Judge — November 4, 1916 — page 18: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

B ET WE 6 ‘OU remember that nice old thea- Y tre down on Irving Place? asked the Débutante. “The German one, I mean. They've moved uptown—to the old Bandbox. I’m so glad—it’s much easier to get to.” “You mean they have expanded,” cor- rected the Critic. ‘‘ They are keeping the Irving Place Theatre going as well as the Bandbox. I am very glad to see them succeed. There is room in New York for such a movement; we have had the Thea- tre ngais, but it always seemed to me that the German drama and actors were overlooked a bit. Their expansion is a step in the right direction, and I wish them all the luck in the world. Did you see the play at the Bandbox?” he added to the Débutante. “Yes—and I enjoyed it ever so much,” replied she. “‘It was awfully well acted, and very pretty. I'm going there often this season.” “LT was pleased with their work,” agreed the Critic. “The company was excellent. as a whole, though I think Heinrich Marlow and Margarete Chris- tians rather outshone the others. The real value of the German and French theatres is that they enable people to see and hear the best in foreign drama with- out the medium of translations, which al- ays lose something of the original spirit. In English we hear through a glass darkly, if you will allow me to mix Tired Business Man approached comrade in tow. is Mr. Brett, of Chicago and the West,” he said, “and we're going some- where to-night, and we can’t make up our minds. What do you recommend?” “*Betty,’” replied the Critic, without hesitation. ‘The Suburbanite, who had been study- E N he CYRIL ANDREW ing Mr. Brett closely since his introduc- tion, murmured ‘** Marvelous, Holmes, marvelous!’” The Tired Business Man looked at him suspiciously, but Mr. Brett's question stopped any comments he may have been inclined to make. “Pretty girls?” inquired Mr. Brett. “Lots of them,” replied the Critic. “Good music? “Plenty of it.” “Funny?” “Raymond ever. “Then that’s settled,” said Mr. Brett with a huge sigh of relief. “We'll h to hustle if we're going to get din- ner and the seats. Glad to have met you!” And he and the Tired Business Man disappeared in a metaphorical cloud of dust. The Suburbanite grinned. “You sent ‘em to the right thing,” he chuckled. “1 was just on the point of recommending ‘Under Sentence,’ but I hadn't the heart.” “Why —didn’t you like ‘Under Sen- tence’?” asked the Débutante in surprise. Hitchcock as good as C U RTA “T saw it last night, and I’ve never been so thrilled in my life. It was so intens “T thought the last act was absolutely funny,” said the Suburbanite. “I didn’t like all those pink-tea plans for the better- ment of the poor prisoners. But I'll ad mit that there were a lot of first-class thrills in the thing. “T was glad to see ‘Under Sentence,” said the Critic, “on account of the oppor- tunity of seeing Janet Beecher in an emo: tional part. And I think she did well remarkably well. For that matter, the rest of the cast played better than I ex pected. A great many people did not care for the play, but it seemed to me to be headed for success.” asn’t that scene in the library just thrilling?” exclaimed the Débutante “just adcred that awful bank-president He was so—so—wicked and wonderful! And then, what a clever scheme to get him convicted! 1 think the whole thing was splendid!” “You see, my judgment was correc said the Critic to the Suburbanite. “The play has made a sensation. Of course. the authorship would have something to do with it—Irvin Cobb and Roy Megruc are good names to conjure with—but there are intrinsic merits in the play which lift it above the glamour of its par ents. I mean intrinsic merits from the box-office point of view, which is the only point of view in these degenerate days There are suspens wronged man, weak woman pitting herself powerful capitalist, and the final victory of the right, together with some effective prison scenes. With these as capital, see no reason why ‘Under should not enjoy a long and useful life.” eful?” asked the Suburbanite. ” replied comicbooks goa