The Washington herald., 1917-11-06
Beiaseo-"TAe Man who Came
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The rapt attention accorded The
Man Who Came Back" by a REPRE-
sentative audience at the Belasco
Theater last evening was fully war
ranted. for the play Is dramatic and
engrossing in the extreme and
works up to a splendid climax.
Here we have the old Bible story
OF the prodigal son, which they have
been telling us was no longer
eligible as a dramatic theme, having
been served up SO often before in
the theater, in SO many different
guises, meeting with a hearty re-
sponse from a modern audience by
reason Of the excellent treatment
OF the material in hand.
The play is pure unmitigated
melodrama, but IL is good melo-
drama, in which the characters act
nationally In situations which are
sensational and thrilling Henry
Potter. q rich mans son, wastes his
days in sleeping and his nights IN
spending money. so that his parent
finally casts him OF to earn his own
living.
Henry goes to San francisco.
where, In a gaudy cafe, he meets
Marcelle and makes love to her. She
loves him, but when he suggests
that she go along with him, but does
not mention marriage, Marcelle
scorns him. Then Henry Is ''shang-
haied" on a ship bound for Shanghai.
and we see him next in an opium
den in the Chinese city, where he is
drinking, but says he has not yet
fallen as low as opium.
In the opium den he meets Mar
celle again, and she is in a daEed
condition from the drug. She now
offers herself to him without a mar
riage, he accepts, but changes his
mind after a thrilling scene in
which he throws her on the table
and nearly kills her. The next act
finds the two married and keeping
house in a pineapple grove near
Honolulu. There comes his aunt.
His father Is sick and he must come
home. He is told to choose between
Marcelle and his father. Marcelle
pretends to have taken opium again
and that decides him to stay with
her. He lashes her over the shoul-
ders with a heavy whip and says he
will save her. Marcelle throws
herself into his arms and says he
must go back to his father, that she
was only acting to test his love, and
now she knows she can trust him.
The last act shows them all in the
elder Potter's home in New York
City, where everything ends hap
PLY for Henry and Msrcelle, now
taken to the bosom of the Potter
family.
The melodrama gains much by
virtue OF the convincing and natural
acting OF Henry Hull as young Pot
ter, The Man Who Came Back"
He is pleasing in personality, and
will no doubt be heard much of
hereafter. Besides Mr.. Hull, Laura
walker covers herself with glory as
Marcelle. She has charm and abil-
ity and played Marcelle with de-
cided tact and feeling. Norman
Hales was very good as Capt. Trey-
alan. who turns out to be detective
in the elder Potter's employ.
Eta Bryan was an interesting
figure as Olive, the girl OF the
Frisco cabaret. Several persons in
the audience were heard discussing.
as the house was leaving out last
night, what was the probable fu-
ture of this girl. who was last
shown as married to Trevalan in
Hawaii and tired Of her life with
him. Alethea Luce was convincing
as the aunt, Dwight Dana an honest
sea captain, Allen Atwell a dope
den keeper, and William Mason
nlayed the elder Potter