"MOLLY BAWN."

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1711, 31 March 1913, Page 6

"MOLLY BAWN."

THE ALLEN DOONE SEASON. "Molly Bawn," a melodramatic comedy in four acts. Cast: Cecil Daiicy ...Connio Kyte Maude Jlarley Aline Dunn Louise Ma radon Gladys Bancroft. I'rissv Lawrence Hilrcn O'Heilly Direct ri Tom Buckley Eleanor Masscrcent Edna. Keelc.v .Sarah Ethel Grist Lord Amherst Fr. Cullinane Jlarcia Amherst Ethel Bashiord Phillip Siiadwell Clive Earnham Eithe'lbcrt Von Eiflicll ...Onslow Edgewortli Ted Lullrell Allen Doonn Plantagcnet. Potts J. Vinccnt White "Molly Bawn," i:he play presenlcd by Mr. Allen Doone at the Opera House oil Saturday evening, may best be described as a melodramatic comedy. As melodramas go the plot is distinctly interesting, but in the manner of its working out it is somewhat ingenuous, and rather too vividly written to please the sophisticated playgoer. It was doubtless this weakness, combined with Mr. Doolie's inherent spirit of quiet comedy, which accounted for the hearty laughter which greeted even the serious dramatic scenes. It was the fault of the play, not the players, which induced this embarrassing hilarity when quilo a deeper note was intended to be struck by the author (whose name could not bo gathered from the programme). The play concerns the family affairs of Lord Amherst, a nasty, cantankerous old man, who lias a (iiscuncerting maimer ot speaking the truth with confusing candour. Tho ancient peer has had two daughters, and a son, and bad luck with all of them. One daughter, .Eleanor, ran away with ail impoverished Irishman, jme Massercenc, another had married a spendthrift named Shadwell, and the son had contracted a mesalliance with an Italian actress. It is the children of these people who tie the melodramatic knot. Young l'hillip Shadwetl, a gambler like his father, and his cousin Marcia Amherst (the actress's daughter), arc already comfortably, esconscd at Herst I'oyal, and are on tho high road to matrimony as Amherst's prospective heirs, when the aged nobleman takes it into his head to invito his grand-daughter Eleanor Masseroene ("Molly Bawn") to Herst lioyal. Eleanor is young and pretty, and her independence and spirit contrasted with the subserviency of her cousins, makes a favourable impression tin tho old mall, and an immediate one oil the heart of handsome Ted Luttrell, a young'lrishman, who is a member of the Iwuse party. Seeing lioiv tho wind blows, I'hillip Shadwell begins to cool off with Marcia and pay particular attention to Eleanor. This leads to heated scenes between the two, and in •, one Marcia declares that she knows her- ; self to be the heiress of Herst lioyal. But Lord Amhcr.st has discovered her 1.0 be a designing hypocrite, and. Phillip a gambler who is appeasing the moneylenders with Ifonds to bo redeemed when lie inherits tho Amherst estates, and cuts them both out. of his will, and makes Eleanor his heiress. Thinking that Amherst was only contemplating this .move, Marcia gives him an overdosed sleepingdraught, and blames the old man's death on to Eleanor, who, with others, are playing at ghosts on the night of a fancydross dance at Herst Royal." Shadwell, however, had seen the crime committed, and to the scene in iVhich lie tells Marcia so, Luttrell is an. unobserved spectator. Marcia confesses, mil Luttrell forces her to make' that confession more "opeuly at the reading of the will, to relieve the -anxiety of his sweetheart, who becomes tho mistress of Herst Royal. In. the fancy-dress ball scene, Jtr. Doone, who is Luttrell in the play, poses dramatically in a floods of limelight' as Robert Emmet, the Irish patriot, and delivered a portion of the speech the unfortunate man liijule in the dock subsequent to being sentenced to 'loath, an effort which produced a thunder-clap of applause from a crowded gallery. . The next minute, Emmet was gaily singing "A Toast to Erin," evidently to dismiss the gloom caused by the fate af the ill-starred patriot. Whether he was singing.of "Molly Bawn" or the ballad addressed to her Irish eyes, or making violent love to her before a roomful of people (who take such a proceeding as a matter of course), Mr. Doone was equally engaging. Truth to tell, ho coos and whisper* and 'croons with captivating sympathy. Miss Edna Kfeley, who. is comely and winsome, is an aggressively American Eleanor Massereene ill accent. Her\quai:.it inflections and nasal tone aro quite at variance'with the ideal Molly Bawn. ■ Mr. P. Cullinane was too rough and coarse as Lord Amherst, and on no occasion did he suggest. blood or breeding. Oiie pf the Lest-played parts was the March of Miss Ethel Basliford, whose acting in <|ii odious role was intelligent and conrincing. Mr. C'. Parnham wtis Phillip Shadwell, and Miss Ethel Grist; a hearty lady's maid. Other parts were played by: Misses Connio Kyte, Alice Dunn, Messrs. Tom Buckley, Onslow Edgewortli, and J. Vincent White. "Molly Bawn" will be played again this evening. •'