rebe
5. 1
box 11/2
ma
in itself a brief summarg of in
storg. Fritz Sommers, who is already in¬
B
KATHERINE GREY
1 In the rele of Christinerin The Reckoning, at
the Berkeley Lyecum.
volved in an Paffair' with a married wo¬
man, falls in love—in bis easy #iy—with
sweet Foung girl, Chbistine Wehring.
He#tries io best#fram hervall- kun wiedge
of the other woman, and she in zurn
gives to him her love wholly and unre¬
serveilly. The husband of the other wo¬
man tls Sommers hie knows all, and
challenges him to a duel. Sommers takes
lenve of Christine, on the plea that ehe
has to go out of town for a day or two,
but Christine, already made suspicious by
mang little ineidents and remarks, spends
the period of his absence in an agony
of doubt and fear. Then there returns
his friend Theodore to tell her of his
death. More by intuition than by infor¬
nation, nided by the strange silences of
Theodore, she learns that sthe duel was
fonght for the sake of another woman.
and that Fritz was killed by that woman's
husband. The ending cannot be deserib¬
ed—it must been seen and heard. I
means ruin for Christine and for her aged
father, that much is certain, Chough just
how and when each may decide for him¬
seif.
It is not a new or an unusunl theme,
and of actual plot there is very littie—an
act of gay, irresponsible comedy, just
sounding the tragie note; then an actrof
leeper sentiment, with ihe tragie strain
growing londer; then an act of heart¬
rending tragedy, intense in its naturalness
and hopelessness, and the thing is done.
But the handling of this material is the#
play’s claim to distinction. Its delicate
shading of one situation into another,
the terse, half-finished sentences of the
dialogue, the deft character-drawing, and,
above all, the simple nakuralness of it,
combine to render it a play that counts.
The acting of a small cast—only seven
in all—was well-nigh flawless. John
Dean, as Fritz, made the hero both likable
and attractive, while preserving the strain
of weakness that made his dilemma pos¬
sible. His mental strain and natural
buoyancy were both admirably depicted.
as well as the momentary intensity of bis
love for Christine. Robert Conness, as
Theodore, and Phyllis Rankin, as Chris¬
tine’s girl friend, Mitzi. furnished delight¬
ful comedy, with apt and convincing
louches of something deeper.
George
Henry Trader, as Christine’s father, gave
a most finished and appealing rendering
of a gentle, philosophical and loving old
man. Sarah MeVickar, in the comedy
part of a practical, level-headed, but
slightly inquisitive German woman, was
capital. For ihe smallest part in the
play, thagef“a gentleman.'’ special praise
must Neraccorded Albert Bruning. With
onig ten or a dozen lines In all, ably en¬
forced by good pantomime and fücial ex¬
pression, he drew for one a distinct per¬
Fsohality, and warmiv deserved bis special
Tround of applause. To Katherine Grey, as
Theroine, fell most of the work, especially
in the last act. She was girlish., affee¬
tionate, and always spontaneously nat¬
Pural in the earlier scenes; appealing, in¬
teuse and tragie in the simple, direct way
that hurts in her final scene,
Oue can
enlg repent—the acting was practically
hawless.
Die enthusiasm of the andience was
that gecorded to a üirst night that is des¬
tined to become a successful run.
5. 1
box 11/2
ma
in itself a brief summarg of in
storg. Fritz Sommers, who is already in¬
B
KATHERINE GREY
1 In the rele of Christinerin The Reckoning, at
the Berkeley Lyecum.
volved in an Paffair' with a married wo¬
man, falls in love—in bis easy #iy—with
sweet Foung girl, Chbistine Wehring.
He#tries io best#fram hervall- kun wiedge
of the other woman, and she in zurn
gives to him her love wholly and unre¬
serveilly. The husband of the other wo¬
man tls Sommers hie knows all, and
challenges him to a duel. Sommers takes
lenve of Christine, on the plea that ehe
has to go out of town for a day or two,
but Christine, already made suspicious by
mang little ineidents and remarks, spends
the period of his absence in an agony
of doubt and fear. Then there returns
his friend Theodore to tell her of his
death. More by intuition than by infor¬
nation, nided by the strange silences of
Theodore, she learns that sthe duel was
fonght for the sake of another woman.
and that Fritz was killed by that woman's
husband. The ending cannot be deserib¬
ed—it must been seen and heard. I
means ruin for Christine and for her aged
father, that much is certain, Chough just
how and when each may decide for him¬
seif.
It is not a new or an unusunl theme,
and of actual plot there is very littie—an
act of gay, irresponsible comedy, just
sounding the tragie note; then an actrof
leeper sentiment, with ihe tragie strain
growing londer; then an act of heart¬
rending tragedy, intense in its naturalness
and hopelessness, and the thing is done.
But the handling of this material is the#
play’s claim to distinction. Its delicate
shading of one situation into another,
the terse, half-finished sentences of the
dialogue, the deft character-drawing, and,
above all, the simple nakuralness of it,
combine to render it a play that counts.
The acting of a small cast—only seven
in all—was well-nigh flawless. John
Dean, as Fritz, made the hero both likable
and attractive, while preserving the strain
of weakness that made his dilemma pos¬
sible. His mental strain and natural
buoyancy were both admirably depicted.
as well as the momentary intensity of bis
love for Christine. Robert Conness, as
Theodore, and Phyllis Rankin, as Chris¬
tine’s girl friend, Mitzi. furnished delight¬
ful comedy, with apt and convincing
louches of something deeper.
George
Henry Trader, as Christine’s father, gave
a most finished and appealing rendering
of a gentle, philosophical and loving old
man. Sarah MeVickar, in the comedy
part of a practical, level-headed, but
slightly inquisitive German woman, was
capital. For ihe smallest part in the
play, thagef“a gentleman.'’ special praise
must Neraccorded Albert Bruning. With
onig ten or a dozen lines In all, ably en¬
forced by good pantomime and fücial ex¬
pression, he drew for one a distinct per¬
Fsohality, and warmiv deserved bis special
Tround of applause. To Katherine Grey, as
Theroine, fell most of the work, especially
in the last act. She was girlish., affee¬
tionate, and always spontaneously nat¬
Pural in the earlier scenes; appealing, in¬
teuse and tragie in the simple, direct way
that hurts in her final scene,
Oue can
enlg repent—the acting was practically
hawless.
Die enthusiasm of the andience was
that gecorded to a üirst night that is des¬
tined to become a successful run.