The Washington herald., 1919-01-20
shubert- rt-Garriek-.yust Around the
Coruers

Corner.-
Marie Cahin Is stili-bucoiic. More
so than ever. Almost as much so as
Sis Hopkins She hourishes like
green bay tree, administering her
blondined righteousness In stronger
doses with every passing season.
Nancy Brown" who used to frisk
the rubes on Broadway, has repented
of her ways and taken to the country.
She is no longer frisking the rubes;
rather the rubes-such as the skinfiint,
domineering village pooh bah, the pos
siping tabbies, the comedy constable
are frisking her. They always do,
you know. in every self-respectins
rustic melodrama until 1880 p. m,
when outraged Virtue. with George V.
Hobart in the saddle, begins to jockey
for a magnificent spurt in the nome
stretch and flashes under the wire IN
the nick of time.
Just Around the Corner" which Is
Miss Cahill's new vehicle. disclosed at
| the Shubert-Garrick last evening, IS
not going to make theatrical history,
but at the same time il assuredly VIII
not be treated cavalierly by puollc
which has taken Turn to. The Right
THE Fortune Hunter" and pieces OF
similar import to its heart, and 1t may
very easily be developed into distinc-
tive success under Miss Cahilfs expert
tutelage.
/ 1t is about as difficult to forecast
! the future of Just Around the Cor
ner'' as it is to divine the way the
cat will jump at the Versailles Con-
q ference. George V. Hobart and Her
bert Hall Winslow are two wise OLD
heads of the theater, and Marie Ca
.t,A bat o. .
! the three of them magic may be done.
{ Theatrical history is full of instances
where such a piece as this, with rich
comedy values partially developed, has
been transmitted into memorable
success, Just as various other alleged
sure-fire winners have wilted under
! the acid test Sufficient unto the night
I is the verdict thereof, and last night 1t
was a mixed verdict. in which the one
central, undisputed postulate was that
Marie Cahill was as suaVe come
dienne as in the biggest days of her
vogue, and that. be il said, If you
have the right point of view toward
/ Marie. is all that needs to be chroni-
/ cled about Just Around the Corner" T."
and almost all that is needed to spell
success in upper case.
The bland and blonde role that
Miss Cahill has to play-One in
which she ladies out expansive,
unctuous. Polyanna benevolence in
such visible measure that it almost
congeals before the fOotlights-is
that OF a city LADY, who under
takes to run a general store in one
of those small towns which Elbert
Hubbard once described as having
been created by his Plutonian ma
I ~ q
sings and arrows of narrow.
persnikety, bucolic meanness with
deft skill and sleek optimism. 1t
fits her well. Sometimes we sus-
pected Marie OF putting a few bur
Iesoue winks into the part. of oOzing
smiles a bit too facilely in the face
OF bad luck: but. after all. what
clever actress would refuse to De
disingenuOus when she is trying TO
put new twist upon stock the
atriCal property. and more or less
succeeding in the attempt?
For our concluding paragraph we
have withheld a palpitating, vibrant
stunning surprise. 1t is that thS
eternal, perennial. versatile Eugene
Blair, who has done Camille, Sapho'
etc. the length and breadth OF TINS
wide land for 10 these many years
il INCORPORATED in this Cahill cast
doing one of the "catty" ladies with
good deal of skill. The cast is an
excellent one. In the third act Miss
CahUl Ssho " ed that- she, had not
burned all her musical COMEDY
bridges behind her by bursting into
song-and while the new songs Will
not ouench our memories Of Nancy
Brown" they are extremely funny
and Cahill-esQue.