"THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED."

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 49, 28 February 1927, Page 15

"THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED."

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Take an American-born Italian youth, with I.W.W. sympathies and the instincts of a hobo, and set him down in the bungalow of a prosperous Italian winegrower in Sunny California. Then bring a waitress ifrom the down-town quarter of Sim Francisco and marry her to the owner of the vineyard after a courtship by correspondence. Have the bridegroom break both legs on this wedding day, let the girl stoop to folly with her husband's friend, and the stage is set for the big moment in Sidney Howard's three-act comedy, "They Knew What Thcyl Wanted." Presented at His Majesty's \ on Saturday night, by a Williamson company, headed by that actor of many parts, Mr. Maurice Moscovitch, the play held the attention of a full house for two and a.-half hours, and its close was marked by a storm of applause. Such is the artistry of Mr. Moscovitch, that, in the role"'of Tony, the wine-grower, he gave a masterly portrayal of a self-willed Italian, whose big heart rules his head. It is an exacting role, made doubly difficult by the fact that it has to be played in bed throughout the second act, while in the third. Mr. Moscovitch has to hobble about on crutches. Great as these restrictions are, Mr. Moscovitch turns them to advantage, gaining his effects by facial expressions and cleverly varied inflections of the voice. In the dreadful scene in the third act, where he learns the truth about the woman of hid heart, he staggers about on his crutches with wobbling head and slobbering mouth, a slight dreadful to behold, It is consummate artistry.

The plot is the usual triangular affair, with a new twist. But for the twist, which is made with daring adroitness, it would not be a story at all, judged by present day standards. The characters speak with more than modern frankness, so that considerable excitement might be derived from watching certain of the situations in company with a maiden aunt. All three principal characters are half-educated. They express themselves mostly with the aid of the great American "ain't." Tony, being a real Italian, speaks only broken English, and frequently invokes the Deity and the Madonna in the soft language of his native land, whereas Joe, his friend, who has knocked about San Diego to Seattle, and never stayed longer than three weeks in any one place except when in gaol, speaks his mind in plain American slang, with lots of references to a sultry hereafter. Amy, the half-educated waitress, who is lifted out of the sweated atmosphere of a spaghetti joint in the Italian quarter of San Francisco, is a sweet-natured impetuous girl, defiantly virtuous. She never meant to go wrong. That is the whoje point of the story. The Rev. Father McKee, a grubby American-Irishman, whose seminary training has failed to extirpate his brogue and double negatives, wipes his unshaven face with a big red handkerchief while he argues the rights and wrongs of the modern world with the leisure loving Joe. The only other character who counts for anything is a slick American general practitioner, who does not object to being addressed as "doc," and finds beauty in tumours and unalloyed joy in the performance of difficult operations., Occasionally the stage is populated by a few excitable Italians, but for the rest the three principals have it to themselves.

They Knew What They Wanted" has been criticised by those who hold that Tony was unnatural in not divorcing his wife, but the point of the thing is that his love for her is the love which transcends jealousy. In the final scene where he forgives an act whieh a smaller man would have condemned, there are gripping and thoroughly uncomfortable moments. Mr. Moscovitch, who is admirable throughout, would be unable to make his portrayal so vivid were it not for the excellent, work of his son, Mr. Nat Madison, in the role- of the casual Joe, and of Miss Ellen Pollock, who plays Amy. The trio revel in the more passionate passages, and in her hysteria in the final scene, Miss Pollock rises to great dramatic heights. Mr. Madison does full justice to a part requiring nice restraint. The role of the priest is adequately handled by Mr. Alexander Sarner, and Mr. Richard Webster, always a capable player, makes the most of the character of the brezzy doctor. "They Knew What They Wanted" will Ige played for three more nights.