Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-11-08
HAPPINESS A-PLENTY
FOUND IN DEAR Me-
Grace LaRue and Hale Hamil-
ton Present a Glad" Type Of
Comedy That Ought to Win

BrOad-Out of the dramati" motif of
n "home for failures IN the high arts
Barrie would have dreamed n fantasy
full of tender whim~ics and Shaw prob
ably would have paradOxod and irOnzed
TO the full of his bent. But where Bar
rie would have adorned a tale and Shaw
have pointed a moral Luther Reed and
Hale Hamilton. the co-authOrs of Dear
Me-" have made the gladdest play since
"Pollyanna." And its proximity to
"Pollyanna" makes Dear Ne" the
more remote from Dear Brutus."
But there is no doubt that the authors
have made capital evenings diversion
Laughter and applause of the audience
proved that the situations and lines
had definite appeal and that the agree
able moralizing. mostly plattudinous.
was not obtruSivp. Like all plays OF
which an actor is cO-authOr. Dear
Me- is bit STACY, but its phases have
been related into theatrical effective =
ness through the expert stagCcraft Of
WinChcll Smith. that past master in
"sure fire hoium."
So people ar going 10 like Dear
Me" just as they liked "Pollyanna. -
for human touches and pleasant preach =
ment. April the heroine. unlike Polly
anna. is not glad at every adversity-
she chucks il rs soon az she Can-but
she is sure that people to emerge ont OF
the slough of failure have only 10 attain
the happiness Of making others happy
She breaches service sacrifice and self
fOrgetfuness to the inmates of the
''homc for failures" which philan.
thropist has endowed in memory Of his
supposedly deceased son. the victim o.
an unsuccessful art career.
She herself. tn" drudge of the home
In altruisti" rcDHymcnt If tho debt Sh,
fancies Sho owes it for keeping hc
father. is 50 successful n goSprler TIM
she impclS q broken down musician an,
would-be playwright into productiv,
activities, and eventually the whole 10
Of the failures into a new hazard o
buckinG the world instead Of languiSh
ing lazily in the bleak "refugc" pro
vided for them by charity. In III
progress Of her friends toward success
she hus her share. Her voice, aIrcad
trained by tho musician. brings her T.
stardom on the musical stage. partl,
through the kind plotting of the play
wright. who after all is the long los
son of the founder Of the institution.
OF course, sh" has not an inkling 0
the truth, and CQuully Of course thcr
are complications and misunderstand
ings before she learns something that h
has known a long, long time - eve
through the period when her success
seems TO go II little to her head an
she appears somewhat ungrateful to he
benefaCtors. And that is that he love
her. And there you are for salts
flying finale, n pretty though not or
iginal finale, of Il modern drama-th
happy ending.
Mr.. Hamilton played the part of tn
opulent pseudo -playwright-and whe
he was working to make April happ
really did succeed in writing play thu
speeded out to the hivver categor
Quite different role from Wallinl
ford, he did it well. And the musicia
who became successful composer az
conductor was done feelingly by I.u
Alberni. Grace LaEue, who used
do "Fivc Yards of Opera" in vnudevil
and who later met with success on Il
concert stage, was mingled smiles al
tears and many moods as April. II
singing which she revealed in an az
nirHble program several seasons ago
the Little Theatre. proved one Of q
hits of the performance.