Variety (September 1918)

I . ''^i^?*??!??!^'^^ •••--.:-•: . . ■ -,v^ •;:-.■ •■.;■■ ■ ■,■..-•-■.:-■>.. ■.. ( •■'■'■:■''■ ■■-;■•■ jjKgjg -'';■ "■" ■ ' NEf 14 LEGITIMATE, r - I - THE WALK-OFFS. Mary Carter Frances Underwood Sonla Orloll Fania Marlnoff Carolyn Rutherford Robert Arnold Peter Gramlln Charles A. Stevenson Schuyler Kutlierford William Roselle Judge Charlee Brent Perclval T, Moore Mrs. Alicia Elliott..; Janet Travera Kathleen Rutherford Carroll McComas Murray Van Allen Fred L. Tlden Robert Shirley Winston Edmond Lowe George Washington White.Emmett Shackloford - Ab Foo Elmer Ballard "The Walk-Offe," presented by Oliver Mo- rosco at the Morosco Theatre Tuesday night. Is the latest play of the Hattons—Frederic and Fanny. Like most Hatton products It Is start- ling, clever and unconventional. But while billed as a comedy. It takes on the dimensions more than once of Just plain farce, and is played In this vein by some of the members of the cast, while others stick to the tradi- tions of light comedy. To tell the main plot is like unravelling snarled threads, there Is so muoh that could be told, so much that Is Intertwined. To a set of frivolous, shallow, fast-living "walk- oils" (a term explained by a negro servant In the piece as persons without brains) comes Robert Shirley Winston, of Tennessee, to visit his cousin, Mary Carter, a sculptress. He has been reading on the train the unsavory details of the divorce of Carolyn Rutherford from Schuyler Rutherford, In .which the name of Schuyler's slater, Kathleen, is more or less Involved as one living the same sort of life as the rest of her friends. Expressing him- self to his cousin In no mild terms regarding these people he Is overheard by Kathleen who In a rage determines to punish him. This she proceeds to do by becoming Mary Ford, a typist, and winning his devotion for all time. Then she flounts htm with what she has done. But, reckoning without her host, she has in the meantime fallen in love with him. So when the man of her own set, to whom she is engaged, proves easily susceptible to the advances of an artist's model and the South- erner suddenly turns cave man and breaks her spirit, she is willing that the tables be turned. In tbe meantime the divorced couple have become engaged again, and another see- sawing pair have settled things satisfactorily. The cast on the whole Is excellent, and they all have something to do. Edmond Lowe, as the Southerner, Is forceful and virile, if a bit priggish withal. But that is tbe fault of tbe part. Tbe scene In which he forces Kathleen to forswear cigarettes, champagne and cards, and even declare her yellow gown to be red because he says It Is, Is rather far-fetched. Carroll McComas Is charming as Kathleen and acts admirably, despite some strange lit- tle mannerisms and gestures with her arms, faintly reminiscent of musical comedy. Fanla Marlnoff docs splendid work as a little Rus- sian model. She Is spry and chic, and has mastered an adorable .accent. It Is a pity ber part does not mean more. Frances Under- wood and Charles A- Stevenson are another patr of lovers. Roberta Arnold, as the di- vorced wtfo, sets the nerves of the audience on edge with a piercing nasal voice and plays her part according to tbe standards of the most roaring farce-comedy. William Roselle plays ber drunken husband. Janet Travera Is a vamplrlsh and disagreeable co-respondent, while Perclval T. Moore plays a flirtatious Judge. The dialog Is always sparkling, frequently startling. Several of tbe best laughs could scarcely have been Intended. And as a factor to tbe success of the production should be mentioned the two very pretty sets, notably the one In the last act, showing a roof garden over a studio. "Tbe Walk-Offa" Is diverting enougb to enjoy a respectable run. THE GIRL BEHIND THE GUN. Robert Lambrlssac Donald Brian Pierre Breval Jack Hazzard Georgette Breval Ada Meade Colonel Servan Frank Doane Luclenne Lambrlssac Wtlda Bennett Harper Wentwortb Bert Gardner Eileen Moore Eva Francis Brlchoux John E. Young Zellle Virginia O'Brien Edna ....] [Florence Delmar Polite ... 1 American Girls ] • ■ Elaine Palmer Margie .. ( .. ..Clssle Sewell Carrie ...J I June White Klaw & Erlanger offer for metropolitan Judgment this week what they announce aa a "new musical comedy" by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodebouse, music by Ivan Caryll, the dialog directed by Edgar Mac- Gregor, ensembles by Julian Mitchell. If tbe authors make any claim for originality of plot or will deny the story wasn't adapted from 'one—or more—of the numerous sala- cious French farces of the past decade they ha.a a nerve that should stand them In good stead when collecting tbe royalty. Mao. Breval, whose husband Is In the army (the lqcale Is France), adopts a pollu godson by correspondence. She Is an actress. The pollu's friend In the trenches 1b a playwright, anxious to have her read one of his pieces, and persuades the pollu to let himself be impersonated on leave. About the time the playwright calls Mme. Breval dlt>- covers her husband Is having an affair with another woman, and she determines to get »evon by flirting with her godson. As they are kissing, enter madam's uncle, an old major, Just from Algeria, who mistakes the playwright for madam's husband and Insists on visual evidence of domestic felicity. Madam la visited by a school companion, who has mar- ried. She tells of having met a charming major on the train, who had paid her much attention. Needless to add she la the wife of the playwright. Madam must, perforce, dis- own her husband and the playwright must Ignore his wife. In the original this must have given full scope for Innumerable risque, situations. It will be perceived the story Is built around two married couples, permitting no opportunity for any romance, as has been the case In big musical successes. . Wltb this fatal handicap the Amerlcau authors failed to create anything original In tbe matter of humorous dialog, the dialog la- eluding such "released" Jokes as "I don't know you—you've nothing on me; I don't know you either," "what was your first bat- tle? It wasn't a battle. It was a little argu- ment about a hat," "Have you .got a wife?— Tbe Jury Is still out," and so on plentifully sprinkled with "devil," "hell" and "damn." Then there Is a musical director who apes the eccentricities of the passe Creatore and who turns to the audience for approval of his methods, detracting from the stage pic- tures. There are also several unhappy. selections tor the personnel. Donald Brian Is woefully miscast. He has a role for which he is totally unfitted, that of the playwright. It gives him small scope for his dancing, the thing for which he depends mainly for suc- cess and on which he built his reputation. Ada Meade as Mme. Breval is ponderous, with little or no singing voice and devoid of histrionic talent. Wilda Bennett as tbe wife of the playwright, sings well and dances fairly, but Is cold and non-magnetic. The hit Is Jack Hazzard aa the husband of Mme. Breval. He has a travesty philosophical song in the second act, "Women Haven't Any Mercy on a Man," the only number receiving any hearty applause. The chorus Is not much in evidence, em- ployed principally for opening numbers and finales. They are pretty, beautifully cos- tumed and well drilled, In Julian Mitchell's best style. A backjlrop used In the first two of* the three acts, Is painted In the effect of tapestry and the production on the whole is In good taste, but the general effect was such that Tuesday night a number of .people left after the second Bet while others straggled out all through the last Interval. Donald Brian's name and the general repu- tation of the Amsterdam for presenting big shows there may serve to keep "The Girl Be- hind tbe Gun" In New York for a limited en- gagement. The piece, however, cannot be set ' down as a success. Joio. AN IDEAL HUSBAND. Lndy Chiltern Beatrice Beckley Mrs. Marchmont Elizabeth Delmel Lady Basildon Merle' Maddern Vlcomte De Nanjac George Hayes Lady Jane Barford Dorothy Clay The Earl of Caversham Cyril Harcourt Mr. Montford S. V. Phillips Mabel Chiltern Gretchen Yates Lady Markby Alice Augarde Butler Mrs. Cheveley Constance Collier Count Strellc Vincent Sartorl Sir Robert Chiltern Norman Trevor Lord Goring Julian L'Estrange Phlpps Henry Crocker Mason Alfred Helton Undlmmed through tbe years shine " » epigrams of Oscar Wilde. At the Comedy Monday a fine company gave an admirable performance of "An Ideal Husband," the third of Wilde's possibly three best plays to be given a revival during the past few years. Times have changed so during tbe past generation that few plays of more than a few years back can be found which do not Beem old-fashioned and even tedious. The plays of Wilde suffer as little as any In this re- spect, possibly because they really belong' to no particular era. Always studiously arti- ficial, so many startllngly clever and amus- ing characters as be brings together were probably seldom at any time found In tbe same drawing-room. The action of the piece under consideration Is never rapid, and the plot not aa absorbing as say "Lady Windermere's Fan," but it is sufficiently Interesting, and taken In con- junction with the splendid lines makes a comedy of a type far too rare In these days. It has been modernized by the substitution of the word "car" for "carriage," as Obtoi Wilde never even heard of an automobile— a rather unnecessary detail, as carriages are still far from obsolete In London. Taken all In all, tbe play Is as virile and vivid and "smart" now as when first produced. The story deals with Mrs. Cheveley, a brll- lant and unscrupulous woman, who seeks to blackmail Sir Robert Chiltern into advo- cating a certain swindling Bcheme before Parliament This she proceeds to do by threatening to make public a certain com- promising letter written by him years be- fore. She very nearly succeeds when- Lord Goring, a friend of Sir Robert's, discovers In her possession a Jeweled bracelet which she had stolen from a relative of his years ago. Fearing exposure and arrest Mrs. Cheve- ley surrenders the letter, and happiness Is restored to the Chiltern home. It must bo a Joy to the actor to get such parts, when even the butlers gets laugbB. And yet It Is not fair to call them actor- proof, for they are of a texture so peculiar as to be ruined in the hands of any but fin- ished artists. And It Is a company of finished artists Indeed which John D. Williams has provided for bis revival. As Mrs. Cheveley Constance Collier gives a remarkable performance. Suave, inalnuntlng clever and cruel, she la the embodiment of the woman she typifies. Norman Trevor as Sir Robert also docs splendid work. Ho Is a compelling and dominant figure from start until the final curtain. Beatrice Beckley, the antithesis of Miss Collier, is convincing as Sir Robert's high-principled and unworldly wife, while Julian L'Estrange Is equally good as Lord Goring. Others who-should be men- 1 tiooed are' Gretchen Yates, a fascinating in- genue with wonderful red hair; Alice Augarde Butler as a talkative dowager, and Cyril Harcourt as tbe father of Lord Goring (Julian L'Estrange/. The performance went along fairly smoothly, although several of the company did not seem quite sure of "their lines, and some amusement waa caused when Gretchen Yates said, "Why, Gertrude, how pale you are," and Miss Beckley walked on with her make-up obviously freshened and very pllflc. "An Ideal Husband" should prove welcome In the list of the season's successes. THE UNKNOWN PURPLE. Those In Prison: First Convict (Hawkins) Number 1137 Second Convict. Number 1408 Characters In the Episode as related by Convict Number 1187—as they appear: Hawkins, a thief Convict 1137 Jewel, wife Helen MaoKellar Ruth, Jewel's sister Lorraine Froet Bonnie, friend of Jewel's Marion Kerby Peter Marchmont, Jewel's husband, Richard Bennett James Dawson, Marchmont's friend, Earle Brown Phelan, from headquarters E. L. Duane Characters In the play:' Bobby Dawson..' Arthur La Vlen Ruth Cbarleton ? Lorraine Frost Richard Bradbury Edward Van Sloan James Dawson Earle Brown George Allison Frank McCormlck Bonnie Allison •• Marlon Kerby Mrs. James Dawson .Helen MacKellar Johnson, butler. Herbert Ashton The Stranger... V. Cromport. Burton, Allison's head man Curtis Benton "The Unknown Purple,"' presented at the Lyric last Saturday night, la a very good play and It Is not. That depends altogether upon the angle from which you base your Judg- ment. It Is palpably theatric but, nevertheless, absorbingly interesting and full of suspense for tbe layman. If one were asked to conjure the method 'employed in assembling "The Unknown Pur- ple" he could readily Imagine jthe authors patterning their situations after well known stage successes, past and present. Messrs.. Roland West and Cartyle Moore have un- doubtedly read or seen a great many plays, in- cluding "The Vendetta," "The Silver King," "Monte Crlsto," "Arsene-Lupin," "Raffles," "On Trial," "Peter Grimm," etc. The afore- mentioned plays Were all successes, so if they have fashioned "Tbe Unknown Purple" along tbe lines of former hits they have done wisely. As playwrighters they have fared far better than as playwrlters—in other words, their 1 construction far surpasses their dialog. Their play will not go down Into history as a speci- men of erudition. It is a crook melodrama with flashbacks. A motion picture director with any sense of Imagination could make of it a most effective film feature. It opens with a drop in "one," showing tbe exterior of prison cells. Two prisoners are behind the bars in adjoining cells. One Is a cokney Englishman who has no faith In women. The other, a more super- ior individual, says there Is one—his wife— who Is struggling for an existence for herself and their child, and who is waiting for him to complete his term. Cockney reads from a newspaper a society event and rails at the married couple who are giving It. He proceeds to relate tbe history of tbe pair, saying th» man Is a crook who hired hi to to pull off a Job and double-crosed him, two years previously. The drop is raised and tbe episode Is visual- ized. It Is the event in the other man's life which caused bis .incarceration. He had been Jobbed by his own -wife and the other man and not suspecting the real motive he had stood for the crime and gone to prison to protect his wife. The drop 1b again lowered and the cockney Is concluding his narration. "What would you do If that was your wife?" tbe second convict asks the cockney. On re- ceiving a reply to the effect that if it took 1,000- years he would wreak dire vengeance, the other says: "That's Just what I am going to do." The second act shows the culprits In their luxurious home, seven years later. There Is talk of, .a wealthy business acquaintance of the husband and yon know It is none other than the released prisoner bent on vengeance —a modern Monte Crlsto. The victim Is an Inventor and has perfected a formula that will render one invisible. The guilty couple are systematically robbed and the man's business ruined by an unknown Implacable enemy. The modern Monte Crlsto even para- phrases the speech of Snydey Carton In "The Only Way" ("A Tale of Two Cities"), when he tells the false wife's sister he Is present on "a far greater business than I have ever known before." He has written the man be will call that evening to steal the wife's necklace, a la "Arsene Lupin." By render- ing himself invisible the enfe Is opened and valuables extracted, while a detective Is on guard. The-third act visualizes what occurred up- stairs during the latter part of act 2, In which the husband, while Invisible, • talks to the man who ruined him, poisons his mind against the woman now hie wife, the wife enterals being choked by her guilty accomplice, tbe hero make's himself visible, reveals his identity, is cornered by the detective, again renders him- self Invisible, escapes and takes with him bis son and the sister of bis faithless wife, who had devoted her life to bringing up his child. That admirable octor, Richard Bennett, con- tributes In no small measure to whatever suc- cess the play may enjoy. He wakes of the theatric hero a sympathetic individual. Helen MacKellar. Is excellent as the faithless wife and Earle Brown as the villain acquits himself creditably. At tile concusion of the prolog there wai promise of a, great play to come, bat, instead of being cumulative, it seemed to peter out It will be no balf-way success—the publlo will either takejto It en masse or not at all. Joio. THE MAID OFliiE MOUNTAINS. • Baldasarro , .William Courtenay Tonlo Bert Clark Beppo. Carl Gantvoort Carlo. Jackson Hines Andrea. .'. M. La Prade Pletro Victor LeRoy General Malcna Willam Danforth Crumpet , Al Roberts Lieutenant Ruglnl John Steel Mayor of Santo ; .William Reld zacchl Louis Le Vie Teresa 8ldonle Espero Vlttorlo .Miriam Doyle Angela Evelyn Egerton Olanette Gertrude Hamilton Maria ■. Mlna Davis Marietta .Marguerite May Beppirla Eva Newton Peplta Patricia Frewen Time was turned back a generation or more when "The Maid of the Mountains" was pre- sented at the Casino, Sept. 11. Tbe book Is by Frederick Lonsdale, With lyrics by Harry Graham and music by Harold Fraser-Slmson. Tbe program goes on to state that there are additional lyrics by Clifford Harris and Val- entine, and addltohal numbers by James W. Tate and Lieutenant Gltz Rice. "The Maid of the Mountains" la an old-fashioned Eng- lish comic opera, strongly reminiscent of Gil- bert and Sullivan, with Injections from later English pieces. But it lacks the originality of these older works and the eprlgh'llneBn and delicacy of some of the newer ones. Tbe first scene, reminding »ne of "The Pi- rates of Penzance," Is laid In a robbers' fast- ness. Here Is Teresa, the maid of the moun- tains, loved by Baidasarre, the leader, and adored by all hie followers. She subsequently goes away and is captured and Is taken to the capital City of the Island, where Baidasarre goes, Impersonating the new governor, to res- cue her. , The masquerade Is followed along the old comto opera lines, with the usual. situations and complications. Tbe daughter of the present governor fall* In love with Baidasarre and the poor Maid Is for a time forgotten. But tbe Jealous Te- resa exposes her fickle lover and in the last act they are, of course, united. The second scene Is laid in tho governor's palace and the third on an Island. All three scenes are vivid and cheerful, and In keeping wth the era In which tbe piece shduld have been written. . In William Courtenay there is a songless Baidasarre, although surrounded by melody. It seems to be the fashion for dramatic stars to Invade tbe musfcal stage this season, lire- spective of voice or previous experience, but Mr. Courtenay has not added to his laurels In the present venture. In this old-fashioned part he Is hone too dashing, while he has dona far more difficult thngs in his own field muoh better. Sldonie Espero, the picturesque Te- resa, sings delightfully and makes a romantic and alluring picture. She is one of the new light opera prima donnas of the season. Will- lam Danforth and Bert Clark are. really funny In the comedy parts, while Carl Gantvoort adds to the performance with his fine singing. As the governor's daughter Evelyn Egerton Is , very winsome, while Miriam Doyle proves herself en admirable comedienne. The music Is lilting and often beautiful, but there Is nothing that elands out as being of unusual merit. The success of this piece Is problematical. It la healthy and sano, and It makes tbe war seem very far away, yet, In spite of our eternal harking back to other days, It 1b a question If we have not become Just a bit too sophisticated not to find that "The Maid of the Mountains" is Inclined to drag a bit.and seem a little long. MR. BARNUM. Mr..BUND Thomas A. Wise Not Morley Richard Gordon Kid Bailey Clyde North Daddy Price ...Harold De Becker Con Lonergan Jay Wilson Props Leavltt James Lucien Forterre Gaston Glass Mr. Gerrone Albert Sackett Henry Scranton (General Tomb Thumb), Herbert Rice Cody Francis La Mont Arlstlde Letelller Albert Sackett Sheriff L. Melton Clodagh Alonzo Carter Luray Butler Colonel Mourel. : '...., William Seymour Buckler Qenln Lurny Butler Bill Collector. L. M. Olodagh. George Washington Gibson.. .Charles Jackson Cirffy, a negro slave George Ford Ticket-sellers....John Pratt and-J. N. Gaunt Jeanne Letelller." Phoebe Foster Adellna Bonfant! Carlotta Monterey Zulelka Ethel Cadraan Emma Morgana Adeline Mitchell Lavlnla Warren Qucente Mab Jenny Llncl ,. Frances Nlelson If the Incidents in "Mr. Barnum," a comedy of circus life, written by Harrison Rhodes and Thomas A. Wise, presented by Charles Dillingham at the Criterion, are historically correct, the entertainment la merely a visual biography of tbe life of the late Phtneas Tay-