The Washington herald., 1919-07-28
G9rrtck-.One-a-Minute.7
BY EARLE DORSEY.


Peering through the haze Of pro-
dlgious first act, the rather inept ef-
forts of cast without sufficient bal
ance or study. and some character
drawing that might shock even the
freak-hardened nerves Of Barnum him
self. there is a strong possibility that
Mr.. Fred Jackson has another attrac-
tive play in Minute" a phar-
maceutical farce which had its pre-
miere at the Garrick last night.
The presentation of "One-a-Minute"
served a double purpose last night. 1t
enabled Mr. Jackson and a number of
other interested persons to see how
his latest handiwork appears n prac-
tice and 1t gave the Garrick Players
a new medium with which to exploit
their talents. The overpowering heat
of the evening. however, was nearly
too much for the audience and cast Gs
we'll
Mr.. Jackson. we are told. had
written a play based on the saying
of P. T. Barnum that a fool was
born every minute. That's only a
part Of the thesis. The rest OF it
might be stated like this: It's easy
enough to have faith if you only
have something to have faith in.
Jimmy Butler, a failure at law,
returns to Centerville to discover
that Marian Knight. a playmate OF
his kid days, is trying to run a de-
crepit drugstore left her by a
dreaming father. To make mat
tiers worse. the drug store trust is
planning to open a competitive es-
tablishment and run Miriam out OF
business. As a last resort. young
Jimmy and the editor OF the Center
vile Clarion decide to discover the
panacea for .all ills that Jimmy
father spent his life searching for,
They compose it at random-equal
parts OF ginger. charcoal. pepsin
and fuller's earth and try it out
on a paid patient.
The remedy works with marvellous
success-a success almost too mar
yelous for even so liberal an element
as JaCksonian farce. 1t cures the
president OF the drugstore trust Ot
dyspepsia: it cures the Judge on the
| bench, who faints during Jimmy s
trial. for violating the drug act; II
cures all manner and numbers of per
sons. The resulting success that rolls
in on the remedy-"Knight's 99''-lifts
them all to wealth. The Centerville
editor. now turned patent medicine
advertiser, actually falls in love with
and wins the daughter of the drug.
store maCnate. Miriam falls for
Jimmy. but just by way OF Gaping
| the climax OF ''99s" success, Granny
Knight. who was dying at 20, when
the remedy came into being. is seen
in the last act tangoinS with the drug
store plutocrat
The story enables Lynne Over.
mann to riot in comedy. He is at
| his best in this production and he
perpetrates in his part some of his
most effective and finished buff
| foOnery. Supreme ease and a natural
| poise underlie this young actors
appreciation of a role. He had his
audience gleeful throughout. which
ought to be fair praise for any
comedian.
Miss Eileen Wilson. in the role OF
the druggists daughter and a one
third partner in knights 80" had
part that carried with il no great
possibilities. yet she managed to
inoculate the role with a greater
verify and sense of authenticity
that was the case with her last
GarriCk part. Her performance
was smooth and sincere and it was
very gratifying. too.
Mrs. jacques Martin, as Granny
Knight, a tango lizardess at 20, per-
sonally scored in a character part
that was badly Overdrawn and too
absurd for serious consideration.
Robert Williams, as the editOr-ad-
veTtising man who wins the mag
mates daughter, was too new to the
part to be familiar with it's pos
sibilities. His appearance in the
first act was excellent, his work
Jagged throughout the second act
suffering fIOm a forced theatrical
ism that, happily, he nearly sue
ceeded in laying aside toward the
finish. The change vastly improved
his performance and brought a new
note of dignity to the role. Miriam
Collins, as the magnate's daughter
gave a good inGenue Interpretation
Donald Meek. as the magnate him
self, was accurate, natural and
thoroughly convincing. Miss Doris
/ Shecrin, as a telephone operator
/ had a much better part than us.
Ually befalls her and she rose Il
the occasion by giving the best
performance of her Garrick engage.
ment. Others in the cast were
Tony Hodge, Louise Huntington
Edna Bates. Donald Meek, Edward
NJ. WOnn. Thomas McCann Ohis
little negro boy scored n perfect
hit with his Characterization. we
forgot to sayD. Robert Williams
Frank Peck. John Hoffman and
Joseph Clancy.
Loew's PuIace-CatherIne Calvert