The Washington herald., 1918-12-02
Nntioaai-.sriiiie.,

kiaw & ErIanger. and George c.
Tyier. In Offering new b'gosh COM
edy. have evidently anticipated that
craving Tor simple, rural plays that
the dramatic pundits tell us will be
quite the vogue for the next half
dozen years. The dramatic public. IT
seems, is all fed up with militarism
ana mas gone in deep for the bucolic
In its entertainment.
This new klaw & Erlanger comedy.
Tillie." which opened at the Ma.
tlonai last night, might be dubbed
The Old Homestead of the Cumher-
land Valley" That is. IL portrays
those Pennsylvania Dutch and Men
MONTE types that we have always be-
lieved to be more or less Indigenous
to the Cumberland Valley of Penn
sylvania. 1t is rather loosely
adapted piece, based on HELEN r
Martins book. "Tillie. the Mennonite
Tfllie" serves to bring about the
return to Washington OF Miss Pa
tricia Collinge In the title role of
the new piece. 1t also serves to show
what the war and the selectIve draft
can DO toward elevating Juveniles to-
ward prominence in the theatrical
business. The juvenile of which we
speak Is a young man named Robert
hudson. He was here, a month or so
ago., In the Larry Evans-George
Kaufman crook play. Someone in
the House" or, as 1t was then named.
Among Those Present"
Mr.. Hudson, as the tony, voung
school teacher in 'Tillie,' betrays
evidences of being miscast. At times,
there Is a glimmer of an individuality
in his work which attracted atten-
ton during his last appearance: hui,
Tor the most part this seems lost i'm
sedulous desire on Mr.. Hudson's
part to comply with someone's idea
OF direction. Some day, IL is proba. /.
Die, this young man will find a mart
In which the attributes of laziness
and genial worthIessness are upper-
most and then he will probably
make his name known to most of us
MISS Collinge suffered from a cold
last night. and cold. as EVERYONE
knows. is beastly hard on romance
She worked hard. however, TO over
come this handicap, and her Der
formance was, for the most part.
downright creditable, but when all
Is said and done, Miss CoIllnge. in
the part Of Mennonite girl who has
things awful. awful hard IN this
world Is up against an INTERPRETATION
that Will require a great deal of art
TO make 1t convincing. The niece
she graces at the present time Is
not serious drama: it is merely en-
tertainment Nevertheless, IL has a
certain refreshing quality, despite its
rough spots, that should carry II
along the average distance. though
Iiilie,' to our mind. will never make
sensation in the dramatic world.
Miss Collinge enacts the role OF a
Mennonite girl who through love for a
school teacher from Brooklyn declines
to conform to Mennonite customs and
is barred from even speaking to other
members OF the sect. Through her
love for the teacher and her awakened
serse Of the narrowness of the sect's
teaching, she spurns its philosophy.
and loses a $4,000 inheritance left her
on condition that she be a member Of
the faith on reaching her eighteenth
birthday. She loses the inheritance
and is about to be forced into mar
riage with Pennsylvania Dutch boor.
when the school teacher, who has
forcibly taken his departure so that
she will not repudiate her faith, sud-
denly reappears as the man to whom
the Inheritance has passed by default.
OF course, they elope on the spot, the
villain is discounted and 1t is assumed
that they will live happy ever after.
Special attention is meted out to
John w. Ransone for his character
work as village doctor. Maude
Granger was rather convincing as a
Mennonite matron and Mildred Booth
also was amusing as Mennonite girl
who refused to go to meeting and who
accordingly was free to wear stylish
clothes. The rest of the cast failed to
appear to special advantage.