The Billboard 1924-01-05: Vol 36 Iss 1 (1924-01-05)

le, The Billboard JANUARY 6&, 1924 IE name of the winner in the Little TheaT r Article Contest will be announced dur ¢ the month of January We had hoped this in our Christmas issue, but there ‘minute rush on the part of con that made this impossible, inasmu had agreed to publish every arti ted before the closing date. ITSTOWN PLAVERS CLOSE [IR SECOND SEASON Hightstown Players, Hightstown, N. J., I ond fall season November 29 ee set plays at the local “The Dear De a farce 4 Stanley Houghton was ‘ as afforded by the concluding The Trysting Place’’, by Booth r. Cooke owed the results UW training in his portrayal of a vigor old man, Mrs, Keeler, Miss Dey, \ i M ory did full justice art w ‘ Mis Hunt, as Vicky, nd acted I} the chubby little girl I ‘ edy cross, as middle-aged iM I< bdued but ardent lid all that the parts called for. Miss Reese, Mrs. Cooke and Mrs, Sprout evenly d led feminine ‘honors, while Mr. Sprout, as lovelorn Lancelot, was one of the biggest hits of ¢ how. “Ropes’’, the serious play of the evening, made a deep impression upon the enthusiastic audience. ‘There are only four characters in bh fy and each one was delineated with rare professional skill. Little Be tty Reeves did not miss a cue and her tiny voice carried remarkably well. Mr. Chalmers, as the inspector a piece of work that blended splendidly that of the other leading characters ‘ ad the most exhausting emotiona as Jen Whalen and her interpretation of easily won highest honors, J. Walter Reeves, president of the players, gave a superb of the blind lightkeeper, Paul Whalen G. W. Marque Maier, lecturer and dramati: critic, declared that the production of ‘‘Ropes va equal to that of any emotional play he i en on his trips to various little theate: yperties committee made liberal us-« of draperies, In *‘Ropes”’ they stretched them to give the effect of a light-house interior. In “The Trysting Place’’ the draperies, full and h, added much to the attractiveness of the stic, cozy tete-a-tete room of the fashionabl hotel. Mr. Wright, expert electrician, secured ne lighting effects, and especially so n ee En raged their suecess of the past sea the Tlightstown Players are planning to start rehearsals for their spring season T has not yet been definitely chose: mut it will be a three or four-act play, perhaps of a type similar to the one they produced las April. The players are fortunate in keeping mpany practically ntact from year ‘ ands ntinuing to be under tl! direction of J. Walter Reeves, member of the Y’ e f ty and a man of vast experience it lramat a Ther are ambitious, but deliberation detided to postpone their entry in the Little Theater Tournament, and t vy are en ly looking forward to the time permanently housed in a heater in the cone of Hightstown, UN] "ERSTITY GROUP OFFERS SERVIC! The leart of professional theatrical entertainment in the Middle West as the resnit of nereas costs and changing policy of theatrical managers has stimulated wide jnterest University Theater tours,” says of va Service Bulletin of “Continuing the arrangement success last year the Tni f the University of Towa will ° cessible to the towns of the l-finished productions of plars that at once popular, artistic nd of literary This year Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ Il be available in March and Richard BrinsSheridan's scl for Scandal’ will be le after the first of January, 1924. The vs in the University Theater, classical reperll be staged with complete scenic ting effects and will be elaborately nd lly costumed. University Theater cla 11 productions regularly carry a carload of mé and equipment. The classical pro ns will be presented by companies of nty to thirty people who are under graduates, graduate students and members of the Department of Speec of the Because these persons are volun rs terested in tt training they 1 because they are in the true sense ateur vers of the sincere and beautiful ramatie art, it is possible to offer these at cost. All the players render itary rvice to the communities of State without stipends, “In (dition to its classical repertory th ate i affc bie vor rors Little Theaters | Kaufman and Mar¢ not so large aS are required by the Natural Science, Community Playhouse was “Sing a Song of Sleep Head’’, written by James Foley. Pasadena’s own poet. for children, is far from being a other playlet given, ‘‘At the Sign of the Greedy "SF aw MILLER LENZ, NPW YORK OFFICES mere vindictivenes and the mi tone and subtle shades of characterization which con stitute the immortal Shylock revealed a depth of expression and an intensity of feeling which up to that period, Shakespeare had not hitherto displayed, is this subtlety of variable mood which ma the greatness of 8S ck Now he has the sympathy of his hearers hy s very bumanity; now all belief in him entirely altenated by s utter disregard of ‘ mmon virtues of men. For a moment he stirs the beart with a cry of pity as he turns in d air ads for his lost daughter; then fl f his humanness is swept aside by the onrush of the sweeping passions of hate and revenge “Gilmor Brown has caucht these changing moods and has presented them with a remarkable felicity of consistency that is positively brilliant.” WASHINGTON SQUARE COLLEGE PLAYERS Of New York University gave a special performance of ‘‘Alice Sit-By-the-Fire’’, by James M. Barrie, Friday afternoon, December 28, at the University layhouse, 100 Washington square, New York. The student-players handled “Just one of the beauties’’ in the chorus of ‘‘Drake’s Drum", the musical comedy ented by the Princeton Triangle at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, December 25 MISTER C. C. Davis aptivating ‘‘maid’’ in the picture above. pre of the Cleveland Players. On Thursday evening, December 18, New York Theater Guild. on the performance of th a final performance musical numbers of the club's engaged to direct GIL\MIOR BROWN’S SHYLOCK IISE OF PRESS written at a time when anti portrait of a vindi their respective roles with their usual fine discrimination, proving the value of intelligent direction, TAKING A PART TOO SERIOUSLY Is oftentimes the cause of stage fright. Two uch instances came to our attention recently. One of them was a clever, capable player who eemed to have thoro command of himself. In fact, he handled his role so well that his litors applauded him frequently and enthusiastically. Imagine our surprise when we learned that the best player of the evening, a husky chap, had collapsed after taking his second curtain and upon be ing revived hecame so hysterical that he had to be conducted to the basement of the building by his fellow players, It took quite a lot of persuasion to bring our husky to normaley and meanwhile the audience upstairs waited a half hour for the final sketch of the evening. We took particular pains to inquire if the victim of stage fright would ever appear In q production again, waiting a few days so that he might have time for a reaction. We learned that he was cast for a role in a January production. Far more tragic, tho, was the case of the player in a high school Christmas play, who, depicting the suicide of the villain, ent hia throat with a razor in all seriousness, Nine stitches were taken in the youth's throat by a surgeon. The young player was overtaken by stage fright just as he raised the razor to his forget to make sure that he had the 4 wlge right elde up. BROOKLYN GROUPS ARE VERY BUSY rhe Court Players, of Brooklyn, N. Y., pri duced The Nativity’, a miracle play in four cen with music, as a part of the Sunda, hool Christmas service in the Schermerhorn Street Lutheran Church Wednesday evening, December 26. rhe Institute Players, of Brooklyn, N. Y., produced Booth Tarkington's ‘‘Clarence” at th: Academy of Music on the evenings of Decembe: 27, 28 and 23. T play is the fourth giver by the Institute Players this season. The cast was composed of Amy McKnight, Betty Ro off, Harry Neville, Florence Hardy, MacConnel! Tal bert, Dorothy Stockbridge, Charles Webster, Natalie Rome, Roy Jones and Ed M. Allen The Samaritans, the newest little theater group in Utica, N. Y., made their bow to the public Tuesday evening, December 18, presenting three one-act plays. To make their debut donDiy auspice lous the amateur thesplans presented for the first time on any stage an original tragedy playlet, “It Was Written’’, by Benjamin T. Gilbert, of Utica. Mr. Gilbert was on hand for the initial performance of his play Other pieces given were “Thursday Night’’, by Christopher Morley, and “The Finger of God’, by Perciva] “Wilde. The Samaritans scored with all t&ree pieces. In “It Was Written’ Frank Stirling, head of the Samaritans, played a dual role as director and leading man. He had the role of an aged chemist who prepared a death potion for a gangster scheming to dispose of the elderly father of the girl the tough desired to marry. James A. McTiernan played the gangster and Sarah Friedman the girl, The tenseness of the plot was well sustained by the trio and at the conclusion Mr. Ibert, seated in the audience, was forced to and acknowledge the calls for “auther’’. Christopher Morley’s “Thursday Night’ proved to be a bright skit built around so prosaic a ing as a garbage can. The humor of piece was nicely brought out by Clinton R Smith, as Gordon Johns, and Grace Charles, a« aura Johns, his young wife, whose spat over what should go into the garbage can was smoothed t by an intrigue in which Augusta Seuling * Mrs. Sheffield, and Rose De Santis Scala, as Mr. Johns’ mother, participated. The play was taged by Leah Damsky. I: “The Finger of od" Henry W. Bell had the role of a broker ho was saved from flight with a client's funds ind disgrace by a girl who brings him to retlize that he is still honest. Lois W. Clarke layed the girl and Bernard Arnold the broker's secretary. Marguerite Steber directed the ketcl Artistic stage settings for the play« vere prepared under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Henry W tell, John M. Ross and W.. Scarritt were responsible for ¢ ne lighting effects, A new neutral gray dray cently secured by the Samaritans provided background for the sets, with pra ‘ and windows used, An orchestra und the direction of Margaret Dohn furnished m tween the arts The Samaritans gave t An old German krippenspiele, or manger pia is civen by the stude . of the German partment at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie N Y., In the college chapel the week bef ristma It was the first time In tory of Vaesar that such q performance wa eld in place of the regular chapel serv Found, a theater smaller than Katherine Kirkland's Triangle in Greenwich Village! It’s 1 Garret, at the top of Mary Lyon Hall at Mi Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mase An audience of seventy-five invited gnests, al? that could be jneezed into the theater, saw The Garret give two one-act plays Arthur Lymon ‘“Iseult of Brittany’? and “The Philosophy of Butterbiggen’’. The Garret was started in 1920 by Professor Isabelle C, Couch as an experi mental theater in which students of the ds partment of speech at Mt. Holyoke might cain practical knowledge of the way tn which plays of a certain type should be produced. The two plays mentioned above were given by students In Speech & one of the advanced courses In the vocal interpretation of Irric and dramatic literature “Iseult of Brittany" based on the Tristian legend, offered an op portunity for lyric rather than dramatic in terpretation, while the other play was given in Scotch dialect, Edna B, Kaler, '24, of Yonker N. Y., took the part of Iseult, and Ruth A Gregory, "24, of Beaver, Pa., played her fither, the Duke. Imogene and Ygranne were present in the person of Miriam Beardsley, ‘24, of Fair haven, Mass., and Katherine Marsh, ‘24, of Oskaloosa, Ta. Mary C, Brainard, of East Orange, N. J., completed the cast. The Scotch play enlisted the services of Virginia R. Du freene, "25, of Portland, Me.; Bethenia K MecCreery, ‘25, of Glens Falls, N. Y¥.: Lonise I. Tasthke, "24, of Kewanne, Dl., and Master Paul Sullivan, of South Hadley, Mass. Master Sullivan played the part of a very small boy. That the young drama enthustaste of the hour fre not content with doing Just the simple things in play producing Is indicated by the ae