The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-12-04
REVIEW OF
 THE RIALTO

The oldest theatrical inhabitant can remember no time when the pub lie offered such unmistakable evi- dence of it's interest in theatrical and musical events as at present. Every playhouse in the city is making mon ey, many of them wear crepe for 1 the patrons lost because they can ac- cOmmodate no more. Managers are | offering premiums for the use of theatres, and more than a, score of important and interesting plays are in the offing awaiting an opportuni , ty to reach Broadway, Seven plays were shown last week, and most of them won popular approval.
 John Masefield's important play, 'sThe Faithful" was acted by the Thertre Guild, and especially badly acted according to the press reviews. This organization served faithfully
 the cause of good drama with John
 Ferguson,'' but The Faithful was another matter, and they missed it entirely.
 '''Five O'Clock'' in which Frank Ba- con played a part as co-author, was well acted by Tim Murphy, Leslie
 Austin and several more at the Full ton Theatre. The theme is an i'm
 portant one and should receive more
 attention than it has in the past. It is an accepted fact that we should inn
 prove our institutions for the insane,
 and the speech recorded during the
 play that many persons are there confined who should enjoy their free
 dom. The title is derived from the
 hour when the inmates are called in
 It is not the best play of the season
 but it is good, clean comedy, and has
 dramatic strength, Walter Wanger k
 the manager
 Boys Will Be Boys" is a series of
 stories by Irwin Cobb put together
 by Charles O'Brien Kennedy and
 staged at the Belmont theatre, Judge
 Priest, Peep O'Day and other well known characters are brought to life,
 and we saw them in their daily round
 as we have read apout them for
 years. The play is a simple little
 comedy, badly constructed but serv-
 ing to display the undisputed talents
 of Harry Beresford as a character actor. It met with a hearty response,
 and will be enjoyed by those who are
 familiar with the delightful Kentucky
 ex-Paducah newspaper man. William St. James as Judge Priest was another excellent character.
 "A Young Mans Fancy" by John T. Mcintyre was a play better in
 possibilities than in realization. It
 was staged with excellent taste and acted brilliantly by most of the cast, especial mention being deserved by
 Philip MerivaIe. A poet falls in love
 with form in a show window, and
 follows her professional career with
 varying degrees of interest or pro test These show window scenes
 are yisualized in his mind into po-
 etical episodes. There. is much that
 is original in the play, and the amuse-
 ment is the result of clever charac- terization and clever comedy. But the line which divides reality from
 fancy is so thin that the latter suffers ton, and has given it a setting that won hearty approval.
 A company from London was brought to New York last week and a play was acted by it called ."The Luck of The Navy. The public ex- pected one of the vivid melodramas which are so frequently imported. The play proved to be a melodrama with a war setting, including several German spies. It is untimely, but highly expressing. The opening
 scene with it's view of a submarine in action, and the fight between the war ships and a Zeppelin were highly sensational. It is a good ex- l ample of a London melodrama and ] company, and proved popular with ! the vast audiences which greet it at the Manhattan Opera House. Com stock and Cfest imported it.