OF
tribulation. Imagine II they had all had
the art of that veteran OF 20 victories
Allce John, who can resist May Vokesing
or Maude Eburneing an Irish maid.
But Twin Beds" was funny, anyway
1t wasn't very delicate. perhaps. But it
certainly never leered. And its jokes on
that very jokeable subject OF twin beds
were good jokes. Moreover. whatever
may be said in derogation OF the Castor
and Pollux of furniture, they fill a long
Ielt want in farce Once upon time.
when young husband stayed out of his
'wn bed all night he got into innocent
trouble. Now he can get into some
'ody else's and be troublesomely inno-
ienI *. NJ