Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-07
Bronson Howard's Good Old
Comedy Well Modernized and
Well Acted at Adelphi

"The New Henrietta" has all the mod.
ern improvements-the auto, the tele-
phone, the wrist watch. the handller-
chief in the cuff, the pocket cigar lighter
and even it's joke 1T worked EVERY
thing, in fact. except the gun man. to
make 1t thoroughly successful. up-to.date
Broadway melodrama. But for all that
they can't change Bronson Howards old
warhorse. Two 42d street playwrights,
like Winchell Smith and Victor AIapes,
may break and may shatter the Jar
as they will the odor of the fin de steele
insists on clingng. Which gave a great
deal of pleasure to large audience at
the Adelphi last night. And If you bar
the first two acts, THE New Henrietta"
is Just as good melodramatic comedy as
we make today.
OF course, the villain insists on helping
the plot along out of poor cussedness in.
stead of for sociological reasons He in
sists on being out and out wicked and try
ing to ruin old Nick rather than stoop
to getting easy money as his son and sue
cessor. All that is as old.fashoned as
the naive little daughter who finds a sick
family in the slums and wheedles a hun
dred dollar bill out of her dear, kind mil
lionaire parent, instead of a model tene-
ment or two in exchange for n lecture
on the wickedness of unearned Wall street
increments.
But the story had it's modern touches.
even in Bronson Howard's days. We
know these wildcat mines that get seven
column heads in the afternoon extras and
almost cause panics We have met these
elderly stage-millonaires who retire from
business suddenly one afternoon in the
midst Of big bull drive" BERTHE is
no new figure from the past The comic
relief haVa al 1yua
times he is called Jimmy Gilley. and we
don't usually play him quite so artif.
cially; but he lightens the dullness of
many n hero and many play,
All of which may or may not suggest
that The New Henrietta" is neither so
old'fashioned nor SO new as TO disap.
point our memories. The staginess of
the old play Is bit CLOSED over but the
gloss is not too slick with modernity. The
vitality Of that good third act in cid
Nck's office is unimpaired by age or
tinker. The eruntions Of Rertie aud his
confusing supply of Henrie tas are just
as Irresistible as ever.
The modernization has smoothed off
some rough edges, To solne it seems 10
have made the play more farcical. But
that may be more the sophstication of
today, our taste for the probable. Ger
tainly the reviserB have rather ruthlessly
removed Bertie's very amusing adventures
as the Napoleon Of Wall street" and they
never allow him TO be called THE Lamb
in the whole three hours,
The new cast does full justice to the
moderniz .tion. Amelia Bingham as the
widow Opdyke gives a splendid imitation
of Mrs, Leslie Carter doing comedy 10
times as well as she ever did tragedy.
Maclyn Arbuckle-who has boldly trans
planted nobody loves fat man" from
THE Round Up"-makes a delicious
clergyman Of the pop-eyed pug dog on his
hind legs variety. Thomas W, Ross has
brought BERTHE bit up to date. but plays
safe" and doesn't try TO get away from
that SILLY ass" type of mental and phys
ical eccentric which would come nearer
landing a berth in a sanatorium than the
hand Of charming young lady. Perhaps
Edith Taliaferro is trying TO support the
plausibility Of that damsers choice by play
ing her in an insipidly hammered. though
eccentric which would come nearer land
ing a berth in a sanatorium than the hand
OF a charming young lady, Perhaps Edith
Tallaterro Is trying to support the pleasi-
bility Of that damseTs choice by playing
her in an insipidly hammered. though
pretty and confident, way; on no other
hypothesis does she deserve more mem
ton than the rest of the capable support.
It is Mr.. Crane. OF course, to whom the
hOnors Of the performance must go. And
they are hOnors that mean more than an
acknowledgment OF his eysF-fresh ability
10 play the quiet, middle-aged American
business man 20 the life The audience
at the Adelphi last night was rendering
thanks for all the simple and kindly art
which Mr.. Crane has proffered the Amerl-
can stage In two-seore years And It
should have been regretting that he has
not had more parts 50 good as old Nick
In the years that have gone since Bronson
Howard wrote The Henrietta" X NJ
Lancaster Pitcher Win Afhleii.a