The Washington times., 1917-02-13
BLANCHE BATES IN
PLAY AT NATIONAL
Appears With Notable Cast in
"EIevel P. M.," MeIo-
dramatic Comedy.

The National Theater program for
this week announces that T. H. Hunt
er. Inc, presents Blanche Bates, with
Wilton Lackaye and notable cast,
in Eleven p. NJ" a melodramatic
comedy in four acts and I'VE scenes.
by Paul NJ. Potter.
1t will be noticed that there is one
superhuous or editorial adjective.
notable" in the statement. This
adjective, however. can be vouched
for by one who attended the play last
night. and attention called to the fact
that it is quite necessary, and not at
all editorial.
Cast Truly Notable.
The cast of Eleven p. NJ" is no.
table. and. being so. successfully pre-
sents the most taxing of play types,
the melodramatic comedy.
Blanche Bates; slightly thinner than
when we saw her last, but as sym
pathetica1ly humorous and soundly
excellent as ever, apologized in q
short curtain speech for some OF the
shortcomings OF the motivation of the
play. It is inadequately motivated.
but as scarcely any one knows what
that really means, and as long as the
trouble will probably be corrected
today, nothing more will be said con-
cerning the technical construction OF
this offering.
Having thus dispensed with all OBJ
legation of a critical nature, 1t IL
fitting that information concerning
this brand new offering be divulged.
A MeIodranaie Comedy:
Paul Potter. the author. has done
quite a wonderful thing. He has sue
ceeded in choosing character types
for the presentation of the story who
are quite as interesting. lovable, and
romantic as the people in "Trilby."
the Du Maurier book which he dram
affixed.
Add to this their sympathetic JIM
depreciation by Blanche Bates. Will
ton Lackaye, Charles Hammond, JEFF
fries Lewis, George Castor, and
others less better known to local
theatergoers, and one has the ingre-
dients for a mighty enjoyable even
ing.
Enter the Heroine.
Miss Bates is cast as Anne Lom-
bard, a queen of the half world,
humorous. sincere. and in an uncon-
ventional way. good. but the owner
of a considerable past This she
sheds, however. when she meets the
Earl of Kew, by the simple process
of having Fannie Lear, of Paris ana
California, die. , For she once was
known as Fannie Lear.
She enters the first act. laid In
reading room of a hotel in NORMANDY
as the Countess of Kew. very mucn IN
love with her husband. for the nrst
tir,. In her life, and determines to
gain recognition as the wife OF ricn-
ard, the earl.
To do THIS, she leads the unsuspect-
ing Young man to the hotel where
his parents are stopping, ana cleVer-
Iv forces the situation. From then on
her life is almost a series or wnat
one might term "overtr acts, which
1raduaJIy arouse the suspicion OF
Richard and end II last in q melo-
dramatic denoument.
Enter the Villain.
princs Ponatelli, an Italian noble
man, impersonated by Wilton Lack
eve, is the willing but unsuspecting
tool of the climax which Anne brings
about in order that she may force
Richard to divorce her, and at the
same time provide a tidbit OF extreme
delicacy for the newspapers in re the
Purity League, and the Count and
Countess of Oldacres, the parents of
the Earl of Kew.
Then there is a fourth act, where
an anti-climax, both short and neat,
shows how Fannetta Learo, the
greatest dancer in Paris at last nnds
happiness.
The scenes staged by Thomas J. Nc
Crane. a member Of the cast who i'm
personates one Major O'Toole. friend
Of Fannie Lear. are modern and thor
oughly satisfactory both from a tech
nical and artistic standpoint
Other members OF the cast give more
than adequate support to Miss Bates.