Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-12
ADJUSTMENTS
PoLrs-"Ned McCobb's Daughter"

| POLPS-"Ned McCObb's Daughter"
Down East character, famous in
song and story for its close dealing
but rugged honesty, meets severe test
in Med McCobbs Daughter" last
nights offering of the New York The
alter Guild Repertory Co. which is
playing weeks engagement at Polls.
The test Is almost too difficult for the
daughter and her devoted parent, cap
tain of ferryboat at Merrybay IN
Maine. The latter succumbs to a stroke
OF apoplexy, but his determined child
solves the problem, demonstrating her
superiority. mentally and morally. over
two New York jailbirds, one of whom
| is her husband and the other his
| brother.
The brother, Babe Callahan, is
| modern bootlegger. He stops at the
| home of the McCobbs in search Of
base of operations and there meets
George Callahan, his long-lost relative,
who has married Capt. McCobbs daugh-
| ter Carrie.
About the same time Lawyer Grover,
. attorney for the ferryboat company,
visits the house with Ben McCcbb,
brother of Carrie and member of the
State police, and informs George, who
checks autos on the ferry. that the
company has discovered his pecula.
tons. Two thousand dollars by noon
next day or jail Is the lawyers edict.
Carrie has been conducting a res
taurant and has just arranged for an
extension of her dining room at a cost
| Of $780,
While denouncing George. Capt. Cobb
collapses and expires. Up to this time
the bootlegger has concealed his bust
ness. He promptly offers to aid Carrie
If she will consent to the use of her
barn as liquor cache. In her dilemma
she agrees He gives her the $4,000 for
the ferryboat company and SUISSE
quently $1,000 for the restaurant extern
sion. In the meantime she has discoy-
cred that her husband has been I'M
faithful with her serving maid and
orders both of them from the house.
The play ends with Carrie sending
for Federal dry agents. On their APP
pearance she writes out an o U for
the money she has obtained from the
bootlegger, tells him she will repay it
IN year and then threatens to turn
him over to the authorities unless he
leaves at once. The bootlegger slips
away, as does her husband, but she
relents enough to keep the maid in view
OF the fact that she expects increased
business and needs her help
The play is the work of Sidney
Howard. 1t contains occasional clever
lines but seems to filled with incident
for the simple story. The villainy of
George Is convincingly set forth through
his theft from the ferryboat company
and the extra incident of his affair with
the serving maid has the appearance of
an unnecessary piece of business. 1t
also gives excuse for the Interpolation
of lines decidedly out of place in SO
called polite drama. Nobody expects a
bootlegger to speak excellent English or
TO be a Chesterfield in department, but
there Is surely no reason for some of
the expressions used by the Babe" in
his expose of his brother Georges secret
love affair.
Elizabeth Risdon wins acting Ionors
in the role of Carrie McCobb. Her
| stage personality and voice are pleasing,
but she has apparent difficulty with the
Down East method of speech Lawrence
Leslie, as Babe Callahan, presents a
picture of what we are led to believe is
a modern bootlegger. He emphasizes his
Importance by announcing proudly that
he has spent three years in Federal
accent upon Federal" Others in the
cast worthy of mention were Peg Emit
! wistle. as Jenny, the serving maid;
Brandon Evans, as Capt. Cobb; Neal
| Caldwell, as George Callahan, and Alan
Mowbray, as Ben McCobb. The settings
| were interesting and attractive.
NATIONAL THEATER.-"Madam X"
The age-old story of mother love of
vainglorious husband who mistook
false pride for love, was superbly told
at the National last night by National
Theater Players in Madame X" the
French story by Alexandra Bison
adapted by John Raphael
The mother role, an intensely emo
| tional one from her first appearance to
the laundering applause of the final
curtain, was admirably played by Mary
| Newton, who was seen as the repentant
mother who had left her husband and
son for another lover. The story the
years of degradation had wrought was
J forcefully told, bringing her after 20
years back to her native France to pre.