The New York herald., 1921-04-27
"JuSt Married"
Is a Naughty
Nautical Farce
New Scagoing Comedy With
Miss Vivian Martin q
Hilarious Play.


Just Married is naughty, nautical
farce. and Lynne Overman starts all
the trouble in the character of young
man who is half seas over. On the dock
at Bordeaux. neatly disclosed at the
Comedy Theatre last night, he is tipsy,
but still n gentleman and able to help
young woman In trouble-in fact, he
is doubly gentleman, for he helps two
OF them.
Thence all his troubles start, and
when. through one Of those mixups that
VIII happen on the stage. he wakes up
the next day In the same stateroom oc-
cupied by one OF the girls and he is
mistaken first for her husband and then
for the spouse OF the other damsel he
wanted to protect. the complications
ccme so quickly that the spectators grow
helpless with laughter and at the game
Time are Inclined to throw up their
hands with the other characters. You
ste. her name is Roberta Adams and
his name Is Robert Adams, and In his
alcoholic confusion they get In the same
stateroom. and her fiance is on the
boat, but he's untrue to her. for there's
French girl seeking him on the ship,
and--you see? What could be more
natural--on the stage?
It's situation that's been put to-
gether before. with two characters
thrown together and mistaken for man
and wife In the hotel room, or In the
submarine, or In the railroad train, or
up on the same Alp. This play by Ade-
iaide Mathews and Ann Nichols proved
that not even far out on the briny is
an ocean liner with the modern type
or stateroom free from the bedroom
farce. There is no three mile limit to
the scope OF this type of piece.
But 1t Is all very gkiifully done and
1t is as bracing as sea voyage. Though
there were no storms on the sh.r-there
never are on the stage in farces-from
the other side Of the footliyhts came
gales Of laughter. The settings, too. Of
the steamer at the dock. Of the state
room where everything started happen
Ing and Of the realistic promenade deck
outside the stateroom where .verything
came to head and almost to blows
were out of the way and striking, and
the story was certainly carried along at
thirty knot clip.
Doors slam. persons run about, ex-
tiemely spicy things are said. and there
are racy moments. especially In the Sec
ond act, but these are saved largely
through the unforced performance of
Overman, whose gentlemanly jag is one
of the best things Of the season. and
something Broadway will now appre-
ciate as curio. Moreover. he can
wear b. v. DIS with an air of sincerity
and even when he stalks out Of the
fateful stateroom wearing her pink
boudoir cap in his bewilder1nent you
feel he is the amusing kind OF young
man who might do that His light
ouch keeps the play free from evil. and
Jules Hurtig. who produced the play in
conjunction with the Shuberts. may con-
sider him the pilot Of the ship.
Miss Vivian Martin. who came back
II ON the movies to take this involuntary
honeymoon. looked bewitching and wore
her pretty frocks we'll while at dimpling
she's virtuoso. But after some at
tractive work In the first act she rather
spoiled 1t by crying all through the
second and pouting through the third.
Her voice seemed to have been grated
In her and she cooed too often. while
she showed the movie studio technique
plainly--take three steps to the right
turn and register something at some-
body But 1t would seem difficult to
appear spontaneous In a farce after hav-
ing done cute things in the movies for
years and then been pitchforked back
upon the stage. Perhaps the stage di-
rectors might have helped her to show
the difference between being love sick
and seasjck
The French girl who slipped aboard
the vessel was played vehement!y by
Miss Eliz Gergely. but II was Miss Doro-
thy Mortimer who was really gurgly. As
bride OF the familiar type she was
hard TO stop. Purnell Pratt obliged az
usual in the mean role. that of the per-
fidious fance. and Jess Dandy was FREE
Quently amusing as RObertU's uncle.
though his remarks had no more bear
ing on the scenes than the cloud cf-
fects. Miss Isabel O'Madigan and John
Butler were others who helped make the
piece generally hilarious. and II :sn't
necessary to be one of bridal couple
about 70 escape to Atlantic City to en-
JOY It.