OPERA HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 804, 29 April 1910, Page 6

OPERA HOUSE.

"MABBIED TO THE WRONG Km.' 1

"Married to tho Wrong Man," a melodrama in four acts, by Frederick Melville. Cast-.—

Jack Gladwin..._J£r. Herbert J. Bentley ' Herbert Deering Mr. Hilliard Vox [ Dr. Archio Bird. Mr. Beginald Goode Jasper Skinner.—Mr. Thomas E. Tilton ; Timothy Qlinker Mr.. Thomas Ourran Sergeant : Manners..- Mr. P. V. Scully Euth....: Miss Essie Olay Kose 0 Connor.._.. Miss Lillian Booth j .Olive Maunora..-....Miss Nettie Bnndahl Dolly Fritter .Miss Loiubo Oarbasso It takes all sorts to mako up'a world, i and all kinds of plays to compose .the . world of drama. Melodrama, even in its • crudest form, must, reluctantly perhaps, i be allotted its place in the fabric of make-believe, built for those who would ■ be taken out of themselves, so to speak, in witnessing the manner in which peo- ;• pie behave under the set of circumstani oes woven-by. the dramatist and embel- ; lished by the producer. These circumstances are,,, to. say .the. least, most rei markable _in "Married to the ; Wrong , lan, . the. play presented by the George Marloiv Dramatio Company at i the Opera House last evening. Here is a play calculated : to give, more thrills to the minute to the unsophisticated than most melodramas played here of. late: It is true that the play boasts nd fine" literary grace, nor does it make much appeal <to the imagination, but it gives three hours of line's crowded with more or less exciting'incident, it has a strong love interest, and its streak of broad comedy cannot fail to elicit uproarious laughter. The unfortunate girl who is married to the wrong. man is Euth, the .daughter of a snicide, who is bronght.up by an old rascal named Jaspar Skinner as his . daughter. It is divulged ' that bkrnner suspects the girl to be the heiress to a big fortune, the proofs of which are contained in an iron box whose contents the old man! tor, the purposes of the play, 'has not examined. He arranges with his son. Capt. Herbert Deering, a renegade soldier,, to marry the girl before telling her of her fortune, and this she if forced to do, though loathing the man she weds. Then m i a bar-room the box is opened I before the three, and all that it contains are a few odd trinkets- and a paper, which reveals Euth to be nobody in particular. Deering, maddened by disappointment, attempts to ill-treat the girl but is prevented from doing so by a gentleman-ranker, one Jack Gladwin, who becomes enamoured of the girl.' Deering who does not care what becomes of' her! offers'to sell kei for .£ls, and Jack takes him at his word, and pays over the money, at which stage a file of soldiers enter and arrest Deering as a deserter, lears later Jack returns from a campaign as a captain; rich, too, for his father has died and left him a fortune. He has evidence that Deering has died, and, with this obstacle removed, woos and wins Euth. On his bridal night enters Deering, demands blackmail; ■ and accuses Ruth of nameless crimes. She is so staggered by the charge thai she is struck dumb. From the hospital where she is undergoing treatment' Euth is abducted by Deering and his father, taken to a garret and held until such time as her lover (who has willed her. his fortune) is killed off. But the best-laid plans go wrong. Through the agency of Sergeant Manners, who is searohing for his erring daughter, she escapes, but Maimers is lolled for Gladwin by -Skinner and his son just as she emerges on the scene. Euth is arrested and charged with the murder. She is brought to trial and in dumbr show goes through her experiences on the night of the murder. The evidence adduced by Gladwm (who it' appears is a baluster as _ well as a soldier)' so works on- the feelings of old Skinner in the court: that he confesses that he and his son did the deed, which very dramatic end leaves the impression that there is happiness somewhere ahead for all the good people in the play. Mr. Herbert Bentley was bright and breezy as Captain Gladwin, the orthodox hero, and Mr. Hilliard Vox threw plenty of vigour and vitriol into his portrayal of the gentlemanly scoundrel Captain Deering. Miss Essio Clay, who played Euth, was a somewhat unconventional heroine, but succeeded in emphasising,the dolour with which the part reeks. As • b girl, her pantomime was good. Mr. Thomas Curran, as Timothy Clinker, soldier and dentist's assistant, provided plenty of simple, unaffected humour, .and his amateur dental efforts Swith his best girl for a patient were quite funny. Miss Louise Carbasse, as Dolly Fritter, was a bright spot in the enst, and the Sergeant Manners of Mr. P. V.. Scully was played with much dramatic force. Miss Lillian Booth made a pleasing Eoso O'Connor, but Mr. Reg. Goode's acting lacked the polish necessary for the part of a professional man. Mr. Thomas Tilton was Jaspar !Skinner, and Miss Nellie Bnndahl, Olive Manners. The play, which was adequately mounted, was Reined along by an orchestra, ■ under tho leadership of Mr. H. Bntler. "Married to the Wrong Man" will be played until further notice. During the season will bo staged: "The Wedding ■Ring," "As Midnight Chimes," "That Woman from Franco," and "East Lynne."