"TOO MUCH JOHNSON."

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2828, 20 July 1916, Page 3

"TOO MUCH JOHNSON."

ALLEN DOONE IN FARCICAL , COMEDY. Away, back in 1891 William Gillette, the American actor-authov,, who becajno world-famous an tho creator of Sherlock Holmes on the stage, wrote a farcecomedy, entitled "Too Much Johnson," and. made a considerable success in the leading role. Farce comedies do not'as a rulo wear well for two reasons. One of the two is that people's :idcas of comedy • change rapidly, and, secondly, if there are;good_ideas ill a play, they are immediately seized upon by: other writers for the stage, and done to a frazzle in a few years. Both apply, more or less, to "Too Much .Johnson," played bv tho Allen Doone Company at the Grand Opera House'..last' evening. The ccntral idea is an amusing one—the object is to'get everyone in the piece confused as to the identity of everyone, else, and so bring about a comical complication and ridiculous situations. In this case, Augustus Billings, a flghty New York lawyer, finds himself under the necessity of having to make himself scarce for a few weeks, to avoid being identified as a certain Mr. Johnson, the name lie has assumed in his relations with a lady who is somebody else's, wife. He plans to leave for Cuba, .representing to his wife' that he lias a plantation there, but she tind' her mother resolve to make the trip also. On board the steamer is also a Sir. Fisher, of Toronto, who has pledged his daughter in marriage to,a ccrtain Air. Johnson, who really is a planter in Cuba. ..With such,an hypothesis it needs no great stretch of imagination to surmise the train of coaiic trouble that, is to follow. /Up against: it, Billing, thinks of ft coffee-planting friend'of his who might lend himself to the fraud, but on arrival at the plantation finds that his friend has sold out to a Simon Legreetype of person, whose name is Johnson. Billings passes him off as his overseer to his ivife,; but Johnson thinks that Mrs. Billings is the girl he has contracted • with, Mr. Fishor to-marry, and that-Billings is Fisher. real Fishers he treats like dirt, under the impression that they, are poor relations, finally, Billings ; gets Jolinson drank, and effects the escape of tho whole party, leaving the enraged planter to "stew in his own juice," so to speak. The usual liberties common to farcical comedies are taken with the public's intelligence, but that really matters little as long as it is done to the accompaniment of laughter. Mr. Doone played Billings with easv nonchalance, and Miss Edna Keelev was charming as Mrs. Billings. Other" satisfactory performances- were those of Mr. M. Lynch as M. Lupin (a crazy Frenchman in search of Johnson's gore), Mr. Frank Cullinane as the imbecilo Francis Fisher, Miss Ethel Bashford- as his daughter; and Miss Ethel Grist as Mrs. Fisher.

"Too Much Jolmson"' will be played again this evening. To-morrow evening the company will appear again in "The Parish Priest," and on Saturday evening /'Molly Bawn" will be revived. '