New Britain herald., 1930-01-29
Theater Review
ARTHUR HOPKINS
 presents
 "I;EBoUNb"
 \ comedy by DONALD OGDEN STEW ART

"EEBOUNB"
 \ comedy by
 DONALD OGDEN STEWART with
 1 HOPE WILLIAMS
 [ settings hN Robert Edmond Jones staged by MT Hopkins 'Cast "f CharactcrsI | Liz Crawford ........... ,'oriuuo Toss i Lyman Patterson .., George MacQuarrie | Marta ...-................ Anne I,ubpw
 Les Crawford .... Donald ogden Stewart 1 sara Jat'rey .......,... Hope Williams | Bill Trucsdale .............. bonn Cook
 Johnnie Coles ........, Robert Williams ! Eye Lawrence ..,..... Katherine Leslie l Mrs. JaHrcy .....,.......,. Ada Potter | Pierre --.....,...,..... Pierre D Emery
 Jules ............... Edward La Eoche 1 Henry JaUrey .,........ Walter Walker
 Pleasant, satirical. good humor l pervadrs "Reeound," the three act
 comedy by Donald Ogden Stewart
 which opened at Parsons thcat ! io Hartford last night. With an
 audience that was ready 10 laugh and anxious to give new produc-
 tion every benefit of the doubt and announcement, the show seemed To register well at its opening Briefly i summed up. il is amusing s,u.
 worth an evenings time. alihourh 1 it leaves little to think about The | sparkling wit Of the dialogue ju
 about makes he play: the plot can
 not be praised so highly
 Hope Williams, as the heroine
 who secs life humorously. carri. x
 the lions share of the production on
 her capable shoulders. She is the
 show. The author has placed most i or the comedy lines in her mon q.
 as well as giving her a couple or 1 fairly emotional scenes Miss W.T.
 Hams does better with Ihc comedy
 than she docs with the emotions. i unless enc prefers wife who ru- mains calm when she should be .! | little angry. Tn the rcpartoc of the l play Miss Williams is admirable, tu l the commonpiaccs good. and in the l highly emotional passages rostratp- cd. a little cold. Undoubtedly she ] will improve upon it as the produ.:- | ton swings into its stride.
 Robert Williams as the ii,taI
 lover, probably deserves next hon.
 ors among the players, with Dom , Cook close third. Nlr Williams l work. particularly, seems destined 10 l shine even more brightly when given 1 better opportunity, His part in this | play is not long, although major
 one. Last but not least. playing oue
 of tn" minor roles. Is the author 1 himself. Mr. Stewart He makes eN- client work of q nearly-bald huS- | band part. probably the Lest indi-
 vidual Offering of the lesser charac- l ters
 The weakness Of the play. aside 1 from natural hcsitancy and nervous ness on the part Of the players dt- ] tributed 10 first night" lies in it's i plot The third act, particuIHrlN ] eNplodcS some of tn" theories that the author deliberately SONS in hls
 auditors minds in the first two ncts l TC explain just what seems strange ! would mean 10 expose the plJr { which isn't being donr Suftic" 10 1 say that the man Hope seems 70 l loVc. who causes her 10 marry. lu- l parently for spite. in the first two
 acts. turns out 10 be just q poor for
 gotten admrcr in the last act Thus
 are avoided sundry divorccs and
 other npl"a.antncSs. tn" Slnky 1 Namp is foilcd. and we find that ..;i l crrHnt hubby. ;tt first taken in dcs- 1 pcr@tjon. was really only fooIi,,%
 when he got into his little illiail affair.
 Katherine Leslie Hs EVic I.awrcn .c i turns in somewhat listIcss per ! tormancc as .hc vamp who throw
 over one man. marrics another and 1 then flirts audaciously with inc first one again. Frankly this part dos
 not seem particularly well cast. Miss 1 Leslie doesn't look quite Namp)en
 enough, with duo respect 10 h.r ! ability as an actress. She does vc,o.
 well with what she has to worh ] with.
 CandidIy. it is 10 be hoped that Il | few changes here and there. d little strengthening of some weak situa- i lions, and q more plausible reason | for the somcWnat astonishing change
 Of heart on the part of the heroine. can be founl before the show
 reaches Broadway. It is cntertaln- ing and promising. despite a few | defects and it would indeed be q
 pity to present it in too crude form
 to put it over Ths comedy remains, incidentally, at Parsons for the re naindcr Of the week. with matinccs tNl l-N | Co,
 day late because of production d,|-