The Washington herald., 1916-10-17
Belasco's little Lady in
Blue" Bows In Premiere
By THE PLAYGOER,


Miss Frances Starr, who made her timid
DEBUT as star under the Belasco banner
in the exotic romantic drama, THE Rose
OF the Rancho" and whose further ad-
vance as an actress of fine discretion.
keen perception. and emotional sincerity
was achieved through the Iachrymose
channels of The Easiest Way" The
Secret" The Case of Becky" and the
superbly beautiful Marie Odile," last
night realized an ambition which she has
cherished with almost pathetic patience
for mqe than five years-she appeared
as the central figure in a wholesome, ten
der. captivating comedy, full of charm.
OF light and shade of sparkling wit with
an undercurrent of appealing pathos.
The occasion was the premiere of THE
Little Lady in Blue" the latest comedy
from the pens Of Horace Hodges and T.
Wisney Percyval, and the place the Be-
lasCo Theater. There a keenlv appre-
Ciative audience Of the usual Belasco-
tirst-night proportions. gave every evil
dence not only that the authors Of
Grumpy" have written a legitimate sue
cessor to their earlier comedy, but that
Miss Starr needed only such an oppor-
! tunity as is afforded her in the present
I instance TO establish herself as a COM
edienne Of infinite variety.
Oppressed by Debts.
The Little Lady in Blue. otherwise
Anne Churchill. does not make her en-
/ trance upon the scene a : a light-hearted
care-free girl. She is oppressed, by debts
and the thought that the future holds out
no promise al variance with her past
living by her wits The scene Of the
! first act is a quaint old inn, located in
( small town Of France, and the period
| the first quarter Of the nineteenth CEN
tury.
Anne, accompanied by her former gov
erness. is waiting IN the inn to take pas
sage for England. She is requested to
rclinPuish her room in favor of Admiral
A-denbrooke. As she retires the admiral
enters. She is impel!ed 10 remain and
add TO his comfort, and there follows a
scene of rare charm and freshness as the
girl makes the sea rover comfortable with
his grog. The admiral has a worthless
grandson who l. to lose a fortune-60 900
nohnds-hecause he has left the navy. He
contdes his dlsappointments to the girl.
and as he mods over his grog. the vision
of this fortune and its possibilities loom
before her.
In the second act showing the bar
parlor OF an inn at Portsmouth, Anne
meets the grandson. Anthony Alden
brooke, surrounded by boisterous. dissi-
patcd COMPANIONS. and there occurs to
her the scheme to lure the boy from
these haunts and effect his redemption
for her own sake. She puts into practice
the advice Of her governess, and her
| Establishments are Immediately effective.
Young Anthony follows her TO a cottage
in the country, where the concluding
I episodes in the comedy take place six
months later. The youth is redeemed
and the fortune is within his grasp, and
/ almost within hers. for she has succeeded
in winning his love.
Cnhappily for the welI-laid plan of the
charming little adventures. the trustee
of the grandfathers will offers Anthony
a berth in his own frigate and promises
sea fight in which he will have his op-
pOrtuuity to attain a captaincy or be
come food for sharks"
With the suggestion Of tragedy.
/ Anne's dreams of wealth vanish and
she becomes only a miserable young
girl hOpelessly in love. How the girls
heart is purged Of all selfshness and
how her ultimate happiness is achieved
are revealed in two delightful scenes
Of indescribabIe charm.
Miss Starr justifes to the full her
am bition to play comedy. Her Anne is
a captivating creature 1t will be diff
fiCult for Mr.. BelasCo to gain her pub
lies consent to a return to emotional
drama after such a noteworthy sue
cess
The supporting cast was entirely
worthy of the star. but especially dis
tinguished was the performance Of
George Giddens, Of "Pomander Walk
memory. as Cobbledick, the bo'sun: the
brilliant bit by Albert J. Andrews as
the old admiral and Frederick Grs-
hams hearty Capt. Kent. Jerome Pat
rick, the st. Michael corporal Of Ma
rie Odue." is seen as the young hero
and Carl Sauerman, the German ser
geant of the same play. is the Baron
Won Loewe.
! The stage settings are in complete
accord with the artistic standards for