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Show STRONG PLAY AT THE WILKES ? tSS g$ COMEDY-DRAMA AT 0RPHEUM "The Song of Songs" Is Presented by Popular Stock Company. THE Wilkes Stock company was not at Its best in "The Song of Songs," which opened at the Wilkes theater last night as the bill for the week. The members of the cast did not fit Into their roles with their customary ease, and the play did not move with the smoothness of other offerings of the company. With a few more performances, however, the fault may be corrected. The play is a strong one, based upon a woman's fight to be good, with the odds against her. Her pathetic search for "The Song of Songs," or in other words, true love, and finding it ever elusive, forms the theme of the story. Miss Nana Bryant as Lily Kardos, the heroine, does her best work in the last act, when she steps upon tlie heights with the ideals she has never realized. J. Anthony Smyth, in the leading man's role, that of Richard Laird, who Is in love with Lily through all of the vicissitudes vicissi-tudes of her life. Is also seen to advantage in the closing scene, as the earnest, tender lover. As Senator Daniel E. Calkins, an older man, who takes advantage of Lily's youth to persuade her to marry him. Charles E. Murphy does crude work. Miss Claire Sinclair, although making a brief appearance appear-ance as Anna Merrill, a woman who has been a victim of Senator Calklns's fickle fancy, Is strong. The other members of the company are not given any particular opportunity to show their ability. The play is well staged and the setting Is artistic. The gown which Miss Bryant Bry-ant wears In the fourth act is especially pretty and one of the most becoming which the popular leading woman has yet worn. Mr. Smyth will close his engagement with the company this week, to the regret of Wilkos patrons, who have been much pleased with his work In .Salt Tike. He will be succeeded by Stuart Robblns, who brrs appeared as leading man with William Wil-liam Gillette and other prominent stage celebrities. Mr. Robbins arrived in the city yesterday and will open with the company com-pany next Sunday evening. i The Screen Production of "Green Stockings" Proves Attractive Feature. A SCREEN production of "Green Stockings," Stock-ings," the well-known English comedy-drama, with Miss Lillian "Walker in the leading role, is the feature film on the "movie" bill at the. Orpheum for the first three days of this week, beginning begin-ning yesterday, which bids fair to be a good drawing card. The spoken play has been seen here, but in the film production many feature and connecting incidents' are shown tbat it is Impossible to put on the regular stage, so that the .film has an added interest. Miss Walker is seen to good advantage in this picture. The role of Celia Faraday, Fara-day, the near-old-maid sister who plays a clever little game of her own and wins a husband to her own surprise, is admirably ad-mirably suited to the popular picture performer. per-former. The themo of the play is woven about an old English custom which decreed that an elder Fister who failed to marry, or at least to become engaged "before "a younger sister's marriage, must wear green stockings at the younger sister's wedding. Miss Walker, as Celia Faraday, has this bitter experience at tlie wedding of one sister, and when threatened with it at another wedding decided to get engaged. en-gaged. Not succeeding in this, she pretends pre-tends to be engaged to an English officer of-ficer a supposedly fictitious officer to whom she writes a love letter that actually ac-tually reaches tiie officer, who is not fictitious, fic-titious, but real. There is much good and wholesome comedy unfolded in the story of how the officer travels from Africa to England aim finds a bride. The second headliner on the movie bill is the sixth installment of "The Mysteries of Myra," the interesting mystic picture that is proving a strong feature, in connection con-nection with the serial story of the picture pic-ture which is running in the magazine section of The Tribune. Four other short and lively pictures fill out the ten-reel programme. |