The Washington times., 1920-05-11

whose fulsome applause Is an indiea-
tion that tho play is TO be distinctiy
. success.
THE CAST.
kinsslsy Stafford. 49,. George fssnseior,
ars Carter stanford. Mrs Thorass Whif/a
Montsomery Warren. william -, ksisn.sy y
Ts. Hos. Sir c.iv.iisn 'sbipisy,
BurfoId Hsmpden
The E.Iaai. Of spy..o.crgs Fitsser.ld
Less Majestic sustained . solar
piexus blow. A II. Thomas wanted
la prince for his leading character.
but he did not follow the trend taken
by Anthony Hope or George Barr
|McCutcheon, he was satisfied with no
less than the heir apparent OF the
tight little isle" across the sea.
Just suppose that the Prince OF
Wales, tired of handshsklng the
Western Hemisphere, and max
ing his frm solid with tho
United States" as one OF tho
characters so aptly phrascd 1t. wan
dered down, into virginia. and there
met . maiden. Just suppose that the
moonlight and her charm and beauty
him like . cloud-bank, and
loves her with . love that fs returpeds
q sort Of internation- reciprocity.
Add to this the other man. the
American. who loves the girl with q
seemingly hopeless love.
Then stop your stroll through fairy
land, for the girl sends the prince
back to his empire. and q romantic
marriage with a bride hand-picked
by the foreign office.
There you have the story. IL ID
simple In telling about II. but to be
eXnniStte
lines with which the author has en-
dowed his play. 1t Ii rich in It's dia-
loKue and fortunate In q cast that
happily speaks from the heart and
does not recite.
1t 10 more or less . misnomer TO
call Il q comedy. True there are
bright spots, especially the references
to diplomacy. which, doubtless. were
appreciated more by last nights Dis
trict of Columbia audience than may
be the case In some other city.
Knowing. however. that sac
charine, happy ending would be i'm
possible. the patrons were not SO In
cIined to see the sheer pathos OF the
situation, such. for instance as the
effect Lilac Time" produced on the
spectators.
To those who are blessed with the
"gift of the magic" however. those
who are fortunate enough In this
ork-a-day world to have imagina-
ton and love of romance as part OF
their makeup, little throat-catchlng
sobs persisted In cropping UP.
Beyond a doubt the biggest ova-
ton was given to Mrs. Thomas WHIT
fen. dear TO hearts of Capital play
goers for many years.
Printed words are needless In her
case. She has a place In the hearts
of her audience that grows bigger
every year. AS for her acting IL
was. of course, fine as ever.
To Paul Gordon was entrusted the
role of the prince, alias George
chester" We sincerely say that If
the W. X. prince has the personality
of the man who portrayed him, hes
a "little bit of all right as a Brit
isher would/put. Barring tendency
to be a trifle maudlin in the finai
act, which was the fault of the lines
and situation, not the actor, Gorooh
gave a fine performance.
Olive Wyndham. a winsome crea-
turc. was cast as the girl In the case
Her deft handling of the last act. OF
which more anon. marked her aoility
as an actress. Not that this means
that she was any the less happy IN
her work in the preceding acts. ~,
she was, to our mind. eminentiy ntted
to the part as warm generous
imaginative girl with a saving grace
Of humor.
Two others in the cast stand out
Burford Hampden, as the chum OF the
prince. was what a slangy, exuoeran'
English boy. typical, but never drop
ping into the silly ass" type.
George Fitzgerald. as the diplomat
gave a rare delineation' OF the char-
acter. Mr. Fitzgerald has MADE US
feel that we never, never want 10
be a diplomat. Others In the cast
were acceptable. but lacked parts 'ha'
called for heavy work.
when the playwright experiments a
bit with that last act. and tones IL
down a bit from it's imposstbiiities'
t will be one of the outstanding plays
Of the day. Z. A. LAb'