The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1924-02-29
MariicnPlay
Success
EXCELLENT ACTING IN BUR-
LESQUE ON COMMON GARDEN
VARIETY OF MELODRAMA.
LARGE AUDIENCE

Miss Florence Cranney was easily
star of Alice Sit by the Fire" pre-
sented at Howells Opera House last
Friday night by Marion M l. A. IN
playing the title role. she proved
conclusively that she had mastered
a complex and subtle bit of feminine
psychology. To bring out the diff
ference between shades of emotion
when the difference is only the
width of split hair, and yet to con-
vey an impression of very definite
difference-this no doubt is still
more difficult than it looks, and 1t
doesn't look at all easy. Without
doubt this role was one of the most
complex ever attempted here in 4
home-talent production-and the at
E tempt was entirely successful.
Miss Cranney was ably supported
by the other members of the cast,
some of whose parts were almost as
difficult to play as was hers. Much
C4Ouil 10 uuc iiC VII CCbol.
The members of the cast, other
than Miss Cranney, were:
The Colonel ---- - M. t. WoOdhOuse
ANN - Miss Hortense Gorringe
Steven Rollow - Walter Matthews
Cenevera--- miss Leah Cranney
Cosmo- ----.. ----.-- Nelson Smith
r-bo Nr,,~eo RTfec A,l,lo Tarco,,
The Maid Miss Rowena Jensen
Richardson - Miss Mable Jensen
One might easily fail to see the
significance of the title-mignt even
suspect that the play had been mis-
named. For Alice, the mother,l
seems younger than Amy, the daugn-
ter. Which leads us to the hint
that youthfulness as a cult may be
the invention of people not so ex-
tTemely young after all. I wonder /
if very much thought is given to the
subject, one way or another, by |
those on the sunny side of twenty
five. Militant youthfulness is no
doubt a sort of rediscovery. The
stone rolling down the side of the
mountain goes faster and faster as
it progresses,-but that's no sign it
isn't approaching it's journeys end.
Alice is still young and the nearness
of the time of sitting by the fire
makes her youthfulness more, and
Lot less, intense.
The surface features of the dra-
ma, as l saw them, were:
I. A double and nicely balanced
misunderstanding between Alice and
Amy-leading to many ludicrous in
cidents.
2. A juicy burlesque on the ex-
of melodrama This I
burlesque is weaved nicely into the +,
texture of the plot, eliminating {
just as the curtain falls ,
ia the words spoken by Amy.
More fundamentally, there is in J
the play study of shortcuts to j
friendship. Alice, highly special
lied product of the twentieth centu-
~, desires alteration to the extent q
hat she you'd sacrifice herself or b
1er husband to receive it; she is ln
,rafty in a benevolently malicious il
manner; best of all, she knows the Fl
sreat open secret of the universe S,
hat to be adored, one must be will .
ng to receive more than he gives S.
II either things or ideas. Unless
Lere is a basis of enduring friend NJ
hip, 1t is dangerous thing to give "
our acquaintance a present.. it may t,
ause him to hate you. 1t requires ly
great deal more character to re- al
Give gracefully than to give grace
ully. How well Alice knew this. al
q watch her manage peopel remin- o,
ed me of the movie trick of arrang- bs
ne bunch of hay to dangle in al
ront of the nose of the balky mule. SC
Alice Sit by the Fire. was come in
y with overtones of sadness; laugh nj
er against background of doom. 81
'ver in Washington is a waterfall to
rtrancingly beautiful but so haunt w
igly lonely that If one ever went d.
here in company with laughing m
lends he could never bear to go tn
gain alone and remember the ev
lughter. That is comedy of the ou
ighest power-hilarity in such "a ou
'ene as that
Plays are like people. Two kinds ed
people are admirable: "savages'' de