Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-16
HyIE old. familiar saving that ON

YTyHE old, familiar saying that one
IL gooA turn deserves another" is not
. borne out in the case Of IioucI Earry
more and the prcs'r' Nrhirl" for his
admirable histriOnic powers. i. =. "Th"
Copperhead" Frankly. tn" Augustus
Thomas play owes everything to !u.
Barrymore. whereas Mr. Barrymore j.
only in "a slight degree indebted to "1h'
copperhead." The Drama l.cagu" Of
PHILADELPHIA in its weekly buIlrtiu very
aptly sunimarizes this jack of r"Girr"r'iy
on the, Part OF THE Coppcrncad "a i"'-
~lsaase: "Whatever the play lacks in con
stf1uctive merit is generously atOncd for
by the admirable acting of Mir. Barry
more"
There is no den! ing III" very cunsid-
cradle success of The COpD"rhead, hut
as the writer has cndcavorCd to oSiAh-
lish this same success should h' Sti
forth in terms of Lionel Barrymore.
Take the early experiences of NugusiuS
Thomas with THE COpp"rh"ud mdnu-
script before the Shuberta derIdcd ioi
take it under their protective wing,
Astute producers like Beiasro 3nd T\ier
were reluctant TO accept tho nlanNSrrip'
when Il was submitted to them by tn"
author. and such discerning managers
as Hopkins & Woods and I\law Err
Iangers couldn't find place for II il
their theatres. Then the ShubeTiS l"oE
IL and 1t lived to be one of the h!g
popular ouCCtSsn'' " '''''' '..'''''
Mr. Barrymore.
yYIEWED in the sober light Ur It few
mornings after, THE Copperhrad
rests in ones memory as mostly luur'n
act There is no denying the merits OF
the closing episodes Of the play ana me
highly dramatic quality OF the surprise
when Milt Shanks reveals himself aS
the patriot pareNcellence. VINO above"
his wife and son to go to their graves
fespising him and who submitted TO ms
naSne becoming an anathema among MS
nefghbors rather than betray the trust
of Abraham Lincoln and thereby ms
country The motive for the unmaSK-
ing Is not so strong, however, nainely'
that Milt Shauks might obtain teach
ing position for his granddaughter. TNe
fret two acts. to quote the Drama
Leagues bulletin again. 'cuniitn niue
conyjneing drama. and really serve as
an expository prologue to the genuine
action of a period forty years later
This method however, affords Mr Bar
rvmore an opportunity to make not
able character study of Mtlt Shanhs.
re YOU are a mob Psychologist and
/ certain of the authenticity Of Your
Reductions, it might be worth your Whle
70 enlighten the producers, both or lhe
so-ealled Legitimate and motion PIC
treat the war dramas in the remaining
months of the present season and the
Immediate seasons to come. In TINS par
ficular il will be interesting 70 Walch
what transpires in the case OF by
pigeon Post" the melodramat!c war
NAV which won remarkable success in
Iondon while the war still was in prog
y ,.ses and which had its dress rehearsal
a. the Broad while the peace celebration
Monday night was at its height. 80 t'r tar
ssRy pigeon Post has been toieraOi!
vail RECEIVED but with peace siiI less
than week ola tile tesI ''"i"'S
called adequate. .r,.,..
The chances are that with hosl'''''ta
II ovor a great many persons justly sens
five TO scenes of war as interpreted III
,neIodrama. the back stage gunner ana
~ +5,s ssigh-explosive trap man no longer
~ i2sa -,hs loath to review the perlls run
f ..t <,4.fr loved ones at the front. On
'41 .I 1nfher hand, the highly dramatic
Ss,5eai' OF the contemporary war play
hs.s subsided along with the hOslhlt'es
overseas, so that hereafter the Wal
d,a,na will have to stand on ITS owl
4 n s,,s,-;ts more substantially than ever be-
r,re great many years from now
= ,.,t,en the world war is no more Jhah al
echo, people will welcome the oppor
funitv TO look back through the hleo'uIl hle m
az TIC drama upon the agonles OF tn'
i. K eonflict lust closed, For the present
~ ,sg,fe 10 saw the war drama VIII nav
y, nossess definite positive merits TO WI
IA way into popular favor
<>N THE heels of '"rhe follies' war
4 wearisd Philadelphians are oehl
,re4ted 10 more capital entertainer
nd escape from serious thought throngi
tas agencies OF "Htchy-Koo' ana IN In
n .s~se,ng show OF 1918" each OF then
$500 me latest editions of the sam
s + .',,,,,l,r musical shows OF previous years
32,cre a little TO marvel over as regard
~ ,onsistcnt success OF these shows
h ..,.af 4 ~ 4 standard for beauty. colo
! "a, i..1x elnenl they WOO the tired ousi
E. l. !, ,' ,.t,c{, ffo,u the affairs OF tie ollie'
II - !. ....s,r.s housewife from toe care
n 3 I77'1. 4 Il Ne nltae - The Fcnsi