MARLOW DRAMATIC CO.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1103, 17 April 1911, Page 3

MARLOW DRAMATIC CO.

"THE BAD GIRL OP THE FAMILY." "The Bad Girl of the Family," a com-'edy-me'oitraran, in four acts, by .Frederick ' iU'lville. Cast: ■ Lieut. March, H.N....31r. Herbert J. Bcntley iiarry Uordon i Mr. Bert Linden ■Lara EniKino .: iir. V. V. Scully IBaruey Uordon Mr. G. K. Stanford Jerry ilalmes ilv. Thomas E. Tiiton Inspector Lawrence Jlr. 11. iNodlii Sammy Snozzle ....Mr. Tom Curraa joiin jlloore .■....Mγ. Irani; Kenny 'Sally Smituers Miss Lilliaii Wiseman (jlnays Erskino Miss Adele Kelly lire, iiooro Hiss Addic Jenkins honour iioore lliss Ida Grcs-hani lless iiooro Mica Ada Guildtord

The first and only virtue of this play is tliet it pretends to bo nothing more than it is-u melodrama that is interesting to tho- simple and amusing to tho sophisticated. Still, "The Bad Girl of the l-'amiJy" has been phenomenally succt'ssiul wherever played. It drew like a magnet in London, both in the grimy East and the luxurious West; it has created new records in Australia; and on Saturday evening every unreserved seat in the Opera House was occupied by 7.15 p.m., and tho queue iff early-door people extended, from the doors of the tneatre b the New Zealander Hotel. The winking girl of the hoardings has no counterpart in tho play, but tho fundamentals liayo been patched together not unskilfully, and tho whole.has been cemented with comedy as broad as it is long. If it lacks literary grace, the play is bright and has n breezy action that effectively prevents a running analysis of the : unreason of it all on the part of the average playgoer. Hero and there are unnecessarily coarse and vulgar allusions that do not even give the option of the double entendre. The temper of tho play is well illustrated by tho fact that the heroine—the bad girl of the family—is. a cheerful young person who carries her burden .of woe lightly enough, and who, in moralising, . says there are only two ways for a woman, and she knows which is the easiest. Bess Moore has been wronged by the archfiend, Harry Gordon (tho bounder son of a wealthy Jew, Barney Gordon, a moneylender), who has also captured tho affections of. her sister, Honour. Maddened by the loss of her lover, tho latter accuses Bess of being young Gordon's paramour (which she is) and with keeping the home going with money wrongly come by (also a half-truth, as she has been borrowing the money from old Barney Gordon at 300 per cent, without a prospect of ever paying back the principal). Then enters Lord Erskine, profoundly impecunious, who begs accommodation from old Gordon. As he has no Eecurity to offer, Gordon suggests an elliance between' his own son and ErskineV daughter, . to which tho bhic-blood listens. Harry Gordon, his father, and a comic clerk named Sammy Suozzle are seen ensconced in Erskino Hall, where Harry loses no time in making himself loathsome to the Hon. Gladys, who is in love with Lieut. Richard March, R.N. Matters come to a climax when Harry proposes and is rejected with scorn and contumely.. Gladys proclaims her love for Lieut. March, and is accepted by him. After he hurries off to join his.ship, Gladys is kept closely watched, and the odious proposal is pressed upon her so persistently that at length she is forced by illness to accept. As the marriage is about to take place Bess Moore turns up as a dressmaker, and taking in the situation proposes to change places with the bride, and so effects a coup by marrying the man who has betrayed her, and saving one who is pledged to another. Despite this, Harry and his "bad girl" wife are still found at. Erskine Hall, and it is there that Dick March defies all and sundry to beware lest any harm come to his Gladys. Bitter words pass between him and tho Erskine-Gordon syndicate before ho leaves, and when on reflection he returns to endeavour to patch it up with his Lordship the latter regards him as a thief and intruder, and at the same time Harry Gordon has closed -with Jerry Holmes, a burglar he has found on the premises. In the. melee Lord Erskine is shot by the burglar's revolver, and March is accused of the crime by Gordon: March is imprisoned, and is married off-hand in the gaol yard to Gladys; ho escapes ivith Jerry Holmes in time to prevent his wife being captured by Gordon; Jerry turns King's evidence, and swears that it was Gordon himself who pointed the revolver nt Lord Erskine, so tho play ends with young Gordon . a prisoner, Lieut. March united to Gladys, and the "bad girl," restored .to her mother, shedding tears of joy at the general trend of affairs. Miss Ada Gtiildford is attractive in appearance, and as Bess Moore gained the sympathy of the audience, and makes a heroine of a character hardly entitled to such consideration, jfifs Adelo Kelly acts with intelligence and brightness as Gladys Erskine. She pxerted vigour and charm in the scene in which she proposes marriage to Lieutenant March. Miss Ida Gresham was ?hles»matic as Honour Moore, but Miss •illian Wiseman made a saucy Sally Smithers, who contributed valuably to the comedy of the melodrama. Mr. Herbert Bentley, as Lieutenant March, was prepossessing in appearance, and acted with restraint in scenes that could so easily be made ridiculous. Vocally, he was all in the one key, . and seemed troubled with hcarsaness whenever he raised his voice. Mr. Bert Linden was well-suited as Harry Gordon, his rough epeech and manner reflecting the character's common origin to a nicety. Pcrhap-s the soundest performance was Barney Gordon, as played by Mr. C. B. Stanford, who typified tho Petticoat Lane Jew, •whose native shrewdness had lifted him out. of his youthful environment. Mr. Stanford has a natural, dry humour, and perfect repos-3, which he cleverly adapts in characterising tho quaint old Jew. Mr. P. Scully was much too stilirri and stagey as Lord Erskine. Mr. Thos. Tiiton was bright and chirpy as Jerry Holmes, and Mr. T. Curran was mildly amusing as the inane Sammy Snozzle. The scenery was in keeping with the play. Ono peone represents a dormitory in a dressmaking establishment, with half-a-dozen girls in bed. The pith of this scene is the pillow-thumping of two policemen, who are searching for Bess Moore. Tho play is stsisjn-managed by Mr. C. R. Stanford, and Mr. Geo. Fowler is the musical iirector. "The Bid Girl of tho Family" will xun throughout tho week. A matinee performance of "The Bad Girl of the Family" will be given this afternoon at 2 o'clock. Tho box plan will be on vie , * - at Christcson's until 1 p.m. :o-day. after which hour seats may be booked at the theatre office, where also Jay sale tickets will be available.