New-York tribune., 1918-07-28

season at the Hudson Theatre
Tuesday night. Most of them
seemed to feel that the character of the
play was prophetic of the coming sea-
son. If that is so, all the stages in New
York will be filled with sly Huns get
ting foiled nightly.
Friendly Enemies,'' by Samuel Ship
man and Aaron Hoffman, is meant to be
a picture of the difficulties families have
when some of them don't take their nat
uralization papers seriously enough The
play started in Washington early this
year, and President Wilson liked it so
we'll that it has been running heavily
ever since on its original impetus. 1t
went to Chicago, and prevailed there
nightly. A. H. Woods, the producer,
with much daring brought it into New
York two weeks before any other sched-
uled opening. The critics all complain
of the heat and discomfort, and seem to
be surprised that despite it they found
pleasure in the play. They are not
greatly in accord as to it's merits, but
there is no disagreement in the belief
that it has a healthy New York run
ahead of it.
Burns Mantle, who did not seem
greatly excited over it, wrote in ssThe
Mail":
ut is, frankly, rather crude bit of pa
triotic drama, thickly overlaid with farce,
having its serious moments which are basic
ly true and in which the emotional reac
tion is both timely and arresting"
The story is simple enough. One Ger
man still bankers after the Fatherland.
and the other one, his friend, is a stout
hater of the enemy and gives himself
entirely to the country that adopted him.
The yearning German, full of sentiment
and dreams, thinks he will stop the war
by giving money to smooth enemy
alien, who is later disclosed as a Ger
man master spy. He wakes up when the
transport carrying his son to fight is tor
pedoed and he realizes that it was his
money that sent his boy to the bottom
of the sea. His conversion is rapid from
that point. With his friend he trans
the master spy, and is blessed in the
end, according to good Broadway tradi
ton, by the return of his soldier bow un-
hurt.
1.-The play is clever mixture of
humor," wrote The Playgoer in "The
Evening Sum-" (which descends some
times into childishness, pathos, both
family and patriotic sentiment, and an
extreme timelness"
Haywood Broun appeared to feel that
the theme had possibilities which some
how the playwrights didn't see. eff
there were no such quality as Sincerity :"
ne wrote In The Tribune, "'Friendlv
Enemies would be an excellent nlav.
The theme deserves rather
more research than it received last
night" The critic of "The BROOKLYN
Eagle" wrote in the same vein:
"The only trouble to be found with il is
that its authors obviously set out to make
it sort of play that will run q season
and everything in it is of the sure-fre va.
riety. 1t is shrewd and skilful concoction
OF all the ingredients that theatrical chefs
know to be tempting to their patrons. Some
of the ingredients could have been used
to make a play of power and Importance
as it is, they make only few fine mo-
ments."
The reviewer for "The Times" bal
anced his observations thiswise:
"As dramatic literature the play may,
perhaps, not win any high mark 1t is
comedy drama of the older sort, verginp
always toward farce on the one side and
melodrama on the other. Like most of our
native drama, it is not what is called a
written play. But it has the rare virtues
Of broaching new, vital and timely sub
Ject and of handling it throughout in
spirit that is wholesome and invigoratine.
Among the many plays touching upon our
part in the war it stands quite alone"
Louis Mann and Sam Bernard are the
co-stars of the piece.
ALI the reviewers spotted the inclina-
tion to excessive sentimentality on the
part of Mr.. Mann, and an inability to
forget his vaudeville experience on the
part of Mr. Bernard Their perform
ances' however, were generally ap-
proved Mr. Broun Noted that Mr.. Mann
rolled his eyeE too much.