(3 of 3)
Almost forgotten in the zeal of Susan's trial flight into misapplied evangelism, her husband Barrie (Paul McGrath), who drinks too much but loves her, finally convinces her that this new sweetness-&-light gospel deserves a trial at home, if only for the sake of their budding daughter, Blossom (Nancy Kelly). There, the surrounding countryside strewn with the wreckage of her meddling, Susan manages at last to get things back in focus.
Prime weakness of the play is that Actress Lawrence interprets Susan Trexel's character as so essentially hypocritical that the final redemption worked out for her by Playwright Crothers seems at best a bit shaky. Should Susan ever hear about theosophy or about the opportunities for field work in the search for baby giant pandas, the home fires would die out again.
Manhattan was impressed with Paul McGrath's finely tempered, self-reliant job as Barrie Trexel. When the play opened on September 20 in Washington, Actor McGrath had a minor part, Osgood Perkins the lead. After the opening Actor Perkins walked to his hotel, died in his apartment following a heart attack. "I like that role," he had said, "I hope the play never closes." Actor McGrath, veteran of a dozen or more Broadway appearances (Ned McCobb's Daughter, Night of January 16, The Green Bay Tree, et al.) stepped into the lead next night. Except for a canceled Wednesday matinee, ordered because of the condition of Actress Lawrence, who had gone 66 hours without sleep, the show went on without interruption through its Washington and Baltimore engagements.