Variety (April 1920)

16 LEGITIMATE " ;t NEWS OF THE DAILIES Edward Royce will Btaer« the ZlegttU "Follies of 1920," which will open at the Vev Amsterdam June 1. Barney Bernard, in '^Ib Honor, Abe Potash."^ waa transferred March 29 from the Bijou to Lyrlo. "Tbe Rose of China," seen earlier In the season at the Lyrlo, will be brought back to New York for a ■npplementary engagement the second week la June. A. H. Woods has closed hla option on the Bngltsh righU of "The Slga on the Boor" and will produce It in London early next season. SllylQ Hein is writing -the score for the musical play, "My Vampire Qirl," which Max Spiegel will present next falL "The Fur Lined OTercoat," a playlet, will shortly be produced by Charles Rlchman. Gypsy O'Brien will be in the cast The Shuberts have engaged Jane Wheatley for* an Important role in "The Man Outside," which opens April 6 at Hartford, Conn. Entirely recovered from an attack of laryngitis,' Bthel Barrymore reappeared ' last Thursday nlgbt In "Declasse" at t he E mpire. There were no perform- aecsB^tor four nights and a matinee. Next Tuesday afternoon at the Olobe, Clothllde and Alexander Sakharoff will dance, the entire proceeds of the mati- nee to be devoted to the fund for Milk for American Babies. Richard Ordynskt sails for Poland to- morrow. He resigned as stage director of the Metropollun Opera House last week, which 6ost he has held for three seasons. In Poland he Is to establish a national theatre In Warsaw. An orchestral concert will be held at the MoroBco April 18 for the benefit of the Barbara Frietchle Post No. 43 of the American Legion. The receipts will be used in the erection of a home for the post "Alice In Wonderland" has been se- lected by Rachel Barton Butler, author of "Mamma's Affair," as the first play to be produced by her at her children's theatre. She has made the stage adapta- tion and It will be produced soon after Easter. Iran Caryll Is back from Belgium to be present at the beginning of rehearsals of a new Dillingham show to be staged this fall. He arrived last Saturday on the "Lapland." Caryll la the author of "Chln-Chin," "Pink Lady," "Girl Behind the Oun" and "Jack o* Lantern." When the SakharofTs dance at the Globe Theatre next Tuesday for the Free Milk for American Children Fund the twelve "bridesmaids" from "Apple Blos- soms" and the plot elucidators from "The Night Boat," will be program glrto on invltaaon of Mrs. Oscar Harriman. The dates for the next pair of con- certs of the New Symphony Orchestra of the Musicians' New Orchestra Society in Carnogle Hall, arranged originally tor April 29 and 80, have been changed to April 14 and 16 respectively. Frits Krelsler, violinist, will be the soloist. Among the passengers on 'Xa Savolo," which sailed last Saturday for France, was Pearl White. She goes to Prance to fill a role In a new picture the bcenes of which require a French atmosphere. Yvonne Gall, of the Chicago Opera Com- pany, was also on board, as was Emmy Desttnn. Last Sunday night William Harris, Jr., gave a special performance of "Abraham Lincoln" at the Cort at the request of Collector William H. Edwards. His guests were the employes of the In- ternal Revenue Bureau, Manhattan dis- trict and William 0. McAdoo and Joseph P. Tumulty. William Fellows Morgan, as president of the Merchants' Association, has In- vited Charles B. Dillingham to repre- sent the American theatre on the asso- ciation's delegation to the meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce In Paris durlnp the week of June 21. Mr. Dillingham la a member of the associa- tion. Mr. -and Mrs. Coburn announce the New York premier of their lew musical comedy, "8 Showers," at the Harris, next Monday night. The play is in two acts and three scenes laid In Virginia. There are 22 song numbers and an or- chestra of 26 Instruments. The company includes Anna Whcaton, Wulter Wilson, Vera Ross, Paul Frawley, WlUlam Win- ter Jefferson, Lynn Starling, Wilbur Cox, ■ H, " I Edna Morn, Master Andrew J. Lawior and a mixed ensemble of 20 trained voices. The play has been on tour for the past five weeks. John J. Oleason, abbot of the Friars, and Fred- Block have formed a produc- ing corporation pnder tbe name of Oleason-Block, -Inc; Their first ventures will be "Reaping the Whirlwind." a comedy by Frank McGlynn; James J. Corbett in a musical piece, and the presentation of James J. Corbett In a musical piece, and the presentation of "The Rainbow Oirl," on tour. THE MOLE IN THE WALL Limpy Jim Cluirles Halton Deagon William Sampson Margaret Lyons Muriel Tindal Danny MacKeaver Vernon Steele Gordon Grant John Halllday Jean Oliver Martha Hedman Nichols Robert Stevens Police Inspector Leighton Stark Mrs. Ramsay. ..,.:. .Cordela MacDonald Donald Ramsay ; Walter Lewis Cora Thompson Doris Mooi^e Some things are too good to be true and some too true to be good^from the money making standpoint—but "The Hole in the Wall," by Fred Jackson, fits into neither classification. It was pro- duced March 26 at the Punch and Judy by Alex A. Aarons and George B. Setts and staged by Ira Hards. Possibly the intent In bringing this mixture of melo- drama and spiritualism to metropolitan attention was to frame it for. the picture market. If so the intent was auccessfuL It may even have a profitable run if the salaries drawn J>y the actors are not more than the house's capacity can stand. This collection of actors Includes Martha Hedman, Vernon Steele,' of "Declasse" fame, John Halllday and William Samp- son, and for a time it seemed as If the battle of accents'would lead to serious results, especially as excellent perform- ancea by Charles Halton and Mr. Samp- son threw tbe contrasts high as even- ing shadows. The first act went swift and sure as a bankroll at a cabaret We are shown a darkened ^stage. Two crooks are lamenting the loss of their partner, Mme. Mystera, who Is conducting spiritualistic trances and raking in the coin. Into this discussion comes Danny MoKeever (Vernon Steele) with a British accent that gave "class'- and "tone." As the result of information extracted by the Madame from one of her rich clients he has made good on a burglary and cleaned up a neat sum which he divides up, and he ma^e this clear, made every word count. There Isn't any over- marked effect to his English delivery, and he is very much at eaie with the language and In evening clothes. Miss Hedman, however, is not at ease with the language. Why she persists after all these ^years in clinging to her Continental method of rendering English is a mystery, but persists she does, with the result that all she says Is not intelli- gible. This isn't fair to the audience, but Miss Hedman is a glorious person to look at and otherwise tried every minute of the way on the opening night to give an effective performance. She waa cast as Jean Oliver, who had been sent to Sing Sing on a false charge by the wealthy woman to whom she was secre- tary and companion. This woman did not wish her to marry her son and took this method of preventing it>- Hot for revenge, Jean comes from Sing Sing to this gang of crooks, and they play In with her on a scheme to kidnap Mrs. Ramsay's grandson. The scene shifts now to the office of the Police In- spector. The kidnapping has been ac- complished. Here la a fault in Mr. Jack- son's play. It skips about too much in- stead of proceeding logically and in- evitably to its conclusion. Another fault In the play was de- veloped In the third act. The scene is again at Mme. Mystera's. Jean is now playing the role of the Madame. There are wire-tapping and dictaphone devices to aid her as she sits on a high throne in a vari-colored and efTective gown and proceeds to give a fake seance. Indeed, the Interest in how this stuff is faked Is made the best use of, and then Mr. Jack- son switched on his contrast and Just failed of a great scene. Jean has been described as a serious minded, really honest and decent young person. She gets carried away with what she is doing and gives a real Interpretation, but the ground-work for all this was so hazily and Inadequately laid as to give - it no more than half a chance. This was the author's fault. To make it go Miss Hedman brought her finest resources to '■ play, and it almost reached through to the big smash. Almost not quite. In the next and last act we are back at Police Headquarters, and the possibility that there may be truth in all this spiritualism Is made the key- note of the play. Thus no one Is offendeo, and the heroine, her name cleared, is wrapped in the arms of her hero. This hero Is one of those newspaper men who. never was on land or sea. Not Herbert Bayard Swope at his Herbiest was ever equal to this stage manikin. As long as no law protects newspaper men from novelists, playwrights and actors they have to be put up with, but the note of sweetness and light the mincing manner and accent with which Mr. Halllday played the part can at least b6 Improved upon and should be. X>eail. THE OUUA BOARD. Jules, a servant Oeorge Dannenborg Richard Anntxter... .Stewart E. Wilson Winfred Annlxter Riglna Wallace Kitty Kemp Ruth Hammond Barney McCare Crane Wilbur Norman Kemp Oeorge Gual Henry Annlxter. William Ingersoll Rupe Ourney Kdward Ellis Gabriel Mogador Howard Lanaf Bartlett John Wray This melodrama was first tried out as "The Unseen Hand," a. better and more suitable title. Renamed and brought to the Bijou, March 29, by A. H. Woods, with its author. Crane Wilbur, the for- mer motion picture star, in the cast. It ■proved a thriller worth any tif.ed busi- ness man's evening. Surprises, lighting effects, sufficiently convincing acting and stock comedy that got over, all helped the evening along and Mr. Wilbur can congratulate himself for he was run- ning a race with Fred Jackson, a trained writer and author of "The Hole in the Wall" brought into the Punch and Judy, March 26, in order to beat the Wilbur meller to the tape. Thanks chiefly to a whole series of actor-proof parts and an accumulation of thrills, part of whose charm was the fact they did not develop logically and were, therefore, all the more surprising, this play should last out the Spring. Incidentally, the play Is written with a more serious air of - believing than Mr. Jackson's effort, pro- vides one act-more of suspense and so stands a better chance and could afford to come in second. The acting, however, was the surprise of the evening. Crane Wilbur himself is a well set up and confident young man with an easy manner, a good stage* presence and sufficient voice. Also he never tried to hog the show as many an actor Would have done In his own play. He left the big performance of the eve- nings undisturbed to Howard Lang who - scored as Gabriel Mdgador and got a reception that recalled mildly the one handed Wilton Lackaye as Svengall. Stewart E. Wilson also made a young dope fiend shiveringly effective, while George Gual was pleasantly agreeable as a believer in splrtuallsm. As the hurry-hurry giri conversationalist, Ruth Hammond rattled attractively, while Re- glna Wallace, In a far more difficult role, looked fascinating and behaved like a much sought beauty. Tho author gave her plenty of trouble in the last act, but she made even the "weeps" seem true; but it was Edward Ellis as the spook-scared crook who got most of the laughs. V The first act moves swiftly up to the fact that a local spiritualist named Mo- gador is being consulted by the wealthy Mr. Annlxter much to the distress of-his daughter. Detective McCare and Noi man Kemp, novelist and believer, set out to investigate and the curtain roles up on a darkened stage. This Is the studio of Mogador. A man is seen peering in through the window. The curtains close of their own accord. Doors.open in unseen ways. Enter the visitor. A clock strikes. A light starts Inside of It. The visitor gets balled up with a chair and <Iown the stairs in the half light comes a weirdly unusual figure with a long black beard. This is Gabriel Mo- gador. . He has set up as a spiritualist in order to get old man Annlxter's money. Under another name it was he who ran off long before with Annlxter's wife and through automatic writing he is keeping Annlxter (who does not know him) Iri touch with his wife whose handwriting, of course, he can imitate. There Is a trick scene, first with McCare and Kenxp and y>en when they have gone Annlxter comes. What Mogador has always feared happens. The spirit of the dead wife gets control of him and writes the truth about him. Up Jumps Annl.xter and kills him. Exit. Enter the crook friend, tho first visitor of the evening, to establish that Mogador Is, in truth, dead. This crook dodges behind the door when McCare and Kemp return. For these two the dead hand writes a last message. The last act is an effective arrange- ment, but it would have been more ef- fective had the audience been allowed to suspect what was in that last message which foretold Annlxter's death but did not give his name. The spirit asked to ^ be called on again. This is done after Annlxter has been killed by a myster- ious bullet while listening to a phono- graph record of his wife's voice. They call on the spirit She tells them the clue to the murder will be found in the last note of the record. The girl sits where her father sat but before the rec- ord Is finished the young dope fiend springs forward and pulls tho girl away, exclaiming he loves hor too much .to let her die. In the phonograph he had placed a revolver that discharges as the record flntstaes' playing, and as he Is led away and the girl turns to his true love, Mr. Wilbur, as McCare, takes down the telephone to recall Police Headquar- ters. In denying himself the conven- tional final close-up (girl—kiss—curtain) Mr. Wilbur has set an example. Further- more the simplicity and naturalness of the acting showed be had a hand In Shap- ing it. It is a direct and excellent In- heritance from the once despised movie field. Leed, MONHOMML ^> -• Paris, March t4. This three-act drama by Andre Flcard and Francis Carco. produced by Cora Laparcerle at the Renaissance Theatre, is of the Metenier category and the Grand Guignol. A girl has been taken from the gutter and married by a Rus- sian baron; after his death she climbs another step in the society ladder by marrying a prince. The princess, Claire, cannot forget her old surround- ings, and during his absence on a diplo- matic mission she dresses as a street girl to visit a common ball room fre-" quented by her former acquaintances, which reminds^ us of "Le Mariage d'Olympe." At this low resort Clara (as she calls herself) meets an apache known as Femard, a good-looking, healthy, strong boy; it Is a case of love at first sight, particularly as he screens her from the pretentions of other vul- gar dancers. There is a fight with knives; Fernand wins; Clara breaths the old sensational atmosphere with Joy. She even gives "her man"'a date in her own luxurious mansion, pretending she Is employed there as lady's maid. When Fernand arrives he finds his woman richly attired, but the meeting of the - lovers is interrupted,by a real burglar in evening dress, who has long coveted the princess, and particularly her Jewels, though an intimate friend of her hus- band. He shoots Fernand, alleging his rival Is there to rob the house, which Clara, to save her honor, is unable to deny, and moreover, she is constrained to henceforth accept his declarations, for he holds her secret: a real Apache la not always an Apache in appearance. This melodrama pleaSBs. Mme. ~Lapar- cerie (manageress) plays the part of Clara, the aristocratic lady seized with nostalgia- for her former haunts of youth. Simons Frevalles, a devoted companion who accompanies her to the low ball room and. Is there led aatray, acts naturally. Colin plays Fernand, a good sort of tough who practices "honor among thieves:** His rough and tender love making Is a revelation. "Mon Homme" (My Man) will prove a suc- cess. Krnidrtw. VIEUrCOLOMBIER. Paris, March 24. Jacqes Copeau has mounted two in- teresting works and can be congrratu- lated. The first "Le Paquebot 'Tenacity,'" in three acts, with same set tells the his- tory of two emigrants on their way to Canada. Baatien, an energetic young man, has infiuenced his friend, Segard, of weaker character, to try their fortune in a new country. But their steamer Is held up in port for repairs, and during the de- lay the two men find work in a printing office, living at a cheap hotel. Both fall In love with the pretty servant; she listens kindly to Segard, who talks pret- tily, but finally elopes with Bastien, who has the audacity to project the scheme after having compromised the situation. Segard, less keen on the emigration scheme at first. Is thus left to continue his voyage alone. Tho moral is we never perceive the bifurcation in our career: we- are caught in the flood and swept to unknown destinies. The strong willed may try to fashion his own fate, but often with contrary results. We also learn again "Faint heart never won fair lady." The second Item is Prosper Merlmee's long forgotten "La Carrosse du Saint Sacrament," which was seen at the Odeon years ago (donkey's ears). Like Courteline's "Bourbouroche," it is dangerous to interfere with a woman's intrigue. Don Ribera, governor of Peru, is the protector of La Pernichole, an actress. He has the gout and his mistress deceives him with a handsome captain and a gallant toreador. The governor's secretary Is silly enough to tell him, but Perichole convinces her protector she is a victim of calumny, so the informer is punished, and to reconcile the offended lady Don Ribera presents her with a costly coach. The actress goes to church In the vehicle and scandalizes the citizens and clergy; to appalse their anger she presents the coach to the church for the priest to use it In carrying the last sacrament to the dying. The priests glorify her gene- rosity and praise her virtues to the governor, who is spared a reprimand from Madrid, This sarcastic little play la a chef d'oeuvre. Merimee wrote "Carmen," from which the opera was adapted, and he was also author of "Colombia," Jacques Copeau was hap- pily inspired In reviving the little gem. which Is nicely played. He holds the role of governor, and is well supported. There is no pretention of elaborate scenery. ' Kendr ew.