Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-28
ADJUSTMENTS
ENCI;LLENT PERFORMANCES
OF GRIPPING MODERN ORA,

After the cndcarinu young charms
of AndreaS Dippel's The Lilac
Domino FADED INTO happy memory
the producing managers seemed bent
on converting this section OF the road
into II theatrical bog, until last night
when Conan ~ Harris sent 10 the
Academy at Music Il play and II com
pahy that served TO stop. al least
empornrily the work OF dcstruction
me iirSt drama Of the season, '"..,c
House of ,;lass' proved TO be one OF
the iirst dramas Of it's particular
school oc amy season. while lis per-
forinanc" last night stood "a rock
amid the mire Of Incompetence. in
which thcat"rSOcrs have found thcu-
selves swanpcd this SEASON.
Max NIarcin's rour-act play is n
feininized "Alias Jimmy Nalcn,in".'
without It's mechanical mciOdrana or
a Within the Las" without it's Sor-
didness At ;!c same time, il is Il
very human story that ii tells: there
is no Soul-uucsticniu.: there is no
livinH-onc's-o wn-lfc pinie - maize it,
a problem play, and there is much Of
Incident and action IL make IL vivid
Therefore. it is probably 10 be ciaA>ed
as mclodraina. And this classification
- the more certain. because OF the
hcroicS strangely retained in som. OF
its spccches-strangcly. because il may
be- taken that George NJ. Conan had
"A n;tnd III its preparation for til" stage
some Instances Of wobbly EnYlish.
such AS remember Of ana FOR you
ana - also somewhat, dctraCt from
it's dignity.
But its wcll-dovcIopcd plot makes
ii literally gripping tai. oi police
persecution, the tcnscncsS Of which il
heightened by the craftsIn;in's avoid
anCc Of amy resort 10 crook cdncSS or
other grating by the police. The
plainclothcs men do their duty, as they
see il, the courts dispense justice Il,
II appears. aud the Inevitable follows.
Ana the way out il SO ingcnlouSly
devised that Tho Illusion Of the whole
IL maintained to the end. Nor il the
Somcdy relief machine-made. IL is sup
piled by the rlainciothcs men. natur-
ally, and by an everyday man in every
day life. also naturally
Fortunately for the whole. III. cast
contains no technical stars, but il com
posed of actors. who, all working to-
rcthcr. give afi uncoinmonly we'll
balanced performance OF Il particularly
wcll-staged play. OF these, the most
conspicuous. both on account Of the
part and her "wn work, l. Adclina
pConn"r, whose performance is en-
titled To the overworked adjective
"beautiful." She plays quietly. but al
ways effectively, nicely adjusting TIL"
values OF her part. and reads INA
peculiarly lovely voice and with fun
appreciation Of the meaning Of her
lines and OF the necessity for clear
cnunciaticu.
clyde Foeel. AN engaging young
man with personality that gets
over pleasantly brightcns what
might be sombcr. Dwight y. Meade
plays the crook cXcellently well: Hal
M"rdannt ~ untheatrically strong as
Tia" relentless policeman: Robert Mid
diclnass - satisfactory In the part OPP
pos!tc Miss pConnor. and Charles
!tci".l * corlmcndably and refresh
inrly OF the old school in a minor part
And they never everyday. There is a
moment Of recognition between Miss
pconnor and Mr.. Mordaunt that might
serve rs model OF how il is done in
life. though never on the stage.
There vii! tie two performances Of
The House OF Glass TODAY: either
vii! be we'll worth seeing.
Doug as Gordon.