The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-20

erlck burielgn mas CHOSEN drama u
but little on the acting talents of its
within an hour or so, the time it tax
ing business man about her strange
Frankly, we we're in the mood to
walk out after the first act. We
shudder to think of our opinion of
ourself had we followed that desire.
We would have missed one of the
best little plays the Civic has pre-
sented in a moon or so.
Slowed Down for Effect
The reason we felt like walking
out was that the pace of the play,
the movements of the actors, the
dialogue itself, has been purposefully
playe down, made to sound trite,
meaningless, generally causing the
audience to suddenly realize just
what is happening-thus to achieve
a startling effect.
In the prologue, Mary Herries
meets young business man, Mr..
Foster, in the living room of her
comfortable home She is old and
drawn, eccentric looking. Miss Her.
ries tells him story Here it is:
Christmas eve several years be-
fore, Mary had brought a ragged
young man into her home to give
him a cup of tea. He was good look
Ing, pleasant voiced. Mary tells her
friend, Lucy Weston, about the
young man. Henry Abbott comes TO
the living room to thank his bene-
tactress, tells her of mis- hungry
wife and baby, She sends him away.
He goes, after stealing a cigarette
case from the table
Has Paintings to Sell
In about month, Henry Abbott
comes back This time he brings
several terrible paintings which he
says he has painted, to sell to Miss
Herries. He insists she take one.
tells her his wife and baby are wait
ing out In front of the house, de-
pending on the money he is to get
from the painting. He shows her
his wife and baby standing in the
cold. AS they look out the window,
they see the wife faint and fall to
the street.
She is carried into the house. A
doctor is summoned. Henry goes
after him. Doctor orders rest and
quiet and plenty of food. The wife,
Ada, and baby are put to bed at the
Herries home.
Up to this point, we had wondered
sust where the play was trying to
go, what it possibly could mean
Then, at the start of the second act, |
We find out
Mary Herries is still playing
hostess to the Abbotts, with Ada no
better. Henry is walking around
with an air of ownership Rose, the
maid, is the only servant left. And
she is leaving when this scene starts.
Advises Dismissal
Lucy Weston drops in again, tries
to get Mary to go on a trip with
her. Mary refuses. Mary tells her
of her problem-the Abbotts. Lucy
advises throwing them out.
Then Rose, on her way out. tells
Mary what she has feared about the
Abbotts. Ada isn't sick at all, she
says. And the baby, is deaf and
dumb, and much older one than
they have said.
Then into the Herries home walk
sinister-looking Mr.. and Mrs. Ed
wards, two witted individuals,
and their daughter, Aggie, a half
wit. Henry welcomes them.
When they come downstairs, he
introduces them to Miss Herries BY
this time she is about fed up with
having strange people brought into
her home by the domineering Henry
So she tells them to get out.
Slowly the group of crooks closes
In on the helpless Miss Herries, and
she realizes what is up She tries 10
run out, but finds that the doctor,
also an accomplice of Henry's, is
blocking the way. She faints.
Held Prisoner
Later we see Mary, prisoner in
body and almost in mind of the
criminals in her house. She Is asked |
to sign papers giving over the guard
ianship of her estate to Henry. She
refuses. Thinking they have ner
completely cowed, the group allows
her to talk to French art dealer
whom they have invited to look over
some OF Marys expensive paintings.
She slips note to the art dealer,