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DEMANDS DRAMATIC
ART FORVITALITY
Repertory Theatre Refuses All That
Is Adulterated in Matter
of Plays.
STANDs
FOR SINCERE EFFORTO
What is the essential feature of the
repertory theatre? In what do its
particular purposes and qualities con-
sist, and how does it differ from other
organizations for the purveyance of'
dramatic wares?
Above everything else, the reper-
tory theatre is the home of vitality.
It is the nursery of a living drama,
and it aims to exist side by side with
the vital forces of the community,
and to express them.
It demands dramatic art, and it re-
fuses all that is adulterated amongst
the merchandise on the theatrical
huckster's stall.
It stands for sincerity in the theatre,
and it welcomes every dramatist, no
matter of what type or school his
"SEPTEMBER MORN" BOOKED
FOR ANN ARBOR APPEARANCE.
One of the biggest hits of the 1914
fun-shows is Rowland Clifford's latest
production, "September Morn," which
is having a very successful run at the
La Salle Opera House, Chicago, where
it opened. Dave Lewis, the well-
known comedian, is the star of the
piece, with Minerva Coverdale, Fran-
ces Kennedy, and other prominent
fun-makers making up a company of
50 people. The costuming and scen-
ery are exceptionally attractive
throughout.
The story is concerned with the
complications which arise between
Rudolph Plastic, a would-be artist,
and an actress. Plastic claims to have
painted the celebrated "September
Morn," and the actress instructs her
press-agent to announce her as the
model for that painting. The Tango
and Maxixe are introduced during the
performance.
"September Morn" will be presented
at the Whitney theatre at the expira-
tion of its Chicago run.
Scores in "The Funny Moon.,"
James P. Lee and Company, artists
in the line of laughter-making, will
present their new success, "The Fun-
ny Moon," at the Majestic theatre, on
Thursday, for a three days' engage-
ment.
Mr. Lee is a comedian of the old
school, and he has in "The Funny
Moon" a vehicle well adapted to his
needs. The piece is filled with com-
plications. In order to extract him-
self from the embarrassing positions
into which he is thrust by the multi-
plicity of the tempermental distur-
bances of his household, the hero,
played by Mr. Lee, is forced to resort
to prevarications. His propensity for
trouble and his ineffectual attempts
to ride the tempermental waves are
extremely ludicrous.
R1A NKS A MERICAN PUBLIC HIGH.
C. H. Burke, English Actor, Impressed
by Our Audiences.
C. Haviland Burke, who will play
an important role in "Dolly Reform-
ing Herself," at the Whitney theatre,
March 3, has a very interesting per-
sonal and artistic history. Mr. Burke
is a great-great-nephew of the eminent
tragedian, Edmund Burke, who was
wont to electrify and thrill our grand-
fathers. Mr. Burke's father was a
member of the British House of Com-
mons, and his brother, Edmund, is to-
day one of the leaders of the Nation-
alist Party at Westminster. Mr.
Burke, himself, was destined for a
medical career, and in spite of his
early inclinations toward the stage,
he was sent to Trinity College, Dub-
lin, where, when half through his
course, he made the acquaintance of
Osmond Tearle, one of the leading;
Irish actors of the eighties, and well
known in this country as leading man
of Wallack's theatre, New York. In-
spired by this association, Burke left
school and went to Brighton, where
he became a member of the Theatre
Royal Company, which has turned out
many of the best actors of the English
stage of tody. After several seasons
at Brighton, Mr. Burke began touring
the English provinces, being associat-
ed at various times with the Scotch
actor, Walter Bentley, C. W. Somer-
set, and Charles Melville. More re-
cently, he has played in London com-
panies with Lena Ashwell, Sir George
Alexander, and Arthur Bourchier.
One of his greatest successes was the
waiter in Shaw's "You Never Can
Tell." Two years ago he joined Miss
Horniman's company, then under the
direction of Mr. B. Iden Payne, and
remained there until his visit to Chi-
cago this season as one of the lead-
ing members of the Iden Payne Play-
ers.
In the cours\ of a recent interview
Mr. Burke said :,"The American pub-
lie impresses nie chiefly with its ex-
traordinary spontaneity and by its
remarkable gift of leaping to an au-
thor's meaning almost before the
words have left the actor's lips. In
this, American audiences remind me
powerfully of Dublin audiences. There
is a whole-heartedness about the way
in which Americans enjoy the theatre.
They are not like the English, for they
do not go to the play to be displeased.
They are discriminating and critical,
in that they know what pleases them
and what they consider good. They
have an almost intuitive grasp of char-
acter, and very often fill up the blanks
of an actor's characterization. In
this way they are easy to play to."
"STOP THIEF" IS
COMINGSHORT
Carlyle Moore's Clever Farce
Be Seen at Whitney Early
in March.
EA T I)ATE TO BE ANNOLUN
Cohan & Harris' newest play
ing is entitled "Stop Thief," a
comes to the Whitney theatre
early date,. after enjoying a run
Gaiety theatre, New York, all las
son. Carlyle Moore, the author
chosen kleptomania for his su
matter. In the play a prospe
benedict and his father-in-law-
are afflicted with a mania for ste
though neither is aware of the
municated influence. The bride-
has received a number of val
gifts and the inclination to steal c
over the groom, who engages
tective to curb his morbid im
A real dyed-in-the-wool thief is
gled into the household by the i
maid and is mistaken for the
tive, and is introduced to the fami
such. The astonished cracksman
ceeds to exercise his nefarious
ling, while responsibility for the
appearance of one valuable afte
other is accepted by the klepto
iacs.
It is claimed that few plays
duced on Broadway in recent
found more favor or created
amusement' than this "Stop '1
The crook is not affiliated wit
kleptomaniac habit; he steal;
keeps. In so doing he baffles a
lion of police and plain-clothes
The action of the play is said to
rapid that one's breath is caug
the effort to keep up with the
and through it all there is an
probability that makes the cha
altogether natural.
In staging the play 'Messrs.
and Harris have adhered to
usual costly and appropriate s
ard, and the gowns worn are b
ful examples of the modiste's
Prominent in the cast, may be
the names of John Webster,
Findlay, Charles Brown, Jam
Manning, Susanne Willa, J. K. H
inson, Nan Francis, Fanchon
bell, Dickie Delaro, Lelia Frost
chell Lewis, William Wagner, I
St. Clair, James T. Ford, and
players of prominence.
Prominent In the cast that wil:
sent "Dolly Reforming Herself"
Whitney theatre, is Walter Ham
who created the role of the Serv
the "Servant in the House."
wonderful baboons, at the Majestic, Monday, Tues-
lay,{ and Wednesday.
/League.)
I,
M IN
PLAYS
APPEAR.
eag e has shown ex-
t i choosing Henry
Do ly Reforming Her-
or e Life," by Harold
le program which will
I r its auspices at the
n Tuesday, March 3.
g Herself" is said to
r and more amusing
s, who has long stood
ers of the English
ht plays to his credit
Defense," "The Mid-
he CaserofRebellious
s performed for the
ndon in 1908, but has
in this country only
company at the Fine
the girl who has come in to help, but
she has a better lot in store and re-
jects him. "It's Lonesome Like," he
says, "to go home in the evening after
the day's work and not hear the clack
of a woman's tongue." When he re-
turns to tell the old woman good-by,
a light suddenly dawns on both. Why
shouldn't he provide a home for this
old creature, who will be lonesome at
the poorhouse, and provide for him-
self the female tongue that will keep
him from being lonesome himself?
And so. the play ends with him bear-
ing her off to take his mother's place.
"Carry me carefully, thou great loon,"
she says, "I'm not a sack of flour."
LEAGUE ADVANCES
ON ORIGINAL PLAN
The action of the Ann Arbor center
of the Drama League in bringing to
this city, under a financial guaranty,
the Payne Repertory Company from
the Fine Arts theatre, Chicago, is in
the nature of an experiment as inter-
esting as it is novel. Indeed, it seems
in some respects an advance upon the
original plan of this organization,'
which was understood to comprise
principally the education of its mem-
bership as to the relative worth of
plays offered at the theatres in the
regular course of the season's theatri-
cal round.
It is a brave venture for a body so
recently formed, and shows much
faith in the loyalty of its membership
as well as in the willingness of the
general public to support drama of
literary and artistic appeal. It is an
experiment which will be watched
with curious, perhaps cynical, inter-
est by the magnates of the commer-
cial theatre, who have been rather
skeptical as to the advantage they
have derived from Drama League sup-
port for their offerings, there being
no practical ways of determining how
nmuch of the success of plays bulletin-
ed by the league was due to such in-
dersement.
The pluck of the little knot of guar-
antors is all the more manifest be-
cause of its financial disinterestedness.
Mr. Payne and his associate players
will reap whatever substantial benefit
the engagement may bring, .the local
backers deriving no more profit there-
from than may any one who buys a
ticket. Indeed, their responsibility is
more than monetary, since they not
only guarantee Mr. Payne against loss,
but they also pledge the Drama
League's repute that the general
theatre-going public of Ann Arbor will
get the worth of its money in attend-
ing these plays by a company which
can cite only its phenomenal success
during the long Chicago engagement
just closing.
Dolly Te fer didn't need reforming
much mdrc4 than any of us, but when
some one preached a sermon on the
,need of r ew resolutions, the whole
group in which she moved took ad-
vantage of a convenient New Year's
day and decided to cast off their bad
and silly habits. Dolly's particular
fault wa.s the purchase of unneces-
sary flnmery, and for a few acts she
lords it aver all the others and whips
then ,.jdo the straight and narrow
path, only to spoil it all by a naughty
quarrel with her husband over the
subject of those bothersome bills from
the tradesmen. There are many other
complications throughout the four
acts which are exciting and irresist-
ibly funny.
The scene of "Lonesome Like" is
one of those eloquently bare Man-
chester kitchens which Stanley
lloughton showed us in "Hindle
Wakes." A poor widow has used her
last cent and a neighborly soul is
helping h1 r pack her "duds" for the
last trip over the 'hills to the poor-
house. "There are some as can save
their bras: and some as can't. It
isn't virtu-it's a gift," she says.
While she out of the room, the
wantwit of he village, a tender of
the engines, N \th a soul for the poetry
of his bleak eistence. makes love to
Rose and Severenz, at the Majestic,
March 2, 3, and 4.
plays may be, provided he brings that
quality, as well as the essential ar-
tistic effort and achievement, to his
work.
It is as interested in comedy as in
tragedy; it is as much concerned with
laughter as with tears.
It does not appeal primarily to the
intelligence; it appeals to all who are
capable of feeling any artistic im-
pulse; in short, to all who are in-
terested in life.
The catholicity of its aims and
ideals makes it the meeting ground
of all who are awake to the power
of stimulus of the most universal and
soul-stirring of the arts.
It is the "live wire" of the drama-
tic world.
Comedy Predominates on Bill.'
The array of vaudeville acts at the
Majestic theatre for the first three
days of the current week will reveal
some startling surprises. A program
made up exclusively of comedy and
novel features will be offered. Head-
ing the list of attractions will be
Norris' baboon and monkey circus,
featuring Emperor and Empress, the
wonderful monks who possess almost
human intelligence. These creatures
appear in a regulation one-act drama,
with a plot, scenery, and costumes.
Another important act will be Harry
Van Fossen, who was last seen in,this
city as the star comedian of George
Evans' Honey Boy Minstrels. Need-
less to say Van Fossen is a black face
comedian of original methods. Barnes
and Barron, two Hebrew comedians
who have played at the head of every
vaudeville theatre in this country, will
amuse with their songs and comedy.
Rose and Severenz, in their farcical
skit, "The Auto Disaster," will also
be prominent on this fine program.
Keystone comedies will be shown, as
usual.
Starting Thursday, March 5, a tab-
loid musical comedy with a cast of 30
people, will be shown at the Majestic.
Miss Mona Limerick, an actress of
rare exotic beauty and the creator of
many of Bernard Shaw's famous hero-
ines, will have an important role in
"Dolly Reforming Herself," when
Jones' clever comedy comes to the
Whitney on Tuesday.
Iden Paynie, who will bring his Eng-
lish Players to the Whitney.
Loui'se Randolph Plays Lead,
Miss Louise Randolph of the Iden
Payne Repertory Company will play
the leading part of Dolly in "Dolly
Reforming Herself" at the Whitney
theatre next Tuesday. Miss Randolph
began her stage career with the Castle
Square Company. Her first appear-
ance in Chicago was in "Lover's Lane"
at McVicker's theatre during the sea-
son of 1901-1902. The next two years
she spent with the Proctor Stock Com-
pany ihn New York. In July and Aug-
ust, 1904, she acted in "Rose Valley"
at the Grand Opera House, New York,
with Charles Richman, Sarah Truax,
and others who were engaged in ex-
perimenting with new plays. Miss
Randolph then became leading woman
with Nat C. Goodwin, and acted in a
repertoire of his old plays. After her
engagement with Mr. Goodwin, she re-
turned to the Proctor Company, and
has since then acted with Frances
Starr in "The Easiest Way," and as
the mother in the first production of
Winchell Smith's "The Only Son."
When "Stop Thief" appears at the
Whitney theatre later in th; month.
the part originated by Richard Ben-
nett will be played by John Webster,
the young actor who made a striking
success at the head of Cohan and Har-
ris' second company of "Get-Rich-
Quick Wallingford."
Mona Limerick, with Iden Payne's English Players, at
theatre on Tuesday.