New Britain herald., 1916-03-07
LAUGHTER ABOUNDS
 IN PLAY AT LYCEUM
"A Pair Of Sizes" Furnishes Fun
 Galore-Cross Players Star

'"' "'N'' "ce'i 'iie freezing mark o"'sloe tne l-Nceum last night with SHOW ana s'ect Whipping themselves into a fury. "A Pair of Sizes, tn,ro,, ''' i"Si"e ol the house into a verita- Die furnace of fun, threw the .ndian,, that braved the indictment ,,.aa4,. into the heat of cor,,,;
 warmed the heart of eye,,yhoa T. was just one laugh after ano+hor
 from the time the curtain want -, 4 shortly after eight until if wont dau,, TOT the fnal time at almost eleven Tb. Alfred cross Players did themselves, proud in the first comedy vabi.:, they nave attempted since a series of successes ranging for the most part in the me of the melodramatic
 "A Par of Sizes has been always o funny snow. 1t has appeared in New Brltaln once during the past ttvely, month, and then by a road company. But the last performance here could m no way De compared with the ren- dltlon ot the performance last night. Even to the office boy, a part essayed by local comedian. a vounester who is making his first bow to crtical audiences, the cast is excellent This lad. Francis Murphy, makes good. With the exception of the rod hair natural, displayed by the oririnator or the role, he is in every way q com mendable adjunct to any office, From his first entrance to his sensational ext, when he takes a head long t,ln- Die over a swinging door. he is inn mensc. That is one of the laughs handed. Then there is the work Of Mrs Adelaide Hubbard wno is seen a& the eXcruciatingly funny English maid of all work, COddles, the dccrcp- i'd, love-lorn, old maidish, kittenisi1 deVellsh. debonair Impossible, "Cod- dles. If Mrs. Hubbard ever handled a role well she does this one. Many thought her at her best as t:re Irish landlady in kick In". As "Coddles' she reaches the zenith of her powers as creator of mirth and laughter h Is not going too far to say that Mrs itlopard is as good, if not better, than the original tCodd1cs" In fact her work IS par excellence. She has many amusing scenes with Alfred Cross, who IS cast this time as the unfortunate business partner of the firm of Net tleton and Johns, the poor fellow who loses at a game of cards and must perforce play butler for his enemy, his friend Mr Cross puts finishing touches to the part of T. Boggs Johns After his more serious work in "The ChrlStlan' and other such parts as he played since the opening of the pres ent season it is impossible to imagine him in the role of a comedian; but he measures up to the standard and ncv- CT misses a bet He takes advantage of every line and situation. and the play is admirably filled with many funny ones.
 Playing opposite Alfred Cross as the business partner who cannot get along with the other half of the firm. Eugene Weber gives a creditable per fornance of Nettlcton. Be it said, in passing, that this particular role calls for some extra heavy work, for Quickness and poise, for some rip roaring comedy, and MT. Weber pro- duces. He has some great scenes with MT. Cross. in fact three acts filled with them. And during it all there is nothing but laughter. Cast as the jealous wife of Nettleton, Dora Booth gets a good chance to come i'll on the comedy. She too measures up to the bill. Then there is Philip Shef- field who plays the part of the lawyer, the chap who does the 'fiXing,' and does it to the queens taste or rather
 
 through all the vernacular of the le- gal profession with the ease and grace of one long addicted to the vicious habit or practice, of drawing up tedi- ous and mbiguous contracts.
 Miss Julie Hernc as the sweetheart of the unfortunate T.. Boggs Johns there is something wonderful about that name, has a part that does not give her any chance for emotional acting but withal she has very pret- ty part to play and has no difficulty in stamping it with her usual sweetness and character. She is the Queen who finally beats "A Pair of Sizes"
 Miss Eveta Francis helps the play off to a good start by her work as the stenogra pher of the two dissatisfied business men but like Joseph Henley. works only in the first act The office boy. Francis Murphy also ends his services in that period of the play Girard Patterson this week gets a chance at a real part, though only for a brief period. as Toney Toler the tempcstuous and ambitious sales man for the firm. J. Irving Whites chara cter creation is also short lived
 A brief outline of the play woulo run somewhat as follows, not being complete by any means. George F. Nettleton and T. Boggs Johns, part ners in q pill manufacturing business, are constantly at loggerheads, each longing to be rid of the other, but neither willing to sell out. They sum mon their lawyer but decline his var ious propositions for dissolution until, in despair, he suggests d contract with numerous conditions by which a hand of poker Is to be plaXed, with the pen alty that the loser shall quit the bus mess for a year and in the interval serve as a servant in the household of the winner. The lawyer is interest. ed personally because he hopes to see T. Boggs Johns lose, and with his lips sealed by the contract he will be hu- initiated before the girl with whom he