The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-07-26
CAPACITY HOUSE
FOR PRODUCTION
BY HOME TALENT.
"Billeted" by Dramatic Club an
Unqualified Success
VIRGINIA O'BRIEN LEADS
Former Bennington Young Wo-
man Given Big Ovation in
Girlhood Home


audiences, but II is to be doubted
that she ever has been or ever will
be given a more enthusiastic. more
appreciative greeting than that ac.
corded her first entrance upon the
opera house. stage last evening in the
English comedy "Billeted." produced
by memb ers Of the Bennington ORA.
matte CLUB under The direction of Mr..
and Mrs. Arthur Elliot. The talent.
ed young woman, who lived her girl
hood days In Bennington, and who
took ')art in the Putnam Memorial
hospital benefit because, 10 use her
own words she Likes the town and
likej the people," may have had the
I'M Tession that the first prolonged
cli pping OF hands was a recognition
OF her personal connection with the
Community but as the play pro.
)gressed with its applause and repeat.
1 ed curtain calls, she must have real
lied that there was something more
than homecoming In the continued
ovation. a recognition of ability and
accomplishment. No audience in the
| world Is so critical as the hometown
! audience. but there was not a minute
between the first and final curtain
when II was not apparent that the
folks who filed every seat out in
front were thoroughly enjoying the
Virginia that they used to know and
Virginia at work.
"Billeted" is by far the most diff.
cult thing attempted In the series of
pronounced successes by the Ben.
nington Dramatic club In recent
years, There Is not much OF what is
commonly described as action The
comedy, and there is a lot of IT, Isl
too subtle for portrayal by any but
Experienced actors and 1t is to be
doubted that the production would
have been more than mediocre but
for the direction and actual presence
of Mr. and Mrs. Elliot in the cast
The latter had but small part, that
OF MRS, Brace" the cook; her real
work, always In evidence, was on the
side llnes.i Mr. Elliot, as REV Am
br0se biptrott, the fatuous but. big
hearted vicar. was revelation to
Bennington people who had come to
believe that they had reached a com
plete comprehension of the actor
both professionally as well as I'M
civil life. The real strength of The
play developed while he was on the
stage.
Margaret Stevens, as Mrs. Lip.
trott", the prim and meddlesome
sister, who started all the trouble, re-
tired after the first act and permit
ted her meddling to do its deadly
work Her interview with her neigh
bor's maid, in which she pried into
the affairs OF the household with the
amazing effrontery of some middle
aged spinsters, was one of the strong
scenes of The play
"Bllleted" is centered around two
British soldiers, Colonel Preedy,
Leonard Cultivate. and Peter Tar
radne," Luther II. Graves, I'd, who
spend a leave OF absence at Mrs. Tar
radine's home, in accordance with a
custom that prevailed during the re-
cent war. Peter Tarradine has been
separated from his wife, Miss OBrien
for a period of two years and is in
the army under an assumed name
Mrs. Tarradine has been posing as al
widow. This combination OF circum
stances gives rise to numerous anus
ing situations. or course. Colonel
Preedy, who arrives at his billet
some days ahead of his companion
proceeds to fall in love with the
widow. The husband appears on the
scene Immediately after Mrs. Tar
radne has forced telegram an
nouncing her husbands death in or
der that she may collect his life in
surance. During all the complica-
tions that follow the playwright has
cleverely concealed the actual rela
tions of husband and wife and the
resulting amusement for the audi.
ence is the success of "Bileted."
Mr.. Cultivate was the typical Eng
| lsh officer in comedy, courteous,
but rather stupid in the presence Of
an alurng woman whose vagaries
kept the poor fellow in a mystfied
condition of mind that would have
| DttH lIdElC nuu ~ NV bNNu ob ! iluiSu-
lous and simple.
The trace of tragedy, without
which a comedy would be incomplete,
to a large extent was allotted to Peter
Tarradine in his effort to reconstruct
the wreck of his family relations and
it was in the third and last act that
Mr.. Graves attained the height Of
dramatic ability demonstrated in
previous productions and recognized
as unusual off the professional stage.
Gilbert Quackenbush, as "Mr. Nc
Farland, "the bank manager, was on
the stage but few minutes but his
interview with Mrs, Tarradne was
one of the highly humorous incidents
of the evening. His efforts to dis
cuss business with charming wo.
man who imagined that bank was
an institution created merely to
tlsgorge money whenever one desired
to write a check were excruciatingly
funny.
Uponatopo MoonU ,,o,4...i