New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-30

The Playhouse.
The CAST
LesHs Rankin .............--....... lla0s-' D-ies'
IeT Dri-EH ater .-..-...... ie'r arg
I.lg Cioey Wayuats .............. Craze Ce,-ls
sr Howard Ha-4rl. .......-..... .h.a.-t Ll"''f
captain R-..s.ouri ............. .R.0~- W.-tcs
Jol..o. ....... ........... Richard C.l-lo
siIl r. ASH .................... william Ba,.ouf
Gail 81 hiH.af. ............ ..... t.a~H ue-rrt
captain Ham.ia Ksan-- .......... john Cromwell
The years deal lightly with the
dramatic works Of bernard Shaw. The
good portions Of Captain Brassbounds
/ Conversion" are just as good to-day as
.hey were in 1900 and the bad parts Of
it are just as bad Thus does Shaw
answer those who take him TO account
for falling 70 pay heed 10 recognized
dramatic precepts. Had he followed
the rules sixteen years ago, Captain
Brassbound's Conversion" would give
dreary evidence Of its age to-day. The
. Shaw ideas can and do grow old. but
the Shaw dramatic method, being meth
odless. is not measured by years. BY
equipping "Brassbound" with a mini
mum OF ideas Shaw has guaranteed it
+ lcng life.
For it cannot honestly be stated that
captain Brassbound's Conversion. IS
play bristling with ideas. Satire
! Well. perhaps. Possibly he IS having
his fun with the British Judicial sys-
ten, possibly ne is ridicultng Morocco,
possibly he is laughing discreety a.
/ the American navy. But the SATIRE -
clumsy and never really strikes nome
+ No. all that the play attempts 20 DO
is 20 depict the triumphant march OF
oouineering woman through = IAN
tastic land peopled with comic opera
bricands. Il is not even SAFE 70 oe-
/ clare that the superiority Of the falrr
sex is his theme, for that IS TOO oId
and trite a topic 70 warrant MS az
/ tention.
Discarding the possibility Of ideas
and their troublesome complications
/ the fact remains that Captain BRASS
hounds Conversion" is for the most
/ part capital fun. There are portions
/ Of il, however, which are quite lneNcus-
ably dull and amateursh. In the hts1
act Shaw resorts 10 the caIlow eXpea4-
ent Of unbroken dialogue 20 acqualhI
the audience with his plot ana
throughout the play he forest tails me
action with lines needlessly planted.
/ One endures these things because IL is
shaw. and endures them confidently
because of the feeling that better
things are coming.
And he who endures is guaranteed
that compensation. There IS rumor
a-plenty in the way in which Lady
. Cicely gets her way IN all matters, even
/ though one does not always believe IL.
/ Lady Cicely is a character worked out
with exceeding care particularly Tor
/ Shaw There is variety n her method
/ she Is not given 20 conquering always
bv fatterv. Sometimes, in fact. she
gets her way bv accusation. A. tunes
She wins through sheer femininlty, on
occasions by Insecurity. one VIII
fare far for finer or more enIoyaDle
scene than the second act dialogue with
Brassbouud, during which she mcnds
his coat and wins him over.
As for Brassbound. one viii derive
not d little enjoyment from hin, too,
although ne is a contradictory and I'M
possible figure. And Felix Drinkwatcr,
dropped from Waterloo Road into No
gador, is a sheer Joy. Lady Clcely,
Brassbound and Drinkwater Is this
trio who carry the play. Sir Howard
HaIlam is d nuisance, and no one else
+ really matters.
Possibly 10 is unnecessary 10 say that
Miss George last night ntted herself
with almost perfect ease TO the role OF
Lady Cicely. She played II as though
the role had been waiting for her FOR
the past sixteen years-as, lndeed' IL
perhaps has. Certainly her various
conquests came to her as though they
belonged 20 her. not merely as though
the plot made il necessary. Her play
ing was in every respect charming and
dcIi0htful-and her presence Of mind
sa-ed the performance. Her improvisa-
ton Of a clever line at the end OF the
second act averted an awkward situa-
tion-or. is it possible that the addition
was deliberately made at rehearsa!s!
Robert Warwick deserted his film
love to play Brsssbound- deserted IN
measure. that is. There was IN his
studied posing always The suggestion
Of the movies, but In every other re-
spect his impersonation was excellent.
Vocally. in particular, he IS perfectly
adapted 10 the role. Lewis Edgard,
also a newcomer 10 Miss George com
many. played Drinkwater in way mat
won him first honors among the men.
That the part is the best Of the male
roles does not detract in the least from
his performance.
Ernest Lawford. as Sir Howard Hal
lam. seemed hopelessly out Of II. Per
haps il was the fault Of the role, FOR
Mr.. Lawfora is normally an actor who
needs no excuses. Rightly or wrongly,
enc associates q certain amount OF bulk
with the judiciary. and Mr. Lawtord's
snare frame did not I'll OF, ones ideas.
His makeup, in addition. evidently had
been accomplished hastily. Hubert
Druce, replacing Louis Calvert IN the
company. played the missionary with
lust the right Scotch air. and John
Cromwell. "a Captain Kearrey. L. 5. 4.
set ones mind at ease concerning the
condition OF the American navy. The
three scenes were quite sufficient unto
the occasion, and 20 the untravelled
the atmosphere was quite Noroccan-
hree-ouarters Moroccan, al least.
II the history Of the play IS OF in
terest. il might be added that Miss
George is the third woman % play the
role. Ellen Terry. for whom II was
written. plaved it both in London and
New York Empire Theatre, 1900, and
Gertrude Kingston PLAYED II last year
in BOSTON and New York, but for only
a few performances at the Far Last
Neighborhood Playhouse.
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