Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-13
ANKLE" AT THE ADELPHI; ''THE GRASS w
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times in which his magic spell is cast
Nothing could he farther from a war
| play than "a Kiss for Cinderella" The
very allusion TO this category, ~ unex-
| plained, partakes Of absurdity Prankishly !
whimsical, droll. satrlcal poetic, imagina-
I'VE, wise and naive. realistic and ex-
traNagant. this fancy" as the author calls
II, echoes often OF Peter Pan" But that
| now celebrated deity Of Kensington gardens
declined 10 grow up, Barrie's Cinderella
does A dreamer of dreams. more than
hai-oelieNer In fairy godmothers. she pro
claims herself a patriot and her three
wishes touchingly illustrate how the war
mas invaded even Mr.. Barries elhand.
rms cocSney humanitarian would attend
a pail would nurse the wounded. would
nave true lover" The blending of ro-
nance and realism bespeaks the unique
Barrie genius Who else but the Scottish
necromancer would have made an ancient
myth so tenderly pertinent to civilizations
| hour Of tCial?
Wistfulness and pathos are overtones
throughout the play. They are poignsntly
present in Cinderella's mothering Of her
| international brood OF charming children
In their Penny Shop" eyries. Even some
| OF the nonsense is pointedly directed to-
ward Britain's role in the titanic drama OF
| ,ctual life. Lord Times is mpishly Bar
RESCUE As acted by II. Peyton Carter he
| Is delectable satire on the "Thunderer's'
| supreme self-satisfaction. but his relation
! to fact Is plainly evident in the midst OF
some of the most telling fooery OF the
! drama.
! TT is the underlying note OF seriousness
manifest throughout the fancy" that
inspired the observation in the EVENING
LEDGERs review OF the piece last Tuesday,
that "A Kiss for Cinderella" for all It's
whlmsy, seemed headed for tragedy for
which the author finally exhibited a third
| act repugnance. So far as youthful patrons
| Of the play are concerned, the "and-they-
| lived-happily-ev after" mood was perhaps
| advisedly sustained. For grown-ups of
| more critical judgment the somewhat
/ sugared ending seems almost weak. There
| are indications, moreover, that the author
| realized this, too, for his inspiration ap-
! pears to waver toward the close. In i'm
| aginative power, the first two acts are
equal to anything Barrie has written The
| rather lame conclusion prevents "A Kiss
| for Cinderella" from being one OF his full
| fedged masterpieces. Doubtless he could
not tolerate the thought of confronting chill
| dred with the poignancy, toward which,
none the less, the earlier action took its
course.
Barrie, indeed. has falling for this
| sort of procedure. His apparent prepara-
| tions are not always developed. Robert
| Louis Stevenson complained because the
| sunny opening of "The Little Minister" gave
! no hint of the tragedy that was TO follow.
| The author, to whom the words of "R. L.
| s" had ever a sacrosanct import, needed
them when he adapted his tale Of Thrums
| for the stage, and the dramatic version
| of "The Little Minister" was simply light
hearted sentimental comedy without other
| pretensions.
Working within smaller compass there
are two short Barrie plays that are con-
| sstently woven Of the stuff of tragedy.
lad tN
| when they witnessed John Drews superb
performance in THE VIII" several years
! ago. Opportunity to appraise the other
| piece will come later when THE Old Lady
| Shows Her Medals" far and away the most
| touchlngly sincere war play written by any
| dramatist is produced here later in the
| season.
| This little gem, representing tho pathos
| Of Barrie at It's noblest and wholly un-
| fnarred by sentimentality with which an
| other playwright might have disflgured the
| playlet had few months run on Broadway
| last season. Plans for its revival on a
road tour are now afoot. Curiously enough,
! this mastery one-act drama was originally
| billed with a one-act Barrie piece entitled
| Drink" In which the authors tragic de-
! sign so IN accorded with his characterize
| tions and settings that a shocked public
| demanded its withdrawal. The little play
| ran for only five nights.
| Nothing so startling as its shift Of mood
! is. of course observable in cinderella"
| Faults dlscernible in the close Of this foot
| light product fail TO Compromise the charm
| of two-thirds OF IT, They merely inspire
the human reflection that geniuses, like
| other mortals, may nod momentarily.
A LTHOCGH particularly winning in the
| "A Penny Shop" and ball scenes. It can
not be said that Maude Adams's slavey is
/ L. .lp Co. hal Hixyl noNlF-
| new portrait she contributed some years
ago to Pryce and Fenns touching one-act
| play. "'Op O. My Thumb" The mechanics
| Of her now almost conventional "artless-
ness" are rather dsconcertingly evident In
the opening scenes with Morton selten
| whose depletion Of the whimsical artist
| by thu way, could hardly be bettered. AS
| the Niece progresses, however. the stars
| personality is more successfully submerged
| in her role All in all, this popular player
| is much more suited to the modern Cinder-
| ella than she was to THE Legend Of Leon
ora" that remarkable comedy which tri-
umphed in spite OF the handicap. Norman
| Trevor's "Our Policeman" revealed In the
| original New York cast OF Cinderella" Is
| said to have shown rare artistic virtues,
but William Boyd, incumbent OF the
role at the Broad, is so admirably sym
pathetic that one longs for little improve
ment save in the direction of modifying his
rather too palpably American accent
uOHEATING CHEATERs" is the sort of
" play that corks up the critical ink
we'll To dssect the piece in which inge-
nuity of plot is the audiences chief delight
is to dlspel the appeal Of a refreshingly ex-
travagant melodramatic farce. 1t was less
fatal TO dlvulge the secrets of The Thir-
teenth Chair" or even Seven Keys to Bald
pate" In justice TO Playwright Max Mar
! ,in, however It may be added that, delight
full as is his faculty for surprising play
patrons, he exhibits also notable skill In
| the delineation Of character types and the
production Of forceful, telling, racy dialogue
But duly TO appreciate these virtues one is
| adyiNed not 20 seek 20 penetrate his drA-
! matte riddles before being comfortably en-
| sconced In his theatre chair.
The present cast differs in many respects
| from that which first interpreted the play
| In New York last season. Some Of the sub
| stftut,uns are excellent, particularly that Of
lanes c Marlowe, replacing Robert Nc
| wade. Jr. as Steve The newcomer en-
acts the role on somewhat broader lines