Slow Speech of a Stranger Caused Miss Morewin to Sacrifice
Conventionality on the Altar of Curiosity.
There must be times when actors are put in the embarrassing position of
hearing their work discussed in public places by people who have seen
the performance and are not aware that any of those who have taken part
in it are within ear-shot. And sometimes, when there is a wag in the
party, there are real dramatic moments in such episodes. Here is a case
in point that happened in New York not so very long ago.
A party of men were descending in the elevator on their way to lunch in
one of New York’s tallest skyscrapers. The car stopped at a floor and a
lady got on. The wag in the group of men instantly recognized her as
Louise Morewin, who plays the mother-in-law in “The Heir to the Hoorah,”
which he had seen a few nights before.
The car was pretty well crowded and the wag was so placed that in the
mirror he could see Miss Morewin’s face without being seen himself. And
the spirit of mischief entered his soul.
“Say, fellows,” he began, “you have all seen ‘The Heir to the Hoorah.’
What do you think of the mother-in-law?”
One and another expressed an opinion, more or less non-committal so far
as the playing of the part was concerned. But this did not satisfy the
wag. It must be remembered that the building is very tall and that it
requires some minutes for the elevator to reach the ground floor, so
after the other comments had been gathered in, there was still time for
a snapper.
“Well,” he remarked, “I saw the play the other night, and I think the
actress who plays that mother-in-law is——”
He inserted a pause for impressiveness, and Miss Morewin could stand no
more. Stepping around so that she faced him she broke out with:
“Well, what _do_ you think of her?”
“I think she is immense,” finished the wag, utterly unruffled, while his
friends, who had failed to recognize their fellow passenger, stood with
jaws dropped at the spectacle of the strange woman butting into their
conversation.
As for Miss Morewin, she smiled, flushed a little, and when the car
reached the street level, she hastily mingled with the throng and was
lost to sight.