The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-09-08
MABEL NORMAND
AND SPLENDID
CAST

While a middling number of
traps and paris green bats are
probably lurking in the path
way of ''The Little Mouse"
there is no denying that it may
avoid them all and win through
to a fair Broadway run. This
little merry-go-round farce, with
husbands and wives chasing
each other frantically, has been
so adfoitly staged and so well
cast by the Woods forces that,
only after an evening Of
chuckles and laughs is about
over, will the theatergoer begin
to. suspect that he has been
absorbing apple sauce by the
quart. A good modicum OF
cerise lines help to disguise a
dull grayness of plot and con-
ception.
Mabel Normand seems to put.
rather a tentative foot upon thel
stage. Not that her work is not
very good, but that there's rather
little Of it. About ten minutes to
each act seems to be the limit to
Miss Mabel's appearance. And
only in the second act is she
given the opportunity. to cut
loose with what might be regard.
ed as typical ''Normand stuff
when she does a brief and very
alcoholic war dance on an over
stuffed divan. Her appearances
in the first and last acts are alb
solutely devitalized and convention.
al bits. The Normand spea king
voice, which we have all been
wondering about, is pretty and q
little throaty, but not very flex-
ible which is hardly to be won
dered at. From q pictorial stand
point, the Normand is quite gor-
geous. She makes her debut in
a postery effect OF orange velvet
and white fox that RbsQlptely
eclipses everything else In sight.
The supporting cast assembled
for Miss Normand comes very
nearly being superlatiye. Ger
tainly these very able people
carry just about the whole weight
OF the production. Spencer Char.
tiers, in the role of the. bef4ddled
butler, Andrews, Is q Consistent
laugh producer all the way
through the show and probably
ranked q trif1e higher In the
AUDIENCES affections than any
other member or the cast when
the curtain dropped on the third
act, Russell Mack, who played
the armorous and roaming Smith,
wha always blooms" after. eight
in the evening, gave a really tine
performance, finished enough Tor
a hundredth performance instead
OF a first.
Work Of the women in the cast
was uniformly fine and highly
spirited. Marie Adels played the
hard.boiled but soft-headed little
stenographer to. the life and for
every iota the part was worth.
Alice Hegeman gave highly skit-
fish performance of the mother
in-law, but, after all, the place for
theatricalism Is In the theater and
the sort of mother-in-law that
never was nor never will be. Is
probably more interesting than
the sort you see in the street
every day. Another delightful
person is Allyn King. as the
blindingly beautiful Mrs. Smith.
Miss King, In q clinging chiffon
velvet negliEee.. Is entirely too
handsome for this world.
Byron Hawkins played Mr.. Zero
capab1y enough, but with touches
Of artificiality. He shows a ten
dency to recite his lines instead
Of talking them. Gaby Fleury,
who did the conventional French
maid. played very prettily, indeed.
1.-THE Little Mouse" presenta-
ton last night could hardly be
called premiere, since the play
has been produced at least twice
before under different names.
Perhaps this accounts for the
smoothness and quick tempo of
last nights performance. There
is no dead" dialogue or slow
movement in the show, whatever
its other shortcomings. II 1.-THE
Little Mouse" should pass away
untimely, which the higher pow.
ers portend. 1t will hardly be the
fault Of either producer or cast
and the services of the play sur
geon will be superfluous.-M. H.