The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-03-13
FAIR AND WARMER"

No matter what effect the weather
may be having on you at home this
evening, drop your evening paper right
now skip to the phone and reserve
seats at the Grand for Fair and
Warmer" the best little comedy of
temperature and temperament seen in
Topeka this season. Truly, the lines
of Avery Hopwood's play may be a bit
embarrassing to the Chappie and his
Young Thing beside him, but there is
no known method of controlling the
riotous laughter following the com
promising situations thruout the
comedy. The lines without the cast
would be worth the evening out-but
in Topeka's case a much better COM
pany is witnessed than appeared at
the Shubert in Kansas City last week.
The play is a lesson to ''nicey NICE
husbands. 1t teaches them to keep
their wives guessing. Likewise it is
a lesson to husbands who spend too
many evenings away at the "Buffa-
loes'' or the Mystic Shrines'' or the
knights of Columbus" Then again
it is asking too much of a Kansan to
sit tight in his theater seat and watch
'en mix highballs and cocktails and
display in perfectly good tea wagon
at least "a varieties, sizes and shapes
of liquor.
The story in short is this: Billy
Bartlett is model husband. He
does not drink, smoke or swear. He
never looks at other women. His
wife likes excitement and in her pur-
suit she takes up with a former sweet
heart, Philip Evans. Another young
couple Jack and Blanche Wheeler,
live in the same apartment house. LIN
this case the husband likes to go out
with the boys" His wife is a model
wife. Now we have the setting. The
big night appears. Mrs. Bartlett goes
out with her affinity. She tells Billy
IL yhn hot CHI to- lot
ing divorce. Billy confides the news to
Jack who gives him lecture on "how
to keep wives guessing" Then Jack
skips out leaving his wife with Billy
Bingo, Billy and Blanche decide to
sit up and wait for their mates-out
with others. They plan to be in a
compromising situation" when the
wanderers return. In their efforts to
entertain each other they decide to
mix cocktail or two and eat lunch.
They do Then things happen quickly
| so quickly that one laugh is thrown
right into the other. The results are
| hysterical. OF course Naughty Wife
and Naughty Husband come home,
find them in more than one COM
promising situation" and only until
| the maid explains matters are the set
! Elements conSummated.
The drinking actor scene-is the
| best piece of comedy seen on the
Grand stage in years. Henry Stock
! DrluSe and Lotus RObb make the
lines worth while. The one in depict
! ing faultlessly the model husband
| both before and after the cocktail
party. The other, prettier than ever
IN her touseled DISAGREEMENT Betty
! Ross Clarke. the woman who went
out and who craved for excitement
and who got it, by the way,-voluptu-
| ously gowned and adorned, and in
appearance, gives life and vivaeity to
| the performance. Raymond Walburn
| as Jack Wheeler, the man who went
out" is a perfect type of the fregu-
lar" fellow-the man we see at the
Club" Evelyn Duncan as the maid
makes her few parts count. The sud
den appearance and disappearance OF
Ezra Walck and Joseph A. Bingham
| add to the zest of the play
Fair and Warmer is here again
tonight. A good house last night
should be duplicated tonight for the
play well deserves it. A