Variety (March 1919)

■'-■M^"v '"^mmym 'iSMit; 16 LECltlMATE ^ K^r: STUARt WALKER PLAYERS. ,. THH TENTS OP TH? ARABS. BeirNa^b ..Walter Geor Adbb Aldrlcta Bowker TQe King .McKay Morris Tbe' Obamberlaln George Somoea ZabWi .^lebard Farrell tYLi Binger Elllen Lamed Etnarxa .Beatrice Maude THE BOOK OF JOB. N«rrAtora . ■ i Margaret Mower warr^toro ••-••1 Ellzlbeth Patterson Job ....; ; George Oaul : Bllphas George SomoeB Biidad Edgar Stebll . Zophar ; Aldrlcn Bowker Elibu McKay Morris , „ .vVolcci in tbe Whirlwind Oa-Ice-non-ton ■' Stuart Walker has discarded the name "Port- manteau^ Players" from hia bistrlonic organiza- tion at tbe Puncb and Judy Theatre. This occnirred ehortlr after John Corbln eaw fit, to reguter an objection in the Sunday Times a feft'weeks ago; which goes to show that a maniager win occasionally listen to the words «r • a critic—thougb not often. . ]Ur. Walker offered a cbange of bill Monday evening; comprlalng "The Tents of tbe Arabs/' a play in two acta by I<ord Dunsany (first tithe In New Torb) and "Tbe Book of Job." a dramatic presentation of the actual old text. Both pieces have tittle of appeal to the gen- trat run of modern theatregoers. •rThe Tents of the Arabs" has the same setting for. both acts. Tbe scene Is laid out- side Ute city of Thalanna, at the edge of the great desert and tbe time la uncertain. A pair of, camel drivers enter and disclose via con- Terintlon that they yearn for city life and are tired of the desert. One of them relates how the king's father has passed through his vlUage, disguised as a camel driver, which accounts for the driver's resemblance to the present king. They are called to depart with tile caravan and exit. Enter the king,.a hand- - ^i?: ? flom^^romantlc Individual, fatigued with the ;;.;'i,' oarMt'oY-^itate and -who yearns for the quietude of the desert, which he Is debarred from en- loying, through--his numerous official duties at the palace. /'^^-^ The reppective yearnings of tbe king and 'Bel-Narb the camel drlveVare prolonged upon .with' unnecessary prolongatloir^ajid at the con- dusloti of the first, act the klngMiasts aside his throne and departs for the desert^promls- ing his chamberlain he will return in exacHy one year from that date. At.the opening of act'two, a year later, be returns on scheduled time, accompanied by a t^j^fif with whom he Is In love. She diSim to return to tbolr free life, but he reminds her be is a king and haa given his word to resume his old life. He In turn tries to persuade her to remain and be his queen, but she cannot give up her freedom, even for the love she bears him. They finally, after dlscnssing tbe situation from many angles, deoido that memory Is mlgntler than time, and they will live In the sweet thoughts they harbor for one another, though- separated. "riie king takes leave of tbe gypsy girl and la .about to enter the palace when tbe two eamel drivers return, Bel-Narb claiming he la the king. The real king covers bis features and Terifles Bel-Narb's statement to bis chamberlain and declaring himself to be a camel driver. To the girl he says: "They hare tbelr king now and we shall return to tlio -tents of the Arabs." They depart and a water carrier pasBes by, creating the picture ot tbe world going on as usual. ' Rather well played by the entire company. With McKay Morris, as the king, contributing- a l^ceful,. easy performance of a romantic royal personage wiib all the attributes of one bom to the purple. 'fTbe Book of Job" was presented last season at the Booth with practically the same cast. At that time "The Voice to the Whirlwind" (sup- poMd.to be the voice of^the Lord) was handled by .David Bispbam, but is now taken by Os-. Jce-non-ton, presumably an Indian. On both sides of the stage stand a Narrator In nicbeB such as one sees the statues of saints in Catholic churches. In prolog and eptlbg form they recite the first and last chapters of the book ot Job. -'^The "play" itself reveals Job seated upon some steps outside a Village in tbe land of Vs, bemoaning his afflictions, accompnntcd by hia .three comforters. Later 'Bllbu enters and "horns In" upon the discussion, with ultimately thunder and lightning, when the voice of . tbe Lord la heard. The characters "read" verbatim 'every word of the book of Job as it Is written la tbe Old Testament, excepting that tbe speeches ot the Deity are curtailed, which Is a mercy as the Indian Is standing in tbe wings and not ond word be utters is fcv;:< Intelligible. V ;. ' . The scene is a triumph In lighting and the 'reading" of George Gaul as Job. Mrs. Jelo, who was present, says "The Book of Job" is a complete drama without altering a single word. Maybe she's right, but there Is at least one other person (It a married man r^'.^'i' oan be regarded as a person) who thinks It an ineffable bore. Jolo. THE FORTUNE TELLER. .' Madame Renee, a fortune teller, Marjorle Rambeau 'Lottie, a snake charmer Grace Ooodall ■'''; Jim Sorensen, an acrobat Robert Vaugban '' Tony — Q- L' Fernandez ^' Seifiai Brenner Hugh Dlilman ~:BI]6Uier Weeks, his fiancee, Winifred Wellington ■' Vm, Weeks, her mother Edna A Crawford V Laura Vernon Eleanor Montell ■ Ifrs. Harris : Irene ShMey :, They say ("they say" must be in some way ' related to "statistics prov^") tbat Hamlet was tbe longest acting role ever written. If this be BO, a new long distance record has been bung up by Leigbton Graves Osmun, author of "The Fortune Teller," (opening at the Re- public, Feb. 27) with the part of "Madame Renee," as played by Marforle Rambeau at tbe Republlo Theatre. The piece Is presented by Arthur Hopklps, who also staged It. What has "the makings" of a one act play was prolonged Into practically the moat dis- mally lachrrmoBe monolog ever offered a modem playgoer. In the first act, Miss Rambeau, with a ridiculous comedy wig, designed to assist la visualizing a "Madame X" situation between a mother who had sunk very low In the social scale and taken to drink and "dope," gave out early in the scene all the dramatic strength she is possessed of, leaving nothing in reserve for a cumulative emotional climax. The scene, In addition—or rather in the first place—waa Inexpertly written, being merely a piling.on of "emoting" and weeping, with no light and shade. A splendid basic idea—albeit a strong re- semblance to "Madame X"—was wasted 'in what might have .jeen utilized for a 80-minute playlet. A young married woman, years be- fore, had run away from an unkind husband and her baby. At the opening of the play she 'Is a fortune- teller with an itinerant street fair aggregation. Her son Is 21 years old that very day, and comes to have his fortune told. There is ho limit to the possibilities of such a scene between, mother and son, if handled by a skilled playwright But that Is tbe end of tbe story. There Is nothing left to watt for. In order to prolong.the affair for a full two and a half hours' enter- tainment the author baa dragged in a "Thir- teenth. Chair" situation for the second act and In- the third act has the pander who black- malls the unfortunate mother (again revert- ing to "Madame X") killed by a policeman. Tbe whole thing is the most bald, and at tbe same time the most i>uerllc, adaptation of 'Madame X" and "The Thirteenth Chair," that could possibly have been concocted. The lines allotted the star are either a series of ridiculous repetitions or else Miss Rambeau. "ad llbbed" the monologs like a hurdedly 're- cruited actress In a stock company, who Is called upon to replace tbe leading lady taken suddenly Hi. Time and time again—It seemed dozens of times—she uttered "Think ot what It means to iae," and other meaningless phrases. Miss Rambeau is an actress who is neve; eloquent when she isn't speaking. She doesn't express facially or pantomlmlcally—she must ^have words. Possibly tbe author realized this and determined to furnish a plentiful supply. The'^ombined speeches of tbe remainder of the company would not total one-fourth the number of^'itnes uttered by tbe star, all of which she delivered in a whining tremolo. Most of the'm she-spouted at Hugh Dlilman, who played the part of'4ier son in a manner to create the impression liajiad not been re- hearsed In tbe role. The raaialnder of the- cast struggled heroically with tnelt scant al- lotment of speeches, their prlndpaK^upa- tlOD consisting of standing about, draping Jbe stage while the star weeplngly recited. ~^\_ All through the third and last act a large proportion of the audience exited. The house was fair and had a "paper" appearance. On the aforesaid evening a male member of the house executives carried on an audible flirtation with one of the girl ushers through- out the big scene in the first act. "The Fortune Teller" Is unquestionably tbe champion dramatic fiasco of tbe season. Jolo. SCANDAL Chicago, March 5. Pelham Franklin .........Charles Cherry Malcolm ^rikser William David Sittherland York .Carl Bckstrom Major Baraet Thatcher. .Gjeorge Henry Trader Pewsey Lenard Wood Sarah .' Margaret Ceilings Mrs, Henry Vanderdyke. Alice Putnam Miss Honoria Vanderdyke... .Isabel O'Madlgan Mrs. Browii -. Mary Cecil Regina Waterhouse. i..MarJo|rle Hast Helene Doris Duane Beatrix Vanderdyke Franclne Larrlmore When moving pictures were iSrst invented tbe mero novelty of seeing images move about on a screen carried the Interest and drew the thousands; then came wiser beads, mora seri- ous artists, and the novelty was translated Into action oO higher planes, bringing the In- dustry into its own. In similar manner came first the flood of "bedroom comedies" and handed thrills to servant' girls and funny lit- tle sensations up and down the spines of chauffeurs'; now Walter Hast arrived aS path- finders to this popular method of amusement, presenting "Scandal," by Coamo Hamilton— and, lo! We now know what can be done with boudoir scenes, for we have seen one written by a genius, played by artists, produced by a gentlemiEin. ^ It was a bard day for "Breakfast In Bed," "Under the Covers," "Twixt Sheet and flheet" and "Tucked in for the Night" when "Scandal" was revealed. Here is a comedy, sex comedy, comedy ot the robe de nult and tbe near bride and the frilled bedolothes and all that takes an audience up to that deadline which-still, thank the stars, exists against dramatising every de- tail of a-honeymoon first night,'and shows up all its flippant and frivolous oredecessors. And it docs all this In the language and action of comedy, not problem play. "Scandal" went over at the Garrick In a manner so spontaneous tbat its propensities as an artistic plus a money success cannot be longer spoculativo. Chicago gobbled it up; New York will hug It to its blase bosom, be- cause It Is plausible and convincing, and Jaded appetites crave sexy tales that taste real^the counterfeit otes reek so ot cheap spices. ^ New York will take with smacking lips Franclne Larrlmore, a new sort of heroine for this breed o: tale, a girl who has a soul both In her own person and In the character, and who can make more aparks fly In a flimsy silk nightgown ttaan sll the farce players who have made good at the game. Miss Larrlmore rises to stardom in "ScnndaV and la billed above tbe title In BSBociation with Charles Cherry. She deserves it. Tbe entire atmosphere Is of the ethereal regions of the upper tew, and In tbis esoteric vapor that which was crude, rude and lewd becomes chic, dashing and naughty—nice. The phraseology throughout la punctiliously cor- rect, the manners of all concerned are wblted with polite cleveraess, and tbe whole perform- ance bears the touches of the author, a wit, a satirist, an epigrammatist and a man of let- ters. MlBs Larrlmore has transformed her- self over night from a weepy farce imp to a leading woman of distinction, technical probity and ringing effectiveness. Her position hence- forth upon the American stage is fixed. She will be starred, and starred In parts such as Beatrix Vanderdyke. Mr. Cherry, as a middle-aged man who plays at love in ways different from the puppy wooing ol the conventional Juvenile, adds dignity and Ji(8t the apt background for tbe story. He scored for himself a pronounced hit, thougb the performing honors fell top heavily to his witching co-star. Tbe remainder of the cast was astutely picked with one minor exception, Carl Eckstrom, who seemed hardly to fit tbe role of an artist who had "a way with women." A splendid player, Eskstrom fell short rather In physical lack of the picture's re- quirements than through any fault of his work. A refreshing little ray of sunsblne came In the lovable, ingenuous graces of Marjorle Haa^, daughter of tbe producer, who appeared In a brief, girlish role, and within a moment of her entrance revealed colorful promises ot a glori- ous future. Her' voice Is sibilant and sweet, yet has carrying power, and her personality is of the clinging.but not gurgling scbool; very charming. Hamilton's sto'ry, dramatized from his novel of tbe same title, has to do with a. very rich girl of eighteen who has been se abstemiously reared that she rebels and goes forth ^o seek fascinating adventures. Found In the studio of a roue in "Bohemia,", she fibs impishly, say- ing tbat she la In' the building to see a middle- aged friend of tbe family, to whom, she says, she is secretly married. Scandal Is thus de- feated, but complications begin, as the bachelor pseudo husband, who comes through for her like a sportsman, Is carted home by the fsintly. He doesn't love her, so starts to pnnldi her by showing her It is dangerous to trifle with fire. He wounds her deeply In a powerful scene, after he has forced her to dlirobe and has partially torn her gown from her shoul- ders, ■ then turns on her, expresses his dis- pleasure, and walks out when be has her cowed. In bed, in nightdress. Later be falls madly In love with her, and she with him, and it ends beautifully. Tone and pitch are maintained, through In- terwoven networks ot comedy and smart dis- ""^usBlon, from end to end. The play is roman- tic, deep, modem, "classy," brilliant and sound. It Is stunningly clad and staged and played with subtlety, yet power. "Scandal" Is a credit to all who had a finger . in it, and is a hit ot high voltage and karatage. TAKE IT FRibW^E. Boston, March S. Book and lyrics tnr Will B. Johnstone: music by Will R. Anderson; staged by Fr^. A. Bishop and Joe C. Smith; produced under personal direction ot Joseph M. Gaites. John H. Raftery,^, press reprosentatlve; Ar- thur O. Williams, in advance: Lewis Newman, manager with company; Charles L. Warren, stage maoager. Playing the Shubert, Boston. caIt. Queente LaBelle. .Vera Michelena Vemon Van Dyke—........Fred Hillebrand Barney Charles Welsh Homer Dick Roller '.' A. Douglas Leavitt Gwendolyn Forsyth Helen Battery Tom Bggett Jack HcOowan Sheriff "Bir' Doyle .Harrison Garrett Ella Abbott. Alice Hills Wilklns ..Harry Burnbam Cyme Crabb. ; .William Balfour Grace Gordon...: Georgia Manatt Miss DeWitt Butler Dorothy Betts Harmon ....;,.. .Ed Leech Judson George Mortimer CHORUS. Edna Kearns, B. Virginia Koary, Leah Griffith, Marlenne Taylor, Floronce Grove, Ruth White, Mildred Thompson, Bemlce Frank, Sallle Keith, Madeline Jardon, Mandie Clifton, Marlon Comfort, Brownie Ross, Ruth Sawyer, Betty BIrcbi Belle Sawyer, Oaifle De Neville, Podgie Ross, Peggy Bills and Marjorle Kingston. "A Tuneful Tale of Youth and Love" is the billing of this new Joe Gaites musical comedy, that looks like a Broadway summef' booking already. It la still in tbe process of develop- ment, however, and this week finds a remark- able Improvement of tbe comedy PosBiblllties. At present its weakest portion is the'Srit act, which, despite Its length. Is called a prolog. Here Gaites has much drastic work ahead, and It will probably be through amplification rather than elimination that he will bring It to the Rpendy standard of tbe remainder of the pro- duction. Tbe basic Idea ef the actually consistent plot is vaguely reminiscent of "Brewster's Millions." A department store, founded and mode successful along the old-fashioned lines, has been left to a care-free young nephew by his bewblskered old uncle upon ue one ooa- dltion that he operate it "for a year and show a profit, otherwise it will rovert to an old crab, ■ who thus becomes the villaia, trying to pre- vent the store from showing a profit, even to tbe extent Of Inducing the banks to refuse credit. The comedy poBslbllities are unlimited, tbe shop-girls have never been allowed to wear -anything except black, and rouge and powder have been forbidden. The young nepbew steps onto tbe scene and blows up every vestige of conservatism. He orders all the girl to ' wear nothing but pastel tints; hires vamplirlsh models: opens a roof-garden cabaret, and the climax la capped,when a white-whiskered, "oldest employe," who has been working as a messenger, is ordered to wear roller skates. When it Is seen that the "villabo."—cleverly glayed In tbe old-fashioned way by WillUm alfour—has the upper hand the young nepbew (Jack McGowan) decided to have a merry time of It during bis year and to wreck the business so completely that there. will oe nothing lefa of the store when he turns it over to the conspirator. Everything he does to try and wreck tbe store merely makes it more famous. He turns-tbe store over to a platare company screening a deportment store ocustsrd pic comedy. As a result of tbe free advertis- ing the film gives them in every hamtet In America, there mall.order business Increases. Tbe Anderson Bcore is consistently tuneful, although there Is an absence of the customary feature number, emphasis being placed Instead upon the pot-pourri effect of the principal numbers, which include "The Tanglefoot." "Take It from Me," "The Call of the Cosy Little Home," "Bold, Bad Beautiful Broad- way," "The Kiss," "To Have, to Hold," "A Penny for Tour Thoughts" and "Camoullage." The costuming has been the subject of ex- ceptional effort apparently, although In that , fateful first act tbe effort seems to have car- ried Designer S. Zaiud away, from beauty into the bizarre, a rather dangeroua step except In bi^atra productions. ' \ ■ Comedy.honors seem ^ue to Alice Hills as an Ideal "Scrawny, antique, icittenlsb stSnog- rapber," whose perpetual revolts are squelched by A. Douglas Leavitt as a plump Lothario, ■who merely says rebukingly "Oh, Bila," and tbe outburst vanishes in a coy titter. Vera Michelena, In the leading role, essays -. a vampire, and her costumes are veritable triumphs. Hlllebrand, McOowan and Leavttt are 'a sort of.a triumvirate through the entire pro- duction, Hiliebrand being a "tango Jioand" and Leavitt a follower of the horses. When McGowan takes the store he makes one of them "Superintendent" and the other one "Efficiency Expert," and thereafter they call' each other "Soup" and "Fish." Leavitt, with a stop-watch In the department store study- ing tbe girls refers to himself as "Timing the fillies." The comedy is a sort of an evolutionary process, almost every performance seeing some new and successful bit introduced. If Mr. Gaites will keep bis principals busy de- veloping tbelr parts it will bo a sure anti- dote for the show going stale, and it ehoatd mean that, with the first act revamped, ^e will be able to bring into New York a real summer show that should be good- for';•' profitable road tour in the fall. Harry Burnbam as tbe octogenarian on roller skates Is putting over a corned^'olaS- sic that will soon become a riot, and Oaltia will do well to consired the possIbtUty of tbe expansion of the Idea to the ohoroii 7*40- partment store girls" for either oomsidy or novelty purposes, according to how.,they'Work out, as many a New York run haa beisn ac- complished with less striking novelties, aild a genuine novelty will scatter whatever doubts there may be as to the succes^l -^future of "Take It from Me." Len Libhou. - ADAM AND EVA, Washington, D. C./March S.! Oooaslonally th^ theatre gives us a comedy that gets entlroly away from all the old hackneyed plots, situations and tried and true "laugh getters." Monday night's presentation of "Adam and Eva" marked one of these raro occasions. At the Belasco, the piece was shown for the first time and received the sincere ap- proval of the first offering of Guy Bolton, ing papers were all unanimous In their ap- proval ot th firos'toBering. of Guy Bolton, who proviouBly has devoted his efforts to the librettos of musical comedies, and George Mid- dleton.- V The three-acts expound an agreeably Ideal- istic conception of the beauty and sacnidaeta ^f American homo life through the mediun upon a fantastic story. "Adam and Eva" iiw tbe story of a harassed and very rich ttSSS, who, when tbe ever Increasing aize MvTtlM ' monthly bills Of his household threatWr^to engulf him, goes on an imaginary bMlinii& trip of three months to South AmePv places bis young business manageir In of his home to mn and direct It would a business proposition. -The who is nominally the housekeeper, Is an av$- zealoua club member; the elder daughter add her wasteful husband, are helpless penslohdi'B on the father's bounty and whose only claim to "fame" la an overdeveloped ability to spei$ money; the younger daughter is torn betweesi a number of matrlmonal desires and an Iff* dulgent uncle lolls about the h'ouse enjoyltt tba myriad discomforts that constitute tbe ow Joy In tbe life of a bypochondrlao. AUt'iBo Just as they please and have it charged'to. father. ', When Mr. Smith (the buslnest .nanager) #•> sumes control of the household, all G. O. O. packages are shut off, all charge accounts cancelled and the allowances receive sudden and serious curtailments. The results are distressing to tbe family, but extreme^-funny (CowtiuaeA oft vaga 18.) • ■-•