The Washington herald., 1916-09-26
Observation-Disclosures"

belaGcO-"Ob1ect- 8trtm Ony.'
Friends Of Potash and Perlmutter,"
Jewish and Gentle, thronged the Belasco
Theater last night to witness the first
metropolitan" appearance Of the sue
cessOrs Of those worthies as offspring Of
the laughing genius Of Montague Glass.
Mr.. Glass, in cOllabora ton with Jules
Eckert Goodman. has produced in "Ob-
Ject-Matrtmony" an even funnier COM
edy than the one based on the maga-
zine stories which had such wide popu-
larity in recent seasons, besides which
the new play has the beneht Of more
skilful construction and dramatic CO.
herency.
The cloak and suit trade again fur
nishes the atmosphere, and the H<able
and amusing characteristics Of Jewish
business folk still give zest and the fia-
vor Of novelty to the comedy.
There is rapid-fire action from the
start with not a laggtng moment. and
scarcely breathing spell between laugh
ing spasns Lines that throw the au-
dience into shouts and chuckles are so
frequent that the action is sometimes
actually impeded. It Is all clean wit, too,
and has plenty Of that pointed, chArac-
ter-revealing, convincing quality that
have given Mr.. Glass stories such a wide
appeal.
Milton Sachs, who has inherited his
fathers garment business and is himself
more Of a poet and dreamer than a bus
mess man, is IN financial difficulties, and
his uncle, Joseph Zwiebel, who has al
ready sunk $500 in the business. is no
longer willing to give aid. His book
keeper, however, is a handsome young
woman who thinks the world of him and
cOncocts any number Of plans to get him
out Of his troubles and at the same time
remodel him in a more manly pattern
His harshest creditor Is Julius Lesengelt,
a banker, but Julius is willing to 20 to
any length in the way Of compromise and
support II Milton will only marry his
daughter Birdie. Milton would reject the
sordid proposal with scorn. but his sweet
heart Clara the bool<keeper. has a bold
er and better plan. Get engaged to the
homely daughter Of the banker" she SAYS,
and reap the business benefit As for
marrying her, that is a different matter. 8"
Milton yields, and at the announcement
Of the betrothal the creditors, statesmen.
and customers flock forward and the
dropping firm revives. Now the problem
Is TO put matters on a solid footing before
the match is broken off, and to this end
the clever Clara invites all the firm 8
patrons and creditors to the weddins
while seeking at the same time to re-
cover some thousands Of her own from a
defaulting trustee.
The final act shows the moment OF me
wedding reception, with the bride and
her furious parent awaiting the arrival
Of the missing bridegroom. Clara at the
last moment gets a check for the amount
OF her patrmony, and after Milton
has told Desengeld that he is going to
marry Clara instead Of Birdie and the
check has been delivered to him BY way
Of settlement. there is a dramatic climax
IN which Clara's guardian Is arrested, his
check proved to be bad, and everything
brought to- cheerful close by the sub
stftution Of a perfectly go6d check by
Uncle Joseph. Only the fate Of Birdie
remains gloomy and undisclosed.
Jess Dandy as Uncle Joseph and Jules
Jordan as Lesengeld share the honors
for realistic and comical representation
Of Hebrew characters. Irving CUMMINGS
Is good as Milton Sachs and Marjorie
Wood Is excellent as Clara Fein. Math-
nde Cottrelly gives a delightful portrait
OF Milton's mother Even the small parts
are unusually well done, and the whole
production is excellently managed.