New Britain herald., 1928-04-10

Theater Reviews of
 Current Offering,
WINTHROP AYES Presents
 ESCAPE"
 by JOHN GALSWORTHY
LESLIE HOW APT

II LESLIE HOWARD
 Il (The Cast of CharactersJ
 Matt Denant ........... Leslie Howard tBy arrangement with Gilbert Miller The girl of the town. Henrietta Goodwin
 The plain clothes man. Edgar R. Ken, The policeman -......... s. B. Robert' , The other policeman ....F. Cecil Butler The fellow convict. Lawrence Hanras | 1he warder ......... St. Clair Bayfield, 1 The other warder ..... Edgar R. Kent l The shlncled lady .... Frieda 1nescort
 The maid ............... Cyrena Smith The old gentleman. Lawrence Hanray 1 The shopkeeper ......... J. P. Wilson
 His wife ................ Lefty kinneil 1 His sister .....,......... Ruth Vivian 1 The man in plus fours. Alan Tro,ter 1 His wife .........,-...- Viva Tattersall The Dartmoor constable. Edgar F. Kent l The laborer ......... St. Clair Bayfeld 1 The other .borer .-... r. Cecil Butler 1 The farmer .....,... Lawrence Hanrav The little girl ......... Geraldine Kay Miss Dora ...........,.. Edith Holden MISS ira'e .........., Los ]leatherley The paraon -............ Austin Trevor The belninger ......,..... Alan Trotter (By Herald Eeviewerl
 John Calsworthy's Escape"
 strange in structure but fascinating
 nevertheless, was presented at Par sons theater, Hartford. last evening
 before an audience whose interest
 had been aroused to a high pitch
 by advance notices of the play and
 by it's success in New York and
 other cities. It is drama encom-
 passed in a prologue and nine epi-
 sodes. At first breath this would
 tn o tiracnf1n nN.prir tt
 but so swiftly does one episode fol-
 low another, the mechanical force
 being a paragon of efficiency, that there are no empty moments. the action is swift and suspense is sus- tained 10 the end.
 Galsworthy has spun his story about a former captain in the Brit ish army who meets a girl of the streets in Hyde park and. aroused by the injustice of her arrest. knocks down the policeman. whose head strikes rail with fatal con- sequences. He is convicted of man. slaughter, sentenced 10 five years at Dartmoor prison. but escapes after one years incarceration and be- comes the focal point of a man hunt during which the whole world seems bent on his recapture. Each episode is q finely shaded etching revealing interesting traits of human nature, the conflicting viewpoints of those who would cast the fugitive behind assist him along his journey 10 freedom.
 Leslie Howard, naturally, plays the role of Matt Denant. the escaped convict. Tho word naturally Is used Mr. Howard is so suited 10 the assignment that the audience forgets whether 1t is watching Les lie Howard or Matt Denant. He does a delightful character portrait with q fine adjustment of emotional cX- pression and action. He Is the typi- cal English sportsman down on his luck who plays "cricket" at all times.
 Other members of the cast. many Of whom appear for only few min utes. gain distinction for their im- presentations. It is necessary for several members of the company to double" in character. Lawrence Harry stands out in the role of "Thr Old Gentleman" and "The Farmer Fricda Inescourt effectively plays The ShinGled Lady" Edgar B. Kent is tn" rcrsnnifcation of the puffinY English constable as he is known on his side of the water. Alan Trottcr and Viva Tattcrsali have their moment of prominence although 1t ! IS a brief one. Austin Trevor ap- 1 pears as the clergyman only near he end of the play but handles his ! assignment impressively.
 The form of Escape" is a gratify- ! ng variation from the conventional , lrama of three acts.
 Escape" will be repeated tonight | md tomorrow night. There will be | | matinee tomorrow.