"ELIZA COMES TO STAY"

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 125, 23 November 1926, Page 6

"ELIZA COMES TO STAY"

CUNNINGHAM COMEDY COMPANY

The Joseph Cunningham Comedy Company produced the second play of its local season, "Eliza Comes to Stay," before an appreciative audience at the Grand Opera House last evening. Eliza is a female young person of uncertain age, who is willed to the care of the Hon. Sandy Verrall by the dying father, who' had saved Sandy's life. Judging, from vague correspondence, Sandy expected a toy-lov-ing golden-haired girl to arrive.in his bachelor fiat, but instead comes a buf-foon-like hoyden, a hobble de hoy maiden with a bun-haired spectacled head, straw hat, unspeakable ankles, offset with a simpering giggle. This vision, Eliza, represents the extreme of uncomeliness; and Vera Lawrence, an actress or would-be actress engaged _to Sandy for mercenary motives, provides the counterfoil of elegant artificiality. Of course, one begins to suspect that Eliza ' has a heart of gold—she would need it under such an exterior —and as the inevitable fight between Eliza and Vera, concerning Sandy, develops, it is evident that the waif is fast gathering beauty, toilet, and accomplishments— but before her metamorphosis has properly set in Sandy has fled to the Continent to escape an embarrassing situation. Meanwhile.Eliza —whose name, as she polishes up, is polished into Dorothy —makes such progress in all the "races and in some of the arts, that Sandy's friend, Monty Jordan, her musical instructor, falls in love ■ with her; and as he is a faded bachelor, while Sandy is a very fres* one, trouble develops on this account on Sandy's return. It follows, of course, that the poor," nervous, honest Monty gets the go-by, and Sandy, having got rid of Vera through her marriage with his rich uncle, weds Dorothy (Eliza). The situations are such as are pardonable in farce-comedy, and the whole play pivots on Eliza (Dorothy), whose transition from a gawk to a girleen and then to a cultured beauty is almost as startling as her change back to a gawk when she wishes to disillusionise the love-sick "Monty." Herein Miss Zillah Bateman found a very unusual comedy opportunity, and she rose to the occasion, proving herself a flexible and facile actress, with a winning voice in the introduced solo, one of the gems of Scottish song. Eliza (Dorothy) is a forcible reminder, on the feminine plane, that to an almost incredible extent the world is governed by appearances —'' mere externals'' — and as such she is entitled to a chapter all to herself in any philosophy of clothes. As Sandy, Mr. Copelin, who is a tall comedian of the handsome, agile, vivacious order, was very winning but the farce-comedy will go a good deal better when the rawness of a hasty initial production (as Mr. Cunningham pointed out in an aftercurtain speech) has rubbed off. Miss Henrietta Cavendish showed good diction and restraint as Lady Pennybroke; Miss Sylvia Clifton was the actress Vera Lawrence; and Mr. Frank Bradley, as Monty Jordan, handled a not easy character with skill. "Eliza Comes to Stay" is billed for the rest of the week. It.has plenty of laughs, much subtle satire, and considerable philosophy, and last night's audience liked it.