New-York tribune., 1918-02-05
TIE CANT
By Alexander Pierce


want to SEQ when they know that
George NJ. Cohan picked it to make
half a million dollars. Many moro will
want to see it on account of what they
will hear from the successive audi
ences. 1t will be interesting to see how
good a guess Mr.. Cohan made. He was
probably right in thinking it would be
success, for it has many popular ele-
mcnts, robust comedy, shocks, sent-
ment and pathos. 1t has foundation
of the time-honored play of rural life,
with suggestions of later melo-
dramatic style, and offered Mr.. Cohan
exceptional opportunities to encrust
1T with his characteristic touches of
telling realism.
One OF Mr.. Cohan's canny points is
that he knows that many things which
are familiar to the profession are al
ways new to the ever-changing public.
Years come and go, but the Broadway
crowd is always young.
SO the story Of the little boy who
had the nosebleed does not fail of ef-
feet. The first scene of "Thc Little
Teacher" was in the schoolhouse Of
Goshen Hollow. The teacher herself,
youngster, had stars entrance at the
appropriate moment, about ten min
utes after the curtain had gone up, and
the mere appearance of Mary Ryan, as
Emily West, who had come from New
York to teach in her fathers native
village, was enough to win the entire
sympathy of the audience. Aside from
her prettiness, Miss Ryan played her
part with a sincerity that was very
appealing.
The play was slightly reminiscent of
young lady school teacher from Yer
mont went to the woolly West and was
courted by a hardy cavalier of the
wilds. The Lochinvar of the little
teacher of Goshen Hollow was lum-
herman, and the Dustin Farnum part
was played by Curtis Cooksey. In spite
of a rough exterior, Pug displayed a
remarkable susceptibility to gentle in
fiuences, and Emily, on her side, be-
trayed an unmistakable liking for ro
bust and sterling manhood.
In New England village, as in other
small communities. people are apt
to have warped and ungenerous ideas,
/ and it takes a sweet young girl like
Emily West to regenerate them. The
gallery of minor characters, all skill
fully sketched, helped to heighten the
atmosphere. The spinsters in particu
lar were the most certain that there
was something quite wrong in Emily's
friendship for a lumberman, but they
had an able hacker in Neal Brockway,
spruce and progressive member of
the school board, who made the mis-
take of trying to turn his authority to
account in his wooing.
The drama arose from Emily's illegal
toE nf
children away from parents who abused
them. 1t could hardly be said that the
town was divided over the question. for
she had scarcely any one on her side
but her lumberman and the children
themselves. The alleged male parent
was a sort of Yankee Bill Skies, truly
most forbidding person when in his
cups, but with the help Of a revolver,
with which she fired one shot at the
schoolroom floor, Emily bluffed him out
and took the children home.
bodyguard, and after being thrown out
once by the scruff of his neck the said
male parent decided to have recourse
to the regular process of law. Even
Mrs. Hodges, with whom Emily board
ed, was against her at first, but she
| had had an infant that died, and by
working on her feelings adrotly Emily
succeeded in starting the waterworks,
which brought the landlady around.
| Finally the selectmen and school board
convened to pass on the question of the
disposal of the children. Only the
woman was present to represent the
parents, and, seen for the first time in
the full light, she bore out that biologi-
cal truth that the female of the species
is more deadly than the male.
With the sentiment running SO
strong against Emily it was difficult to
see how she was going to win out.
But, of course, she did. The manner
of her victory was one Of those tours
de force SO dear to the heart of George
NJ. Cohan. The surprise was complete
and the scene scored touch of pathos.
The children seemed somewhat i'm
passive in the presence of the violent
female, but possibly only very pre-
cocious children would have appre-
ciated the menace of the situation.
Horace James as Mr.. Durham, the
presiding selectman, gave an especially
successful character sketch. Marie
Haynes as Mrs. Hodges. Emly's land
lady, carried off difficult scene with
skill. Edward G. Robinson created an
amusing role as Batiste. a French
Canadian pal of Pugs. The fulness of
the cast and the careful work done by
each Of the players contributed much