The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-09-10
= DRAMA IN
At Mrs. BoWman's Boarding
House

(.
THERE is a lot of fun in Women
Go On Forever" now playing at
the Forrest Theatre and one OF the
two mysteries in the play that re-
NAMED unsolved until towards the
end of the piece, is the title. Indeed,
Mrs. Bowman, the boarding house i'm
Ipressario, played eXcellently by Mary
Boland, was obliged to allay the
curiosity of the audience by making
an explanation that did not explain
to the colored maid whose husband
was dying and did die as did almost
everybody else in the cast. The other
mystery that remained unsolved until
| a few minutes before the curtain went
down was Sven the siX-foot-andmore
! Scandinavian, and potential motorman
who in looking for boarding house
saw the "rooms for rent" sign in Mrs.
Bowman's window, said rooms having
been just preempted of their tenants
during a night of carnage, horror,
burlesque, pathos and comedy by
well-directed bullets. Mrs. Bowman
had a weakness for star boarders and
Sven was the latest successful candi-
date for the position, into which he
stepped before Jake was cold in
death.
The first act unfolds the popula-
ton of Mrs. Bowman's boarding
house, the principal occupation of
which seems to be either getting
married as a means of existence or
otherwise living illegally on their
female admirers. Mrs. Bowman
fights for her back rent like a tig-
ress, but she is warm-hearted person
and when her principal dead beat is
taken in marriage by an employed
female she consents to his occupying
his wife's apartment without pressing
the matter of a raise in the rent I'M
til the honeymoon is over.
Mrs. Bowman's star boarder, Jake,
is tough egg and when his land
lady suspects him of unfaithfulness
he covenants himself back into her
good graces. But he does not re-
form. He has designs on Mabel, an
other roomer who comes home from
work with tale of woe about boss
who sought her ruin, but only brought
down on his own head several chairs,
dishes and as much of the general
furniture of private dining room as
was not nailed down.
But Pete, rival of Jake's, has
Jake locked up in Mrs. Bowman's
room whittier Jake repaired to steal
the cash with which to take Mabel
out on bat, Mabel being Disguised
with life at not hearing from Eddie
who was making bid for fortune in
the golden west And Pete, who has
the dough earns the privilege of get
ting Mabel drunk.
Had Mabel gone to bed instead of
going out on a toot she would have
received telegram from Eddie re-
questing her to meet him at the train
preparatory to a trip to the nearest
marriage bureau and Pete would not
fall dead in the alley before bullets
fired by Jake's brother Louie, a fugi-
tive from justice for having killed
one of the O'Dowd's. l almost for
got to note that Jake was killed by
Mrs. Bowman's blind son Billy, in re-
venge for slap on the cheek. After
which - promptly and efficiently
makes love to an old maid and is
found in her room in the early morn
ing by the Infatuated Mrs. Bowman.
The murders do not seem to annoy
| either the roomers or the landlady
and a good time is had by all. One
of the bright spots in the play is the
anguish of the colored maid over the
death of husband whose company
she enjoyed only four days. He was
glutton for calomel and kept cry
ing alternately during his last mo-
ments, Jesus, take my soul" and,
"Mary, don't let me die"
The inevitable pest who is to be
found everywhere is the unfortunate
who played the role of the boarder
whose wife brought forth a son. And
if sensing this characters unpopu-
larity with the audience the author
had him make two trips to speak
easy, after which he became delight
fully silent.
Osgood Perkins as Pete and Nor
gan Wallace as Jake INDUCED in
some good acting, tho blind Billy's
conquest of the old maid was as slick
performance as could be expected
from sighless lover. But in this
case blindness was an asset, Sven,
the Scandinavian, has an easy job
and finishes this dramatic crazy quilt