FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   >>  
dy_ (or _Jerusha_) _Abbott_, orphan; and, as normally happens in book-plays, development is extremely abrupt. Act I. shows us _Judy_ as the drudge of the orphanage breaking into flame of rebellion on the day of the visit of the trustees. Naturally the trustees are all trustees _pour rire_, except one real good rich man, _Jervis Pendleton_, who admires the orphan's spirit, and decides that she is to have her chance at his charges; but is on no account to know her benefactor. In Act II., a year later, _Judy_ is not merely the most popular but the best dressed girl in her college. She still dreams about her unknown benefactor, whom she calls _Daddy Long-Legs_, and assumes to be a hoary old man. _Pendleton_ comes to Commem., or its equivalent, to have a peep at his ward, and loses his heart. In the Third Act, three years later, our heroine is a famous author, and _Pendleton_, coming (still incog.) to propose, is refused by a _Judy_ who has taken to worrying unduly (and not altogether convincingly, if you ask me) about her lack of family. And, of course, in Act IV., wedding bells. Miss RENEE KELLY has a charming personality, and a smile which alone is worth going to see. She trounced the matron and the incredible trustees with a fierce fury, and seemed to have easy command of the changes of mood and tense which her fast-moving circumstances required. A pretty twinkling star. Mr. CHARLES WALDRON is a skilful actor. If he, perhaps, grimaced a little too much by way of not letting us miss the obvious points of the little mystery, he made as admirable a proposal of marriage as I have ever heard on the stage (or off it for that matter, with perhaps one exception); but to suppose that so accomplished a lover would accept a mere mournful shake of the head as a final refusal is simply too absurd. Miss FAY DAVIS made quite a little triumph of gentle gracious kindliness out of one of those potentially tiresome explanatory parts without which no mystifications can be contrived. Miss KATE JEPSON is a comedienne of rich grain, and gave a very amusing study of the hero's old nurse. Miss JEAN GADELL, that clever specialist in dour unpleasant stage women, made a properly repulsive thing out of the matron of the orphanage. Mr. HYLTON ALLEN scored his points as a comic lover with droll effect. If the distinctly clever children of the home (_Judy_ excepted) had been effectively put on the contraband list I should not have worried. They were
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   >>  



Top keywords:

trustees

 
Pendleton
 
points
 

orphan

 
benefactor
 
clever
 
matron
 

orphanage

 

accomplished

 

pretty


refusal
 
simply
 

twinkling

 
accept
 
suppose
 

mournful

 
circumstances
 

required

 

absurd

 

grimaced


admirable

 

proposal

 

mystery

 

obvious

 

letting

 

marriage

 

matter

 
CHARLES
 
WALDRON
 

skilful


exception

 

explanatory

 
scored
 

effect

 

HYLTON

 

unpleasant

 

properly

 

repulsive

 

distinctly

 
children

worried

 

contraband

 

excepted

 

effectively

 
specialist
 

GADELL

 

tiresome

 

potentially

 

moving

 

kindliness