"ROSE BRIAR" CONVULSES AUDIENCE AT ST. JAMES

The reception given Booth Tarkington's "Rose Briar" at the St. James Monday night must have been exceedingly gratifying to the actors--every act was well applauded, and the humor of the situation seemed to be keenly appreciated. The Playgoer himself, who particularly detests baby-talk from grown-up women, had rather a hard time of it occasionally; and some of the discourse on "Love--its horrible effects" was pretty gooey, but by and large, the show was a good one.

Rose Briar, otherwise known as Adelyn Bushnell, is very effective as an ingenuous, and consequently scheming cabaret singer, who is employed to compromise a husband whose wife thinks she wants a divorce. The play develops into a battle between Rose Briar, who wants Mr. Paradee, and Mrs. Valentine, who wants not only Mr. Paradee, but Mr. Valentine besides. She also craves attention, and having thus three weak spots, she falls an easy prey to Rose Briar, who has only one. Nevertheless, the salvoes of baby-talk that passed between them and their several male satellites almost finished the Playgoer, and if Miss Bushnell had not looked perfectly charming, and Mr. Mark Kent, as Mr. Valentine, been entirely delightful, he might have been completely overcome.

But Mark Kent is wonderful as a brow-beaten, nervous wreck, while Viola Roach, as Mrs. Valentine, is convincing in her indication of how his ruin was accomplished. Except in her sterner moments, Miss Roach's very laugh causes one's hair to stand on end; how Walter Gilbert and Edward Dauney, who are Mr. Paradee and the lawyer, respectively, manage to conceal their agony, and in fact, actually seem to enjoy her fooleries is miraculous. Everything must be forgiven, however, for Mr. Kent's sake. He is not the only good thing about "Rose Briar" by a long shot, but he is certainly the best.

In the first act, the audience was astounded by a regular cabaret scene, with a table, a piano, and two short turns, each of which was loudly encored. Miss Jill Middleton proved to be a very satisfactory dancer, and Miss Bushnell recited a song with deadly effect. She recited the same song several other times at critical moments, and also another song. But as a singer, Miss Bushnell is a wonderful-looking actress.