The Washington herald., 1919-02-10
BcIasco-"A SIeepIess Night"

Help. help. Margaret Mayo, To the
rescue. Avery Hopwood, And you.
author of why Marry" whose per-
fectly well-knOwn name this suppliant
is unable to reE1ll YOU too would be
useful in the ffacas. \ farce bearing
marks OF your honorable lineage, born
1t the BelascO Theatcr last night. is
in dire need Of a consultation of spc-
cialists. who know how human be
iuEs. talk and act. TO give it some
s"mblanCe of the breath OF life. IneX-
pert hands have seized upon your
NoudOir-and bedstead and your seXo-
ladiCal devices and produced q
changeiing.
TheateE-Eoers Of the present age
have learned to accept without pro-
test almost any extremity of assault
on the old conventions of modesty
because the cumulative encroach-
UcUtS have been SO skillfuly and
cI"verly managed. Most of us have
lu particular objection to being
"a, Ecd ir a new way. If our iPtcl-
hEcuCe is not insultcd at the same
t.I.r. M-s>TS. Jack LarTie and Gus
laN Eiuw, whose names appear a.
authors Of ~ S;repleSs Night" have
10 proper place in tins peculiar
campaign OF education. 1t is not
-Gffic cut. Oh Jack and Gustav, Lar
lie and Blum. to lmbdr a wealthy
.uuEg =irl with bolshevik ideas and
.-zNe h-r invade q young mans room
al midnight merely TO prove she
means It. nor 10 hide one woman IN
d bed and another under it while the
FAMILY puw-wOw~ on the edges Of
%. YUa must make US believe it.
Cur laughter if We grgnt it, is hol-
i,w and not lasting. unless you
show uS that these unoeemly Incl
dents have some relation to reality.
give Us some little lew light on
LIE as it Is being lived.
Irene Fenwick PLAYS Rena Mansfield,
ward of a man OF wealth, random
,isitur to Greenwich Village, and aspi-
rant To new womannoOd.'
Ernest GIendinning is seen as Well
mgtOu West, an artist who comes at
Reua's incitement to obtain a com
mission TO do mural painting. Rena
loves him. but her guardian expects
her to marry his son. who much pre-
feIs lima. Il sculptor. also looking for
a commission. The two artists are
married but successfully conceal it,
Rena. resenting the laughter which
her radicalism pTovokes in the others.
decides to show what she can do along
those lines. and enteIs Vests bed
room. while his wife. on a ClandeStine
visit. lodges under the bedclothes.
Then Of course the son comes in seek
ing chat. the wife gets under the
bed and Rena tumbles into it. The
father arrives later there is a gen
sraI huDJub following their, discovery.
and a web Of lies and excuses has to
be untanelcd in third and final act.
1t cannot be denied that the lines
and situations sometimes yielded
laughter. But there is also no doubt
that the cTUdity of phrasing and the
ineptness of incident were obvious to
the great majority of the audience.
The feminine portion of the cast is
much superior to the male element.
Irene Fenwick has a charm that will
shine through any foggy speeches.
Carlotta Monterey is natural and pic
turesque as the sculptress, Lucille
Watson is excellent in the minor role
of the hosts sister.
Ernest Glendinning iS-wel. every
body saw Experience and if you
liked that you probably like Ernest.
other male parts are tSken by Donald
Gallaher, William Morris and Fred W.
Peters.
Gayety-"Hip. Hip. Hooray Girls"
RepIete with many novelties.
vaudeville specialties chiefly, the
Hip. Hip. Hooray Girls" oLened
for a weeks engagement at the
Gayety Theater yesterday and scored
pronounced hit. The production
boasts of snappy lines. and is en-
riched by a wealth of comedy ana
song.
Ben Pierce. handling the leading
comedy role, was easily the hit Of
the show. His comedy is unique,
and his many witty lines brought
well deserved laughs. Ralph Rock
away and Edward Jordan with their
antics. also cause roars of laughter.
The one big hit of this classy pro-
ductiOn is the six diving bellies who
execute many difficult dives in a
tank holding 10000 gallons of water.
Miss Helen Mccain proves herself
a very capable prima donna and de-
lights her audience with her song
specialties, Misses Thelma Seavelle,
and Tillie Stroke also render several
good song numbers. The production
in two acts and seven scenes, is elab-
oTately staged. The chorus of
twenty-twos sLrighuy misses who
can sing and dance added greatly to
the success of the entertainment. As
n whole. the current attraction at
the popular Ninth street playhouse