New Britain herald., 1916-03-14
MISS JULIE HERNE
 SEEN IN NEW ROLE
Scores Triumph As Pathetic JeWeSS in "The Yellow
 Ticket" at Lyceum

story put the story was so big. so vii
 tal' teemlng with human interest
 stuf that it proved drama-the big.
 intensive drama of life This week at
 the Lyceum the Alfred Cross players
 unfold the wonderful story set down
 by Michael Morton.
 Russla ever has been the land of 1 mystery to Americans. Stories of life
 III the Ierrlple prison at Siberia have
 shocked the world. To those who en-
 Joy untrammeled the life and liberty l of America, the czar's domain pre-
 sents the direct antithesis. Whether 1 this was so or not remained for Arn-
 erican journals to record And they i published facts to substantiate what 1 might be thought theory Corresn0nd- 1 ents went from this land to Russia to
 get at facts Only recently.-tnree
 years back,-We had stories out of Russia of oppression. Overtoppinc ! them all was the story of Jew pros-
 ecuted at Kief, because of his religion. l "The Yellow Ticket' has to do with a, 1 girl from this place,-and it hangs on 1 the same thread
 | Marya Varenka is an attractive 1 Jewish girl taken into the home of the
 British ambassador at St. Petersburg 1 as companion to his daughter. It is 1 there an American newspaper corre- ! spondent meets and falls in love with her. During the course of an after noon tea the Russian police expose
 this girl as a Jewess, hiding under the name of Christian, carrying a yellow 1 ticket, the passport of a woman of the ! underworld. She is banished from the
 ambassadors home, but not before she tells her life story, the story of her ho n 1 is tnc only one who believes her. The
 chief of the secret police entices the 1 girl to his bachelor apartments under l the guise of friendship and there, be- | cause of humiliations, she kills him. | She is to be sent to Siberia for life l when her American friend, the news 1 paperman, threatening to expose the l real facts in the case, and through l his standing at the American embassy, { forces the Russian authorities to re- . lease her.
 It is drama of heart interest from . beginning to end, The Yellow Ticket. : As the poor little Russian Jewish girl ? Miss Herne pOrtrays a character that : gives her ample opportunity to display 1 those powers of emotion which are fast ! making her one of the most popular actresses that ever played in New 1 Britain. Her story of the life of this ] girl. told at the end of the first act IS i a masterly piece of dramatic Work. l Her big scene in the bachelor apart ments, the murder of the chief or po- 1 lice. is a bit of realism that causes l shudder. Her entrance into the pu-
 reau of the "Okrana,' there, without 1 trial to be sentenced to Slberla TOT 1 life, is marked with tragedy,-tne de- 1 lection of a soul that has no chance, ! Y, i11nx a
 is only one ray of sunshine that comes 1 into the life of this little Russian Jew
 ess after her accusation, and that is the
 moment she is told of her freedom ! Rut in that brief moment Miss Herne 1 goes with a bound from despair to 1 nresun,ntion. Altogether her work l this week stands in dire contrast to
 any character part she has hitherto 1 essayed.
 As an American newspaper man. l Alfred Cross is true to life. For once
 this character has been put on the
 stage without notebook and pencil 1 Michael Morton knew the type. lie
 was a newspaperman hlmsel1. Ana l Alfred Cross knows how to e1ectlVely | blend the inherent characteflStlcS or l an American with those or Jourhal- | ist He has many admirable Hnes l va ~
 breasts of all true Americans although
 thev he somewhat disconcerting to
 those who are in America but not Of
 A1nerica This is one reporter who knew a story when he saw one, who ! went after .cOpy', and got 1t. It IS the
 story of the play.
 As the chief of the Russian secret
 service Eugene Weber IS typlcal. lie
 is big masterful, magnetlc' cuhlllhs'
 everything the part calls TOT. NO less
 io phi1in sheffield well cast as a mem
 Der of the diplomatic service The
 tvpe he presents this week can De
 seen every day in the diplomatic corps
 at Washington,-the capital or the
 nation The British ampassaoor at
 the Russian capital is played by Jos
 en1, Henley. Miss Dora Booth DOT
 travs his daughter These parts are
 suhservient to the three principal
 characters. Marya, Rolfe, and the
 chief In the last act J. Irving White
 gets another chance at being a ponce
 inspector but this time type ulHef- ent from the American idea. lie IS the dienified occupant of the swivel char
 in the bureau of the 'Okrana . place which looks for all the world 1 like the superintendents office in any American prison.
 William Ennis who dlsplaNed Such wonderful ability as "Whip' Fogarty in Kick In'', is brought back to the INceum this week to portray slml- | lar character, but as a member or the Russian secret service. Although dl1- ficult to surpass his work in the Am ! erican role of cruel-hearted detective ! his Russianizing of the character IS ! every bit as clever. MT. Ennis is z ya1uahle addition to the local com pany. Others who play in this weeks