The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-03-27
COMEDY CLUBS
PRESENTATIONS
PLEASE THR0NC
Three One-Act Performances
4 Meet With Approval Of
Large Audience

With the production of three oneract
plays instead of one long drama the
members of the Comedy club passed
from the position of amateurs to some
thing more nearly akin to that of fin
ished actors. Last evening for the
first time, perhaps, friends Of r the
members who were privileged to wit
ness the performance were able to en-
joy the plat itself. For the first time
they were able to forget that Miss
Charlotte Riker was Miss Charlotte
Riker, that Mrs. H. Archibald Mayse
was Mrs. H. Archibald Mayse and that
Miss Edith Riker was Miss Edith Ri
ker, and so with the men. Hitherto
they have gone to watch these young
people make brave attempt at some
thing in which some people spend
their lives vainly seeking perfection.
The success Of the three short plays
plays was so apparent that it is to be
hoped that the club will never again
go back to the one longer production.
Much Of the pleasure of the even
ing was due to the uniqueness and
variety of the short plays. 'Woman's
Wiles," a present day Moorish COM
edy by William Young, ''The Drums
Of Oudh," a stirring one-act drama
Of so years ago, by Austin Strong,
and "F'ood,% facetiously termed ~
Tragedy of the Future which is
placed a half century hence. William
C. DeMille is the author Of this anus
ing act. Nor was there anything
amateurish about the setting Of the
plays The two comedy acts had
beautiful productions while that of
the Indian drama was most appro-
pirate
In 'sWoman's Wiles,' Miss Charlotte
Riker was most attractive as Zaide,
young Algerian wife, while Philo c.,
Calhoun as a wise man tourist and
Frederick H. Harrison as Zaide's eld-
erly Algerian husband were very eff
fective in their parts.
"The Drums Of Oudh'' was the most
dramatic attempt which the club
members had yet made and the fact
that nothing unfinished occurred to
mar it was due to the good work
of all the people who participated in
| it.
Both Leonidas M. Lawson and Mrs.
| H. Archibald Mayse, who had leading
parts had previously demonstrated
| their dramatic abilities many times in
Bridgeport but had perhaps~never be-
| fore shown SO effectively what they
| could do. AS Lieut.. Alan Hartley,
Donald S. Page carried his part splen-
didly. Philip K. Murdoch and Rich
ard S. Swain were excellent as Hindu
stani servants, while William D.
Horne, Jr.. as Sergeant McDougal and
Sidney K Becker as Stewart, the
sentry, are deserving of much praise
| for their good work.
There were only three characters in
the decidedly amusing and timely
play, Food which concerns the
| price of food SO years from now. Miss
Edith w. Riker was the extravagant
wife of the wealthy young New
yorker, who had obtained a. craving
for eggs in her childhood To pur-
| chase her one egg since their mar
| rige her husband had mortgaged
1 everything that he had and now the
| doctor declared she would go mad if
she did not have another one. The
! farce as it works out is<most amusing,
with the young wife leaving every
| thing for an officer of the food trust
because he has an egg in his possess
sion which he is delivering to a bill
lionaire customer. Although funny,
the part of the young wife is not an
| asy one to portray and credit is due
| Miss Riker for her admirable work.
Frederick H. Harrison as the husband
and Philo c.. Calhoun as the officer
of the food trust gave splendid in
terpretations of most amusing parts.
ALBERT Lang of New York, under
whose careful coaching and direction
the plays were produced, received a
great deal of praise last evening from
all who viewed the performance.
The theatre to which admission was
by card only, was filled with friends
of the performers. Each of the wo-
men in the plays received numerous
beautiful bouquets of flowers
The ushers, Frank C. Hunt, John C.
Sterling, Paul Blackburn, Robert A.
Gibney, William H. Feeter, Jonathan
Grout and DeVer C. Warner. The Of
fcers of the club are: President, Will
liam T. Haviland; vice president, D.
Munson Trecartin; secretary, John T..
L. Hubbard; treasurer, Frank G..
Hunt: members of the council, ARTHUR
K. L. Watson, Philo c. Calhoun, Henry
B. Stoddard, Nathaniel w. Bishop,
John C. Sterling; casting committee,
Philo G. Calhoun, stage manager; John
/ D Do and TAonidas. M To,