WILLOUGHBY COMEDY CO.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1048, 10 February 1911, Page 6

WILLOUGHBY COMEDY CO.

* —; — i "ME. PREEDY AND THE I , COUNTESSf, | "Mr". Preedy ond the- ' Cou)tte«f,"- a eoiuedy by R. C. Carton. Cost. Earl ■of Rushmero ....*. Hugh C. Buckler Jjord Klnslow ... .Harry Overton i Hon. Robert Jcnnaway Reginald Fry i' John-Bounsall George Willoughby Hamilton. Preedy' Harold Parkea , Mr., Sidgrave .'. Stach Reginald Saunders ; Arthur Cornell ►, BUson,' , Harry Halley. Chauffeur ~,....,..,. ...... Wnlter,.Bpinks Joanna .....; Beatrice Day |l Mrs. Sidgrave ,' .:.'.'...'.:... Nelly . Ifortyno 1 . Emma: Sidgrave ..■,-. , • Stella Paytcr i Harriet Budgen •..;.....•...'.......■'Amy Willard I 'Mr. R. C. Carton.has'in his timo hcen responsible for sbnjo very excellent \ comedies, including; such 'delightful exI ' ara'ples'as'"Lord and Lady Algy" and I "Lady' Huntworth's ' Experiment;"'' and > ihe is 'justly entitled to tho fullest resf nect from tho'playgoer. Truth to tell, • "Mr. Preedy ' and the ' Countes>," , ali though a'capital entertainment, docs not ' wach tho standard tbo r.uthor has set 1 for himself in r the ;t\vo. comedies mentioned. • It is inclined to bo,."talky"— ! somo'of'th© -speeches aspire to prosii ncss—but there' is .a- . vein... ofi genuine ' comedy >i Tot!,' 'the' ■';{finished, ultra-Englislr smart set order,'dear to tho \ confirmed Londoner, which found a ready ' ' fiiswnsc- in last night's understanding ' , audience. The joko is mostly', on Mr. j ~ Preedy, a mild little fellow' of no preI ' tensions, who is hectored and bullied by i his.robust partner, Mr. Bounsall;. The ' '. latter'has an'nltair with tho Countess of \-: Rushmcre. whose husband has rushed to Cairo with a Viennese dancer. Bounsall intends to do tho right thing by the gay | lady in dislrcis, and to prevent scandal, > brings her to Mr. Preedy's Hat, and leaves her there at nightto hasten to awcalthy i uncle's death-bed. There ho finds him- } 6olf forced to marry an elderly relative ' ■ or lose a'fortune.'. I'ast married he returns rather chapfnllcn to' tell PrcedVi j . vhose long suffering has included a night in a, strange hotel and breakfast at a j cabmen's shelter. Fired with what ha | considers Bounsall's disronourablo' treati nient of tho Countess, Preedy emulates t tho worm that turned, forces Bounsall to : face.the Countess, and asserts a comical I authority over his blustering partner. In the meantime, Preedy has become com- ; promised with tho lady of his choice, I through , tho machinations of his '• 1 rival, and -complications ensue which are eventually straightened - out by 1 tho Countess, who exonerates Mr. Preedy j completely, curls up, tho'bumptious i . Bounsall, and rejoins her asinine husband. Miss Beatrico Lay displayed a nico j turn for comedy as tho Countess of Rush. | mere, her,'gay abandon,' merry aplomb, ! and easy elocution, contributing to a thoroughly delightful delineation. Miss 1 ' Day's true metier is tho drama, but shb '• is very cndurablo in.comedy. Her tasto Sin dress, and lwr instinct to adorn a stago received further endorsement Inst evening; Mr. Harold Pnrkes, though hardly ! Preedy in appearance, did very well, \' indeed, a 9 the "third-rnto worm," and Mr. Geo. Willoughby- played Bounsall with proper bounce- and pomposity, but failed to fulls realiso his opportunities in tho last net,.-.. Mr, Buckler played f Rushmcre with polish, and Mr. Harry Overton sufficed, as tho Earl of Kinslow. \ Mr. Leopold Stach was poorly equipped for tho demands of Mr. Sidgrave, and Mr.''Reginald Fry was rather impossiblo as' the non. Robert Jcnnaway. Mr. Harry Hnllcy was comically unctuous as "S Bilson, and Miss Mortyno was adequato t. ns.Mrs. Sidgrave. ' ' ■ .' "•'• '■'■• '. ' ' The comedy was preceded by tho 1 curtain-raiser, "Slippery Jim," a tabloid ( drama with a fino tang. It was ad- ; mirably played by Miss Day," Mr, Buckie lcr; and Mr.' Overload •