The Washington times., 1926-04-06

The audience was large and
neighborly. After the. first act
1t became coherentIy expressive
as Leneta Lanes eye-gladdening
wardrobe began to undermine sus-
capabilities right and left The
young lady makes half a dozen
or fifteen changes. eliciting some
700 abs" and "oh's to the
change.
The play. the sentimental curl
osity in the players and the
elegancies in dress by the women
members OF the cast threw a re-
sponsiye glow over the parishion-
ers and the applause washed.
rather than rippled, against the
footlights. This required the APP
pearance of Director Clifford
Brooke at the second curtain in
his inspiriting take-off on David
Belasco for the first time on any
stage. 1t also Communicated
the appearance of Charles
Squires. the scenic designer. 1t
drew an extra bow for Dorothy
Tierney who is company art di-
rector when she is not "annjinoo-
ing" The stage hands, gluttons
that they are, were out to the
fourth lunch Of the evening and
SO, with collective and conclud-
ing bow by one and all, the
happy little family withdrew zest-
fully, gossiping, no doubt, about
great-big, generous hearted old
Washington.
Guaging winters transitory sea-
son by such muck as "Oh, YOU"
THE Kid Himself Ashes of
Love-" and 40 others. coming
under the head of 'ilk," il seems
ages since the National Players
were last here. Yet il is only
seven months, so it isn't notice
able that the favorite holdovers
have changed in weight, appear
ance, temperament, complexion,
sociability, or in any other facet
Of the actoriaI makeup Billy
Phelps looks like the second
trombone in the House of David
Band. but that, OF course. is the
within of the character Charles
Hampden, newcomer and a
vaIiantly successful one, looks
like Wallace Berry on left stage
and like Lew Cody when he
moves center. He falls in love
with a matron. done to a lovely
brown by Adelaide Hibbard. and
such is auditorial generosity that
this affaire de couer appeared at
least 20 per cent reasonable.
Miss Lane has absorbed an
added proficiency during her fur
Tough. Her yokeI in the first act
is at the other pole from the In
tuitive siren who wears the gor-
geous clothes and the smart man
Lerisms of later acts.
4 season in such ponderances
as Cobra hasn't diluted Kath.
ryn Givney's innate comedy
sense. She hasn't the chance
here for the transports OF com
edy she has at resourse, but
. she manages the laughs, any
way as she would for LADY
Macbeth even If she had ia
write them. The Givney clothes
chest Is evidently capacious and
what Londoner would call
swanky, though l do not use
that word.
There are further. Dorothy
Tierney and John Warner and
Romano Calender, from the
alumni. Warner has the Bruce
McRae role of the harassed
bachelor. Miss Tierney has q
bit. Calender swaggers in twice
and, incidentally, dominates him
self as the best bow taker in the
company; as though he'd been
used to them in THE School for
Scandal
Two OF the newcomers are
absolute prizes Adelaide Hibbard
does the Blanche Ring role with
utter unselfconsciousness of the
fact that anyone else ever played
IL. Percy Winter. on only two APP
pearances. registers like a real
trouper handling a juicy role.
David Munro distinguishes him.