New-York tribune., 1919-01-14
Drama
Cappy Kicks" Is Presented
With Wise at the
MOrOsco
BY Haywood Broun

american dramatists have a fondness
Tor hltching their plays to "The Satur-
aay Evening Post" Unfortunately.
they seldom provide halter of ade-
quate length. "Cappy Kicks" is an
other attempt in a long series Of ef
iorts to manufacture dramatic enter
.ainmcnt by setting popular charac-
yer OF flctlon- on the stage AS on
oIner occasions, merely a makeshift
plot has been devised for the exploita-
tioh OF the character. Edward f. Rose.
the theatrical carpenter. has built a
ramoilng and incoherent play from the
nctlonal material provided by Peter B.
hyne. Cappy, as played by Tom Wise,
IS not the man of the stories. Kyne
pictured him as a sharp -tongued ter
rler. wise makes him an elderly and
friendly st. Bernard, whose bark is so
evidently worse than his bite that there
IS little dramatic interest in his
clashes with the young man whom he
seeks to dominate.
NO actor on the American stage has
more lovable personality than Mr.
Wise, and he was decidedly likable
when he was not straining himself too
much IN the effort to fit q character
obviously alien. Indeed he succeeded
once IN bringing to a most artificial
play genuine human note Of pathos.
This was in recounting a little mem
ory OF his early days when he stood by
the wife of captain who had died on
the voyage and watched the ship
come in.
The play is aimed chiefly at comic
effects OF broadly farcical nature
Practically all the theatrical strata
gems employed are time worn. We are
not good judge of the effectiveness
of such devices. Even in two or three
seasons we have encountered them so
often that they have lost all SAVIOR It
would be unfair not to note the fact
that the first half of the play gave
genuine entertainment to the first night
audience. But this abundant laughter
brought no joy>to us. 1t is desperately
uncomfortable business to listen to the
laughter Of others when one is totally
unable to share in the merriment We
felt like a cold sober member of a New
Years party
That situation provides no fun at all.
but there seemed to be no way out Of
it. We must admit that we have gone
BON dry on the quip about the Office
boy who gets holiday on the strength
OF his aunt's funeral and then shows
up at the ball game. Of course, we
would have a lot better time in the
theatre if we were mellow enough to
Dfeak INTO Kindly smile when the
old family retainer says to the young
heroine in love, 81 was twenty once
myself" Now the line merely makes
us wonder what our blood pressure has
crept up to this Year We realize that
we have grown bitter and misogynis-
tlcal, but when the young person flares
up and says that not all chorus girls
are mercenary and immoral and that
she is good girl and loves the young
man with an honest affection, not half
d tick is added to our pulse.
After making all due apologies for a
point Of view blunted by long and
faithful service in the theatre we must
report that "Cappy Ricks" seems to us
fearful piece of work. which would be
devoid of wit, humor or humanity il
1t were not for the fact that Tom Wise
is too fine an actor not to come to the
surface now and again. He is in his
way more marvellous than Houdinl.
Mr.. Rose, the author of "Cappy Kicks"
has tied his hands and feet with plati-
tudes and wound him round and round
with trite lines, but in five minutes he
is free and grinning. The other per-
formers remained at The bottom where
the author put them, and by now we
doubt if so much as bubble can he
seen on the surface. "Cappy Kicks"
seems to us another of those mvsteri-
Gus deep sea Tragedies