Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-19
sp0MER0y'S PAST" IS
AIDED BY FINE CAST
Lines Lack Sparkle in New
Hummer Play, but Actors
Save II

...,,.L -. Glare Hummer seems to
va decided TO abandon. for the time
nn,, nn,. M least. her accustomed cScur- :
c,,ns ns into tho land Of machine gun
Mons Irstcad. IN "i'omcroy i
rcps'... .hc has como down 10 cnrtl'
Ia'i uro,luccd u comedy that hingcs
sn' .o W much on what people say as wha:
they DO ~. o,o;o,., ,b;ry .hou,
,,pa,,oroy'. /. Past IA its basic idea: IN
81 h,r dsys Of widest fancy. Miss
Wn,,r,cr ~ has meyer created situation
".n nnu, Jro,l than that cf man, merel:'
H.canss n,U,r he wishes TO adopt chill an,
w,ds that his sister tor was she hii
nnus,, n,us, affects. who claims the child a.
=. H." arm. and cooks up Wild story about
y, voestjnc with Tho imaginary mother.
M fcr, so good. Having that most
,,ss,;n,Is foundation FOR tanglc al
1..s.csl INCIDENTS. two things were
",,stv rcc,'"d: cas. Of the necessary
,i,pc,re.s - and BRIGHTNESS to enact the
situations. and lines that were just
,nhblinr and c'frrvesccnt enough to
s,rry out tho spirit of the ludicrous
''gSt ~. first necessity was fulfilled; Of
,,.t there isn't the slightest doubt.
Wba,eyer any one may think Of Roland
Yang they could hardly deny that he
i. n,stty nearly the only comedian in
H. aei who could exactly fit the role
ss,bat amazing Pom rroy with his tales
II his Sabbath trysis with tho purely
Imaginary Young lndv-.wh" later be-
Snc tho mother "f his child--or per.
hans we should say children.
And. oven more Gtting IL the choice
~ Laura Hone Crew. who grows posi- (.
,iv.iy more interesting with every ap.
nearnnce. for the role of Amanda Chill .
,on. Amanda is not 10 be catalogucd
a, most stage characters can be; she
int typical Of any one trait or series
AZ traits: she's an amazing complex
and a most human and understandable
ana, She's as fanciful az most Kum-
n,rian creations, and much more sub
stsntial than many Of them. Thanks
Noih 10 the author and to the actress,
Amanda lives more ioyously in our
minds even than the evcr-pacirs. hair
nlAiins Pomeroy. her pride and joy.
her ever to- br- watched over and pro =
ter.ed idol Miss Crews. even in the
r.,,lewness o. an opening night. lot not
4 single opportunity escape hor.
And. uidin; and abetting these two
S,,tursd players. we find Ruth Findlay
no longer rnnsquerading in boys attire.
"A a most attractive and natural sweet +.
heart Of Pomeroy's, the girl he finally
tnyns to when bis prepostcrous story
a. his past indisrret!on Is discovered.
Nariori" Hummer. very notIceably
,ucssess,ng much nf the Hummer ability.
NN sympathetic without beirg 700
much So. as the Italian girl TO whom
Pomeroy came near being married, all
On account Of his yard. Cecil Tapp
was his usual gracious aud graceful self
M a clergyman. and the rcst Of the
characters, iucluding nm interesting
huler. played by Montague Ruthrr.
sometimes banal lines.
That sounds amazing for n Hummer
play. bit therein lies III" fault of
'Pomero?'s s Pas" the only thing that
causes II 10 drag now and then. There
10 a sporadic sparkl" in the fret act :.
faint echo or 50 in the second. a
Blank in the third. That's not saying
the second and thirh acts were rt
funny. rhcy, were often rrrnarious.
but that WAS because thcy entered the
realms Of straight farce. the farce Of
action. md excited people and awk
ward situations. The players made
the laughs. not tho lines they said. and
i as it's hrore than likely "Tomcroy' =
Past scores u hi: Miss Kummer must
iaSe bow With the members of tho
ras'-ahd give them the biggest half,