"IN THE RANKS."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 520, 29 May 1909, Page 3

"IN THE RANKS."

ALLAN HAMILTON'S DRAMATIC COY. "In tho Ranks," a melodrama in'five acts, by Geo. R. Sims, Cast:— Gfdco D n ra & n e •-■- " »lo^ t =="^At~ was last played £ this city ove yem ago, when the then dramatic idol of the day! Mr, Gcorgo,Ri ? nold. figured, "gallantly in the heroic part, with : the' . It is interesting to note in. this. connection that riti. P tl, y " M i > "rangemont .with the _od actor, who is enjoying . tho autumn of. his "days in the quiet of Middle ■^•ewwtV.J: ; aged' pSy SS?>n V Ind<:cd , lt J m ?y bo; slid with truth that it: woe received with a good deal of enthusiasm last evening,- and few- that were present could not:but concede that the play compares more than favourably with the majonty of those plays that.are accepted as melodrama in these times. ThV'dialogue though trite' enough' to .modem ears, through having done .service .in many,a dozen plays ■written duning the quarter of a. century since the + play was first produced, has still a tang that carries conviction,, tho action is brisk to an exhilarating degree, and the'situations do not the impossible,, u> is the. case -with 50 per cent: of those alleged melodramas,- whose mission would seem fefbo to. thrill the morbid with horror rather than to provide rational entertainment for the intolligontThe story if tells is vivid enough Ned Drayton, the adopted.so* of .tho wealthy Colonel Wyntor,. has become engaged .to sweet, Ruth'..Herrick, a farmer's daughter, also". beloved by- Gideotf Blakti, a distant-relative of the absent colonel This scamp has no lovo for.Ned,' and, being desirous of securing tho colonel's fortune, sets liiraselt out to rum the young* man. ' Tho colonel s sudden arrival home,.from, abroad sets the tram of orents in motion:' He 'desires Ned to marry his niece, but: Ned is loyal to Ruth and tho peppery, old: man, thus thwarted, casts him off m a fit of temper, and, .further, .tells Ned.that .ho. is the soiTof a : forger,. who, with his, accomplice,. Richard Bolton, has escaped to Australia years before. Hardly has the colonel turned his back when an old derelict.turns up and informs Ned that he .is his.'father. : Ned makes an appointment to moot him in. an 'adjacent wood tto work out a solution, of the situation ho is faced ..with. Whilst) there Bfllton meets the repentant colonel who recognises.-him, and makes todenounee nun when Bolton,. seizing a hidden poacher's gun, Bhoots the old man. Ned appears on tho scene,, ana not noticing the 'body outstretched hohind a. fallen . log, gives Belton money to got out of tbo.oountry. : The latter is about to do ,so when BlaTco, who hasbeen hunting poachers, appears, takes in tho situation at a glance, and accuses Ned of being an accomplice,in the orimo, Belton having escapod in tho confusion. ; Next day Ned is married to Ruth,* but-on leaving the church a .™r» Pratt?, wedding ho.is arrested. Atter the law's delays he is examined and acquitted, but Blake, has done his work well, and ISed is cold-shouldered by everyone except his wife, his' misunderstood friend Captain Holcroft,'and Joe Buzzard—a simple, honest yokel. Penniless and almost friendess, he is driven to accept the Queen's shilling. During the six months he is away on duty his wifo is harassed in her poverty and distress by Bolton, who.has told her that ho is ISed s;fnthcr. Then, as the colonel becomes well enough tovrigbt the wrong that has been done, Blake becomes active-. again Wislnng to get Ned out of the country (so that none shall stand between him and the old gentleman's money), he ferrets out ltuth s home, finds there the imposter- Belton, and, in a clevor scene, Belton accidentally confesses that he is not the:man he is pretending to be.. Ruth overhears, and makes a scerfe,' but she is drugged,-and the villaii s twain escape just as Ned (who 'has broken from barracks on learning from' an old servant of his wifo's distross)'breaks into tho room. He is arrested by the patrol which has followed him, is taken back to prison, escapes again, and rashes to his wifd s succour. There, ho meets Gideon Blake whom hu is reviling, when. Colonel Wvntcr enters. He has learned., the truth of the case, has Blake arrested, and takes Ned and his wife" to,his-heart. ' . ■ '.-"- ...; Miss Ada Guildford, a conscientious , actress of pleasing personality, played -Ruth gracefully and. with much natural . charm. Ned Drayton is in the capable hands of-Mr Cross, who is quito tho accepted typo ot the melodramatic hero. His acting was P l ™™.°y ™ artistic restraint which. told m his favour m several scones* that might easily havo been spoiled .by an actor ofmorc ex " b( ' r . a "! ; methods, Mr. Wilton Power'-made a ] forcible ill-conditioned person, of - GideonUlakn. _It,waß quite an.offeetivo. performance. The Colonel Wyntor of Mr. E. B Russell lacked finish. Mr. John Hesford >as Farmer Herrick and ".the Tiger; ,, doubled successfully. Miss Rosemary Roes, .who, by the way, is a native, of Gisborrie, acted,nicely as Barbara Horrick—a part 'that' mado ino great demands. Mr. Wilton Welch extracted a good deal of fun out'of the yokel Joe Bumrd, hut, truth, .to tell, tho comedy throughout is not.the brightest. ■■ Mr!-. Lawrence was Captain Holcroft, and Mr. D A Drayton made a capital recruiting officer' Miss Maud Chetwynd gave a smart little sketches Mrs.- Timmins. The drama is'excellently mounted, and Mr. Harry Whaite presents excellent sconery in Ding'lcy. Wood' .and.the two village sets. A,dash of tho military is always effective in melodrama, and this is forthcoming in the barracks scones that precede the denouement. An orchestra under Mr. F. Henningham makes cheerful music where and whenever required. ' ■ ; ■ "In the Ranks!' will be produced, until further notice.- ~