Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-30
THE BOOT -IRANG" is
LIGHT COMEDY TREAT
Deserved Success of Three
Seasons at Last Reaches
Philadelphia Stage
NOTING IS EXQUISITE


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Tributes I'd sThe Boomerang in its third
neas~n OF triumph must necessarily assume
the charaoter of mere echoes. Throughout
It's smiling career not one unfavorabie
critical verdct has been registered. The
piece has .t.eea called fragile. But delicacy
Is no sm IL light comedy Its interprc-
;atioRHhas been deseribed as obviously easy
for the highly compe;eat actors inv'lved.
But Sspertness. ard technical nuency are
orra~snts TO any STAGE
~t,s ,u5u D efsntious captiousress ha
No, y,r4N,turel beyJud such harmless at
ton, srtc,eeeni spphis; Gated in the iace ot
inli anhb'e charm Reviewers whose per
SOM tffrcN atoms lead them I prefer 10
sens ffh ,ats,' EIripides's Electra or
Saak4speapes m c5eth to the bltae
pleasaTttrits o. wIncheh Smith ard Victor
NaDosis little play are undoubtedly eN-
istent But they cannot in justice saN-hor
have they ever said--that The Boomerang
IS not exauisiteiy delightful enter ainment.
IT is Informed by assets OF art tlat c me
close 20 warrantpG employment OF the
usually perilous word perfect
New YORK. 30 ton and other theatrical
oenters have voiced all this before now.
phnndelpAia's de to joy in The Boomer
ane" may spc1l monet 1nous Iteration. But
"truth Is truth, to the end of re 'koning'
observed well-knOwn dramatist VINO
although lmttedly greater than either MI.
Smith or Mr.. Mspe'. was probably never
priv legged to ad rn his works with such in
tensaly sympathetic histrionic art as is the
p,~tion OF this breezy pair of modern play
maker; In "A word. The Boomerang Is
quite as delectable an offering as since the
year before last it has been heralded to
be Re pect for veracity substantiates TINS
emphasis n n pIa n fact
ANALYSTS involving complete disassoc a
tioi Of the piece from its acting is rather
urfa r Very possibly THE Boomerang
would make thin and inst bstantia
s1lbrary" play. 1t il easily conceivable
moreover that neXpert interpretato ion could
wreck this sunny comedy. Mr.. Belasc,
evidently realized this when he selected a
cast that effectively bottles up critical as
perity. The original Broadway personne
Is intact here. Arthur Byrons polished
methods of refined farce render his portrait
of the self-assured young physician as
much a masterpiece as anything of its type
in the gallery of John Drew. The knowl
edge that Mr.. Byron in addition to beins
a player Of wide experience in all fields OF
the drama is also a nephew Of the late Ada
Rehan helps one 10 comprehend the present
auspicious situation.
Wallace Eddinger. the love-lorn you'll
"cured" by drastic application of moderr
"scieace," has been on the stage since
childhood His sound comic sense In thi'
most brilliant performance of his career
suggests in its drol sobriety and restraint
some of the technical tricks of William
Collier. But with them Mr.. Eddinger COM
bines a forcefulness, a sincerity ard a feel
ing for character that is altogether .distinc
tive Martha Redman's good looks are only
partly responsible fer the appeal of Vir,
glnia Nelva, who seems quite capable OF
nursing the most obstinate patient into a
state OF Wholesome contentment. Her t-ace
of foreign accent Is never misused. Il is
indeed a bewitching factor-though only an
auxiliary one-in the necromancy of her
ripening talents.
The quartet of really stellar interpreters
IS completed by pretty Ruth Sheply. She
was evidently suffering from a severe cold
last evening, but despite this handicap the
taste and intelligence of her contribution
could not be obscured
'sThe BoomeranE's" plot is an airy,
thistledown affair about young physician
whose adroit plans for relieving strained
sentimental crisis eventually react on him
self The humorous course of his love
cure" Is developed with admirable skill.
whimsicality and sentiment are dainti'y
fused No attempt to transgress the bounds
Of the buoyant, gossamer comedy is made.
The balm of such art is more than or.
dinarily significant in tragic times.
II. T. c.