The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-11-11
THEATRICAL REVIEW
"Hit the Trail Holiday" at Opera
House.

a DdTkeep turned temperance 1SC
turer, furnishes the theme of "Hit-
the-Trail Holiday; add spicy dia-
logue, clever Characterization, and a
good company, and you have the rea-
son in a nut shell for the success of
Geo. M. Cohan's latest farce.
The humor is so refined and the
lesson of the play is so good that if
it had more plot, it would be COM
edy, and very notable one at that
"Hit-the- Trail Holiday" is Billy
Sunday put on the boards. A star
mixologist is imported by big brew
er, who is opening hotel somewhere
in New England. Billy Holiday, the
artist in question, becomes interested
in temperance reform, chucks his job,
and delivers speech that makes him
famous-puts him in the class of
Bryan, Roosevelt and the kaiser. He
receives fabulous sums from moving
picture concerns, magazines, is en-
gagged by theological and reform So
cieties the country over, to preach
temperance for Holiday talks to the
people in the language they can un-
derstand; he draws his metaphors
from baseball and the slang of the
street, and makes converts of the
men who otherwise would be-and
are-totally unaffected by any mere
moral homily no matter how cogent
the reasoning, no matter how classic
the diction.
Billy devotes the proceeds to chart
table undertakings; gets jobs for bar
keeps in saltwater fountains. and
helps friend develop business of
manufacturing a temperance drink.
Of course, there is love story, and
the curtain drops on the wedding of
Billy and Edith, the minister's daugh-
ter.
Frank Otto, as Billy Holiday, was,
of course, the hit, but that was only
because his was the central character.
The other characters were so well
! portrayed that with slight shift of
the dramatic emphasis they would
all be stellar roles. Harry Hubbard
and Howard Hull Gibson, as the
blustery father and son, were very
good, and when the time came for
their regeneration, they did not make
the mistake, as many an actor would
have done, of tapering off too quick
| ly. They made their last exit, still
roaring, but subdued, like Bottom s
| lion, so as not to alright the ladies.
Arthur V. Gibson, as Rev. T. B. Hol-
den, and Franklin Hall, as Burr Ja-
son, were excellent. The, work of
,Chauncey Causland, as Jed Cusick,
the checker playing expressman, who
tells his wife everything reason,
deserves special mention. Daniel A.
Anderson, as the chief of police,
Louis Eagan and Sam j. Burton, as
BARRIERS and Ben ]. Sweeney, the
bootblack, were typical of the char
acters one will find in any New Eng
land town.
There was not much opportunity
for the female characters, but Lola
Merrill and Mildred Beverly made
the most of their chances. Some
thought Miss Merrill was little too
effusive in the sentimental passages,
but the fact of the matter is, Cohan
meant the lines for parody on Ber-
nard Shaw's theme of man, the pur-
sued-and woman, the pursuer; and
her emphasis, while exaggerated, was
| intentional.
There were numerous curtain calls.
''Hit-the-Trail Holiday" made hit
with Pensacola; for two hours the
people rocked and shook with laugh
ter. We are indeed fortunate in see
ing road company No. in the pro-
| duction.
But good fortune comes not single
file, but in battalions, for next week
Sid Levy has q revival of "Robin