| Show I PERCY HAMMONDS HAMMOND'S HAM LETTER NEW YORK Feb The a-The 12 The pro pro- professional pro play goer has been more than usually despairing this season having ha dropped his his buckets buckets into so many empty wells Unlike the hap hap- happy hap hap- happy happy py amateur ho he Is commanded by his businesS business to visit entertainments unworthy to be classed among the recreations New theatres have b been en spawned In such myriads that thal their landlords arc aro forced to nd- nd admit ad admit mit tenants unsatisfactory It If not noto o objectionable While the careful may may evade these Irritating irritating Irritating tating upstarts the tho reviewer often orten ortenIs Is compelled In the Interest ot or hIs Income to sacrifice his comfort and damage his good taste and kindly disposition Ho lIe must do or die plays plo's that are clumsy result In a lowering of ot standards standard Bad asso asso- associations asso- asso associations associations Invariably corrupt good manners and though a reviewer may dislike a a drama his hatred Is modified by his knowledge that It it Is better than the tho one he saw last night Annoyed for tor Instance by The Dark he Is reminded that It t la Is an Improvement ement on The Scar Scar- Scarlet Scarlet let Jet Lily or Pinwheel Therefore Instead ot or whipping horse-whipping the culprit he merely merely boxes Its ears That shirking of his duty makes him to those who do not appreciate elate clate his handicaps a truant and undependable guide 0 Ho lie suffers but Is lenient In view of other miseries past and to come The foregoing excuses may help holp a a casual theatre-goer theatre to dis- dis disregard dis disregard regard the appended I tion recommendation of plays playa which to this Inveterate Inveterate Inveterate ate of ot the drama seemed more accomplished than usual The list Is listIs long enough to show that an seeker seeker amusement content to take the lu luck k of his folly mo may as Mr Walkley said fall upon banyan days das One guesses that there have been more good shows and dramas I this year than last but In the multitude of botches their number Is underestimated The Tho list below Includes only the Items that I have seen and which distinguished and otherwise are arc good or to fair dUng chances Broadway The Captive o The Tho Plays Play's the Thing Sam McCobb's Daughter The Silver Sliver Cord Pygmalion Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Saturdays Children Chicago ney of ot the Wells The parker Barker Tommy The Road to Rome The Constant Wife VICe An n American Tragedy Traced The Constant Nymph The Noose The Devil In the Cheese Lady Alone And among the meritorious meritorious ex- ex extravaganzas extravaganzas ex extravaganzas that I have ha been allowed al- al allowed al allowed lowed to see are Rio Rita Yours Truly Tho Ramblers Oh XaY ay Peggy PegI Ann and Miss Bea Bea- Beatrice trice Lillie Twenty tour or more comparatively safe exhibitions are thus available In a II season Reason that has been damned as ludicrous There Is gold goldor goldor goldor or Its counterfeit In them Broadway hills and all aU the pros pros- prospector prospector prospector has haj to do Is to be patient and judicious If It he falls tails to profit by Saturdays Children or The Pirates of ot Penzance he may be rewarded by Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or The Noose At any rate ho he wil will get as much as he deserves de- de deserves de deserves serves I wonder how bow many of or the four four twenty will bo be able to get a clean bill of ot morals when they are examined by the policemen and jurors jurors grand Will the tho censors ob- ob object object ob-lect ob to Miss Misa Lynn Fontannes Fontanne's bare baro shanks In Pygmalion Will III they put their noses Into the violets of The Captive and smell smell moll a 0 ful odor What Impression will they get from tho the Antonia In InThe The constant Nymph or the tho even more so Roberta Roberto In An American Tragedy Tra edy There are re murder legging legging boot lust lunt bare baro knees and other sins sine In Broadw Broadway y and In InThe The Road noad to Rome nomo Miss Ml s s Cowl Cowls Cowl's loose behavior lor with Ith Hannibal might well shock II a prim bailiff In The Barker a seductive I young youn- charmer snake Is le guilty or of wicked transgressions tran lons with the proprietor or of o a a circus circuit Miss Mis-i AlIce Allce Brady as Lady Alone Alono pictures picture IL a anice anice nice New York girl deviating from the tho paths of or rectitude and failing fallinI Into the unstable arms of a II nice New York boy The habits of ot Miss bliss Juno June Walker aj as the Incorrigible In n Gentlemen Prefer Blondes are nefarious Miss Bar Bar- Barrymore Bar as aa The Constant makes Infidelity humorous and Chicago overflows with Jocund raillery about a meal mean little strumpet strum strum- strumpet strumpet pet who makes a II a fool of adultery assassination journalism the ther bar and the bench Sex rears Its ven von venomous head bead In even so Innocuous a charade as 2 Girls Wanted n a production by John Golden the DIg Big Soap and Sponge man I suppose that that we wo should have ha faith In the mayor the tho police and the district attorney and that no matter In what direction they squirt their cleansing hoses puri purl purification purification will be bo the tho consequence Nevertheless I am afraid that they will miss some of the soiled things of the drama and while washing the tho dirt from Sex or ChIcago 1 will dismiss such tarnished chil chil- children children children dren or of o the stage s as aa Cradle Snatchers and the more moro un- un fragrant un-fragrant fragrant revues Mrs Patrick Campbells Campbell's welcome back to the U S A was a bit muffled muffled muffled fled the other evening e at the Mans Mansfield field by her play play-an play an urbane but starved starved halt little comedy with inclinations called The Adventurous Age The first IlU- IlU au audience was so glad to sec see her again that its hospitable salutes when she came into view contin contin- continued continued continued until sho she was to still them with gestured protests In InThe The Tho Adventurous Age she rep rep- represented represented rep represented resented a a romantic pseudo wom wom- woman wom- wom woman woman an of forty five who as her daughter said was throwing her flesh Clesh about Twenty-four Twenty years of matrimony with Ith one and the same English gentleman had pro pro- pro provoked voIced In her a feeling of ot lassitude but like II the tabby cat she aspired to step out among amon- the chimney pots This she did but In a 0 way that was but mildly amusing Her Iler play was only a pint of skimmed milk carbonated with some sprightly English humor Mrs Campbell was older and heavier In person but she was still the same sarno effective player of or other othor days das There Thero Is noth noth- nothIng noth- noth nothing nothing ing better In New York than the English acting of or The Adventurous Adventurous Adventurous ous Age and few things worse than thon the tho comedy Itself |
