Evening star., 1925-06-02
ADJUSTMENTS
NATIONALIST This Is London. .

+ 4 ~
= There seems to be no such word
as slump in the vocabularies of the
National Theuter Players. Their first
Two weeks. first in the Nervous
Wreck" then in Just Married" set
a standard 50 artistically high that
a slight slump might have been. eX-
.cusable Instead $50 This Is Lon
don" which opened last night, is
quite as c,everly handled as the two
successes with which the company
started its popular career i'll Wash
inSton. The players have estab-
1ished an admiring clientele, SO that
now it is not 4 question as to their
ability and popularity, but simply a
matter of preference in the play they
present.
George NJ. Cohan is responsible for
$50 This Is London" and the cast
that played it last night and the au-
dience that saw it should be grateful
to Mr.. Cohan. Even the weather was
forgotten by the audience.
Mr. Cohan's play is a hyperbolical
treatment of the supposed mutual
antipathy of the Americans and the
British. 1t is laughter produced in
quantity ard. if volume is a measure,
in quality as well.
Not a shade Of the emphatic ac-
centuation of character is lost i'll the
Interpretation given by the National
Theater Players. Minor Watson. who
in the preceding two plays has had
excellent support. last night found
himself with active and unrelenting
competition. despite his deftness with
the part of Hiram Draper. sr,, sue
cessful shoe manufactures and at
least 200 per cent American. Ro-
maine Calender, as Sir Percy Beau
champ, also a successful shoe manu-
facturer and the British equivalent
of 900 per cent American. ran Mr..
Watson a neck-andneck race.
Mr.. Draper, sr., goes to Europe TO
buy out Bolts Bros, his British rival.
His son and wife accompany him.
The parents pass the voyage in their
stateroom. The son spends his on
deck in company with a British girl.
with whom he falls in love. The girl
believes in reciprocity. Hiram, jr.,
tells his father about the love affair.
The father rants, roarS, fumes and
vows that no worthless BritiSher is
going to get his money. He knows
these Britons, does the father. Flea
nor, the girl, tells her father. More
ranting, roaring and fuming. Her
father vows that no worthless. i'll
hammered American is going to get
his family tradition.
Very cleverly are the concepts of
each family of the other shown, with
the Britishers as stupid, proud bores
and the American as crude, slangy.
tobacco-chewing StrutterS.
Then Lady Amy Ducksworth
brings them together at a dinner.
Neither knows that they are rival
shoe makers. At the dinner. how.
ever the denouement is developed,
with happiness all around! Sir Percy
and Hiram Draper discover that there
is not such d great difference in view.
points and that their concepts of each
other were quite. stupid. The play
ends with Sir Percy and Mr.. Draper
matching coins to see whether the
wedding shall, be held in England
or, America. Mr.. Draper loses like the
good sport Sir Percy thought he was
not.
Leneta Lane is Lady Amy Ducks
worth, the American wife of a dead
Englishman who actstas peace.maker
and ambassador plenipotentiary be
tween the two families. She is, un
questionably the most beautiful am
bassador ever exchanged between the
two. countries. Dorothy Tierney is
Eleanor, William Phelps is the son
Lillian Dean is Lady Beauchamp, Ed
ward Arnold rs Alfred f1oneycutt
Kathrine Givney is Mrs. Draper-ano
all of them are excellent.