New-York tribune., 1918-01-22
'IIAKAC1'EI,
J. ALEXANDER PIERCE

Seventeen" which has been one
OF Booth Tarkington's most popular
stories, is likely to realize in its stage
version the wish which its producer
expressed in curtain speech at the
New York premiere, that it would keep
llm here With his company during the
season. Besides being unhaclneycd,
and capital Juvenile story, it has the
KIND OF sentimental appeal that finds
the heart of the public.
The idea Of dramatizing "Seventeen"
was an inspiration in its way, for the
ielsurely narrative would hardly appear
to offer special inducement to the the
atrical adapter. The incidents might
have been arranged in almost any order
ard. IN TACT, they were rearranged sew
cral times in the course of preparation
Mr. Walker leaving the impress of his
own hand upon them after the work of
the original playwrights was finished.
Ihe problem was to transform the
casual tale into progressive sequence
OF events and attain the mounting in
terest which is demanded in the thea
ire. This was very successfully done.
Nr Tarkington's astonishing insight
into the thoughts of youth was we'll
preserved, not only in the writing, but
and new episodes were inteIpolated
which were Of piece with the whole
fabric
Pages of dialogue were taken bodily
from the book with hardly a change
One OF the most effective comedy pas
sages was the scene in which the youth
full William Sylvanus Baxter dscoursed
TO the "baby talk lady" Of the essence
Of true love. Once fairly started,
William had no difficulty in maintain
ing a flow OF words, though the range
n val 1nHn
His argument consisted mainly Of
,eiteration that real love, when it was
the real thing, was very, very real. In
case love was real, he affirmed, the
swain would do aught that his lady de-
randed, even love her more But if
the range of the discourse were linn
lted, there was compensation III the
manifest accompaniment Of the Gin
cidental music that throbs in the veins
of youth
Gregory Kelly's William was a pre-
sentiment to the life OF type of small
town youth under the stress of self
consciousness and preoccupation with
the subject Of marriage, which were
mildly distressing to himself and pro-
portlonately productive of comedy. In
experimenting with romantic poses be-
fore the mirror he frequently imagined
himself as Sidney Carton of 1.-THE Tale
of Two Cities" his favorite hero, and
it vas as Sidney, mounting the steps
Of the guillotine in noble solf-sacrifice,
that he saw himself when he was
forced to yield the sea beside the baby
talk lady to his rival vino owned the
automobile.
Ruth Gordon, as Lola Pratt, the
baby-talh lady, was surely quite fasci-
mating enough to be the Helen of a
small Middle West town. Lillian Ross,
as Jane Baxter, the terrible ten-year-
old sister of Willie, a sort of stalking
Nemesis of the hero, and, in fact, Of
the whole family, could not have made
greater success in Chicago and the
way stations than she did here at the
first night. The Baxter family and all
the various young people were charm
ing. Mr.. Walker reserved for himself
the very modest part Of Mr.. Parcher
Who sat in the window on the porch
striving to read Plutarch's Lives" and
stung to the verge of madness by baby
talk and calf serenades.