The Washington herald., 1921-05-22
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cook and exesutioner. H J. Bibber-
man; Leo. a jungle king. W. r.
Clarke. jr.: mate. Rex wray.
The whole cast is excellent, but
C. z. Cane. '2s. who is the best lead
ing lady the club ever had, de-
serves special mention. He is a
perfect Mary Pickford with voice
like David Bispham. He is in.
mense-
The lion is borrowed from Ber-
nard Shaw. The author acknow-
lodges 1t by calling the owner Of
the pet the Rev. Andrew Clees"-
(Androcles).
The play is full Of funny lines
and IL Is also full of rich color,
rollicking tunes and reckless danc-
Ing
LIONS ORIGIN BETRAYED
By OWNER, @ANDREw CLEES."
As a matter of fact, somebody's
not speaking the truth II he says
that somebody's Lion" is not by
tar the best thing the Mask-and-
wiggers have done in about five
years.
The plot? Surely. there Is one
and II is an intricate and intriguing
story. It Is all about a lady who
went TO extremes and first married
a missionary and later, thinking
him dead. a war profiteer. With
husband No. . she goes yachting
around the world and finds husband
No. 1 on a cannibal island. The
complications nor their solution
shall here be divulged-
You will find out when you go
TO the Belasco tomorrow night
Then you will also see a Russian
ballet which it was never the Cars
nor Trotsky's privilege to behold
and which could furnish Fokine
with some pointers as to the laugh
provoking qualities Of feet
There was one thing that never
was Strengthened out Mrs. Weak
Fish's second husband was with her
on the yacht when it landed on the
cannibaI island. There she recog-
sniew Andrew Clees as her first hus-
band, believed to be dead.
The play ended with Andrew
Clees remaining on the island while
Mr. Weak Fish, husband No. 2, and
the remainder of the guests de-
parted for the dry United States.
What happened then? Did she
sue her first husband for divorce
on grounds of desertion? Did she
get word he had been the chief at
traction at a canibal banquet just
as the ship pulled inside the three
mile limit?
Something of an explanation Is
due. Otherwise the Comstockians'
tender consciences of Washington
and other unworldly places may
suppress the play, for, putting it
badly, the show ends with Mrs.
Weak Fish a proved and undeniable
bigamist.
There is a beautiful blond hero
inc with a fine barytone voice and
there is a lion, who. only a year
ago was the front end of a horse.
W. r. Clark, jr- who was part of
Don Quixote's steed last year. plays
Leo" by himself and seems not to
miss the departure of the hind legs
which graduated last June.
PERFORMANCES APPROACH
WORK OF PROFESSIONALS.
In planning a Mask and Wig
show" says Charles S. Morgan, jr.,
the stage manager of the organiza-
tion. "one must always keep in mind
the limitations Of the amateur. And
yet each succeeding year it strikes
me that the Mask and Wig perform
ances approach closer and closer to
those given by professionals. Last
year when We took Don Quixote' to
New York, the critics. in their re-
views the next morning, said that
il w"s amazing what wonderfully.
smooth, high-class work was done
by the undergraduates of the Uni
versity Of Pennsylvania. Much of
this is due to the boys themselves.
for rehearsals for a Mask and Wig
show are long and frequent. Many
times when a dance is given to two
men in the rough they will. during
their spare time at college and in
their dormitory. go over this dance
again and again, so that at the next
rehearsal they can show it to me
in an almost completed state | take
1t that. the willingness to work is
what makes a Mask and Wig per-
formance so much better than the
average theatergoer looks for when
he comes to a Mask and Wig per
formance. For years the concerted
dancing of the Mask and Wig
chorus has been something eagerly
looked forward to by the Philadel-
phia theatergoers
And talking of Lion reminds m .
that the assuming of an animal br.
human being is no new thing in
theatricals. AT the British Museum
there Is a stone, dug up from an