Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-12-04
AUDIENCE LAUGHED
AT ''NARY'S ANKLE. >
Humorous Farce Comedy In "Three
Views" With Comical SituutiOns
A LAUGH in EVERY LINE
Good Actors In Good Show at Colonial
Theatre Send Audience Home
Happy.

Exuding comicality in every line.
bristHng with wit, sparkling with
humor, Mary's Ankle" was presented
/ here last night at the Colonial Theatre
by A. H. Woods
The program says the attraction IS
"Farcical display in three views by
May Tully" We take Oft our hat 70
Miss Tully. 1t took woman's genius
TO write such play, no man could
have done it. 1t took a woman's keen
sense of humor to conceive the stu
ations in that play, even if she did
give credit to one of her characters,
The Man of Ideas" (Chub Perkins)
We venture to say the play is the
cleverest thing on the stage today,
certainly it is the most humorous. and
in all its humor there is not a sug-
gestive line, a coarse word or a vlL-
gar expression 1t is clean and
wholesome, which demonstrates that
vulgarity is not Synonymous with
fun. Though and through, the lines
are clever and it must be said OF the
players who present it, that they are
splendid in their several parts. They
are SO perfectly natural that one for
gets they are really acting, Sbut are
simply portraying every day life
as we see il before us in the worlds
busy whirl
Those three chums, just out OF col
lege, one doctor. one a lawyer, and
one a financier, all starting out, be
gan at the bottom and trying to
make living, but find themselves
stranded after pawning watch, chain,
overcoat, etc Around and about
those three chums, DOC" Hampton
(Bert Leigh, Club Perkins ed
ward Butler) and Stokes donald
MacLeod) hinges the whole play even
If the title is "Mary's Ankle" They
are seldom off the stage, and they
furnish the comical situations, the
wit and humor with which the comedy
abounds.
Ii May Tully wrete 'Marys An
kle" after Edwin l.. Sabin wrote How
are You Feeling Now" she must have
got cue from him, or vice versa, he
from her, for Mrs. Merrivale. the doc
tors only patient, hypochondriac.
fits in to Sabin's "On a Diet" We
see Mrs. Merrivale every day in our
daily walk and conversation She is,
like the poor. always with u.s. We
are surrounded with Mrs Merrivales,
her type is no strange one, and per-
haps, that is why it was all the more
humorous in the play. She played the
part well, as did all the characters,
event Mary. although Mary might have
been slightly younger. more petite
and a trife prettier to- fit the part to
nicely
Besides affording fun and laughter
for a large audience that laughed un-
til its sides ached, "Mary's Ankle
fully demonstrated the greatness of
the Smith family, who have thirteen
columns in New York telephone di-
rectory. and as for Mary Jane Smith,
she stands out in all her glory and
pride of an old-fashioned name,
Even a guess at it hits the mark.
The long and short of it is 'Mary's
Ankle is splendid play, full Of fun,
a tonic for the nerves, and If you fail
ed to see il at the Colonial Theatre
last night you missed a great treat.
The company was an excellent one,
individually and collectively Man
ager Strange is. to be congratulated
by large and appreciatiye audience
who are still laughing. It was a case
Of Laugh, and the world laughs
with you" G.