The Billboard 1924-05-24: Vol 36 Iss 21 (1924-05-24)

4 4 a ee es — i MAY 24, 1924 The Billboard Little Theater Tournament took us ag the Belasco Theater, New York, for f consecutive nights and we saw every the contest from beginning to end It eresting and worth while. For the sake rd we glance thro our {mpressions of | in order. A summing up of the whole may follow later. eauty and the Jacobin", by Booth Tarkinga costume play and in every sense an s play’. It requires a picturesqueness of richness of personality and a breadth et technique to elaborate the motive of its ator It is a play that appeals to amateur s, but is the sort of play most difficult for them te do. Interest depends almost entirely on t characters of Eloise and her scenes with Valsin. Emily T. Oppa, as Eloise, was ing and inexperienced to unfold the charter with eloquence. Her voice is small, her tiny and fleeting, and her body unusualiy tense. Miss Oppa was therefore more or less tled up and restricted. This is partly exensable due to the terrors of “opening night", but in voice and speech Miss Oppa has limitaHer speech is too minutely molded to sive in word or intonation. Her long vowels are short and her open vowels are close, Miss Oppa needs the broadening culture of relexation, a larger sense of bodily rhythm and more confidence in letting herself go. She knew what the part ought to be like, but her deas didn't break thru the shell. Stuart Seymore, as Valsin, has a voice of blended resonance and good carrying quality. It suited to give distinctness to conversational tone, and Mr. Sermore is a good speaker. He carried the part with commendable ease, not always with the dash and sense of fon that the situation seems to suggest. frederick Kraut has a voice of deep vibrations well suited to the part of Louis. His acting had maturity and force. Without actor elegance, unspoken wit and cat-and-monse cunning f personality in the leading parts ‘*‘Beauty and the Jacobin’’ somewhat misses the mark. It needs a Faversham and a Grace George to make it sparkle. “My Lady Dreams”, by the Lighthouse Play. ers (New York Association for the Blind), was prettily done. Tho not always entirely easy n her arms, Mary Bierman played the lady with an elegance of manner that showed excellent training and considerable poise on her part. Her voice could develop more warmth, and ber reading more freedom from the book, but despite some cautiousness in these respects Miss Bierman gave a smoothly balanced performance that held attention and harmonized the dream-like feeling of the play. The Little Old Lady of Lillian Hillman was a sweet and fragrant creation of the mother spirit. A finely sensitive quality in Miss Hillman’s volce was entirely free from artifice and affectation. It went straight home. Hazel Crossley, as the Other Woman, had a flexibly musical voice and rhythmical grace of body that gave fanciful lightness and force to her personification of evil. Rose Resnick and Ruth Askenas were vivaciously ‘adorable’ as the children. Anna Beach was nimble and tidy mannered as the maid. I have been told that the players are blind, but I am not quit» Stre of the fact, as their deportment on the stage showed no hand cap. “The Wrists on the Door’, by Horace Fish, Played by the Brooklyn Players, was written and acted with a spirit of conviction. The acting of the leading players was thoroly interesting because of the spiritual force—experience of life and poise of mind—inside the actors. Henry Schacht is a good actor. He has the nervous energy, intensity of mind and thinking body that get inside of a character. He is dramatic by nature, inwardly alive and outwardly firm and definite in action. When Mr. Schacht acts he gives the best of himself to the part he is playing and has little time t worry about standing before an audience. He acts because lie and the dramatist’s Vision have meant something to him. That, after all, ig the real meat of acting, either amateur or professional. r er, tions. bo impre is well Bennett Kilpack is likewise a dramatic actor mature understanding. His concentrated emotional reserve give him a Yocal Impact of suppressed strength and vitality. unity of strength in his body and SUieriority of soul in the poise of his head. His dramatic delivery had the force of vigorous Attack—vitalized speech without waste or leak“ge or labored precaution. Mr. Kilpack could have given more tenderness to his voice in Certain passages, more emotional relaxation to the vocal cords ard more fulness to the ‘‘cup”’ tf tone in the throat that vomes closest to of feeling and the heart—nearer to the breaking point of emotional restraint. This would have given a dramat pathos with a swoop to some of his lines, for the part is written in the maddest f human desire and unanswered affection. Nilpack held his auditors by the dramatic ‘y of his work more than he moved them 'y the loose note of melting sympathy or the note of a broken spirit. This, at the noment, would have prought a lump into ‘very throat. The preachment of the play, ‘peaking of the author, was somewhat overGrawn, but in the bands of such capable actors it was a welcome expression of a genuine idea forcefully dramatized. The butler was effectively played by William L. Felter. Incidentally an attractive young woman among the gcnests contributed a rippling laugh free from staginess and hard tone to the scene in the restaurant. “Caleb Stone’s Death Watch", by the Alliance Players of Jersey City, appears to have made a hit with the judges. This play is of the modern school with Theater Guild unusualness. It was skillfully handled. I found the stately deathbed in the center of the stage offensive, a bizarre effect that was shocking rather than dramatically subtle or necessary. With more refinement of taste in this respect the satire would have been more enjoyable. Each character was played With a sifted,sense of individuality and a flowering sense of salient comedy. Edith Finkeldey is thoroly spontaneous and expandingly sympathetic as a comedienne John Ehrhardt and Viola Bley were easy and “The Poor’’, by the Stockbridge Stocks, of Manhattan, is a slum play of serious purpose presented by a cast of seventeen. It deals with the mob as with the individual, and interest is divided between the variegated hard luck of the street and the particular hard luck of the leading characters. Dorothy Stockbridge gave a quiet and thonghtful treatment to the part of Annie Edith Coombs created a life-like character in the part of Granny. Kemp Wyatt McCall was consistently earnest in the part of the boy. ** ‘Op-o’-Me-Thumb”’, by Adelphi College Dramatic Association, Brooklyn, bad several indiv dual points of interest. Wilma Libman in the part of Clem was quite as satisfactory as any one we have seen this season in a character ot this description. She made us forget that she was acting, she made us laugh at the very thought that she was going to speak, and none of her business was farfetched. Ruth bab td ath ddd PAO OE > ENGLISH FREE FROM PEDANTRY sacrifices the logic of fact to the p ie, out is free from the narrow-minded ularly clear with regard te number. speaking, of the singular number: but a verb in the singular if the of plurality is predominant It is clear rest of the nation" lawful to drink wine’? (De Quincey). logic of grammar f Saying or writing things which are not ‘“‘strictly grammatical’ *“Family’’ and in reality they represent plurality. languages can treat such words only as singulars, but in English one is free to add idea of unity is essential, and then to refer to this unit as “‘it’’ or put the verb in the plural and use the pronoun that this liberty of advantageous: “As the clergy are or are Miss Austin), or “‘The whole race of mon (singular) proclaim it When Shelley writes in one pedantry which in most languages or makes people shy of This is particgr. mmatically Most “clergy’’ are, “they’’ if the idea choice is often greatly not what they ought to be, so are the of his letters, “the Quarterly are going to review me,” he is thinking of the Quirterly Review as iole staff of writers. Inversely, there is in English a freedom paralleled nowhere else of expressing grammatically a unity consisting of several parte, of saying, for 7 | twenty minutes," ‘‘another United States," ‘‘three years is but short’’ (Shakespeare), ‘‘ten minutes is heaps of time’’ (E. F. Benson). A great many other phenomena in English show the same freedom from pedantry, as when pas ive constructions such as “‘he was taken no notice of’ are allowed, or when adverbs or prepositional complexes may be used attributively as in “‘his then residence’, ‘‘an almost reconciliition’ (Thackeray), ‘‘men invite their out-college friends" (Steadman), ‘‘smoking his before-breakfast pipe’' (Conan Doyle), or when even whole phrases or sentences may be turned into a kind of adjective, as in “‘with a quite at home kind of air’ (Smedley), ‘“‘in the pretty diamond-cut-diamond scene between Pallas and Ulysses’® (Ruskin), “With an I-turn-the-crank-of-the-Universe air’’ (Lowell). Altho such combinations as the last mentioned are only found in more or less jocular style, they show the possibilities of the language, and some expressions of a similar order belong permanently to the language, for instance, “‘a would-be artist’, ‘‘a stay-at-home man”, ‘“‘a turn-up collar’. Such things—and they might be easily multinlicd—are inconceivable in such a language as French, where everrthing is condemned that does not conform to a definite set of rules laid down by grammarians. The English language would not have been what it is if the English had not been for centuries great respecters of the liberties of each individual and if everybody had not been free to strike out new paths for himself. This is seen, too, in the vocabulary. In spite of the efforts o’ <evera] authors of high standing, the English have never suffered an academy to be instituted among them like the French or Italian academies, which had as one of their chief tasks the regulution of the vocabulary so that every word not found in their dictionaries was blamed as unworthy of literary use or distinction. In England every writer is, and has always been, free to take his words where he chooses, whether from the ordinary stock of everyday words, from native dialects, from old authors, or from other languages, dead or living. The consequence has been that English dictionaries comprise a larger number of words than those of any other nation, and that they present a variegated picture of terms from the four quarters of the globe. To sum up: The English language is a methodical, energetic, businesslike and sober language that does not care much for finery and elegance, but does care for logical consistency and is opposed to any attempt to narrow-in life by police regula tions and strict rules either of grammar or of lexicon. is the nation. For words, like Nature, half reveal And half conceal the Soul within. As the language is, so also (Tennyson.) Adapted from Jespersen’s ‘Growth and cleancut in character parts, Alan Stark showed commendable reserve as a young drunk, and Helen Choffy, in a few speeches without much action, clearly registered the modern girl. Walter Dippel and Charles Wessling as the spirits and John Bruns as Caleb Stone were successful in sketching a satiric and uncanny sense of heaven or the next world wherever it is. In a word the Alliance Players seemed to dy with the play exactly what they intended to do. They handled their work in every detail with free-handed precision and they naturally made an impression. “The Warrior's Husband", by the Fairfield Players of Greenwich, Conn., was as innocently amusing as ‘Caleb's Death Watch" was lugubriously satirical. The Amazon women were large enough to convince the most skeptical that such women existed and they wore armor with dash. Majorie Brush was a military-like Hippolyte, and Mariam Macauley as the weaker sister surrendered to love with military honors. Wilton A. Pierce was a convincing Theseus. The Homo of Kenneth K. Wheeler was unfailingly funny. He set off the inverted order of things with word, voice and gesture that never missed fire. This farce, staged by Belford Forrest, furnished intelligent laughter and plenty of it. Merritt, as Madame Didier, was free from stagey affectation in French dialect and gesture. Her makeup was exqnisite in its naturalness, and the force of her personality gave ample authority to the character without highly colored elaboration. Edith Campbell and Edith Hurd were likewise easy and light of touch in work-a-day human neture. Frances Patton has a rather well-nourished and whole-hearted sounding voice for the part of ‘Op-o’-Me-Thumb. Her ‘appeal was more of childish fancy than of wistful pathos, and her woman's wits were such a source of comedy that we found little time to weep over her loss of a Horace. Yet Miss Patton did not lose sight of this approach to the character, altho we always felt that Amanda had a rebound that would never let her come to the end of her rope. The Horace of John A. David was an outstanding individual, every inch a practical man of the world who understood women. “Judge Lynch’, by William R. Rogers, Jr., played by The Little Theater, Dallas, Tex., was the prize play of the tournament almost from the moment the curtain went up, showing the empty dooryard in front of the Southern cottage at dusk. The stage setting, with lights inside the cottage windows, registered suspense at first glance. The audience was hushed with expectation, and no one whispered or moved in his seat till the play was over. When the curtain fell the same verdict was on everyone's lips. This was the best play up to eleven o'clock Wednesday night, and there wasn’t much prospect that a better one would be produced in the remaining two days. Around New York we have Broadway to copy from, and the latest wrinkle in stage produetion is often the joy and whetstone of the amateur. In ‘The Poor’’, for instance, a fog is supposed to symbolize the misery of the poor, and low and behold a heavy vapor (smoke) descended upon the stage. Some of us thought the scenery was afire, but no, listening to the characters describe ‘‘the fog’? we concluded that Mr. Belasco had the smoke pot in his hands ready to smother the sparks if they fel? on the carpet. But by listening to the family secrets between the acts I learned that Mr. So-and-So of ‘‘The Miracle’? Company at the Century had donated the fog by appropriating a handful of incense from Reinhardt’s cathedral. So much for the fog. It made someone a lot of trouble and all it did to the play was to raise a quegtion as to whether the scenery was afire or only acting. To come down to Texas there was no incense fog, no bizarre deathbed, no theater imitation of theater, no latest novelty in the Dallas play. It was a piece of goods dyed in the wool, and it was the only play in the tournament that ventured a representation of American life. The play had four characters, a plot that could be stated in a single sentence, It had coherent motivation and above all things it was stamped with originality. It gave no suggestion of a borrowed idea, It was faultlessly acted. Julia Hogan's acting has the rare quality of being under the skin. In my memory it will probably stand out as the best individual acting of the tournament, it was so effortless and at the same time so ample and penetrating. Joe Peel gave colorful interest and balance to the part of the Stranger, and Louis Quince struck the positive note of the masculine mind and summary justice Louise Bond brought a clear voice that spoke to advantage in the quiet action. The Texas players killed two birds with one stone. They came a-visiting and showed us that New York. ers ought to go visiting, too. “In the Darkness’’, by the Kittredge Players of Manhattan, dealt with a personal incident in the hard luck of the Mid-Western plains Jennie Baumel was somewhat given to stage tremolo in the part of the wife. Joseph Greenridge brought some quiet pathos to the scene where he confesses his blindness. “When the Whirlwind Blows’, by Essex Dane, presented by the Playshop of Pelham Manor, N. Y., was ingentus fn plot, tho sometimes too artificial to be convincing. Elizabeth Hubbard, as Madame Andreya, showed considerable poise. Her coolness of mind and calmness of manner did not always rise to dramatic force, It suggested a constitutional cool bloodedness rather than the dominant, strategic supremacy of mind which the play dealt with. Violet Townsend gave considerable animation to the part of Anna, and Eleanor Randall gave a realistic peasant mind to the part of Josepha. There were preachments in the play of journalistic tendency. “Crabbed Youth and Age’’, by the Garden Players of Forest Hills, L. IL, Was exceptionally captivating. The play in itself has charm and the acting set it forth one hundred fold. Agnes Kiendl, as the mother, was beautifully fascinating, and all the Misses Swan were amusingly dull and helpless. Melville Greig was a thorobred comedian as the abstract, absent-minded Mr. Booth. Ordway Tead had winsome individuality and some nice detail in the part of young Mr. Duncan, and Edward H. Moir was a good all-around third man of the party. The play had professional bearing and finish all the way tiru. “The Nursery Maid of Heaven”, a miracle play presented by the Community Players of Mount Vernon, N. Y., was an ambitious and artistic undertaking. It reflects much credit on the Mount Vernon organization. The women had good voices, showed penetration ia ecclesiastical and feminine psychology, and succeeded admirably in holding the play tn a given mood. Dorothy Stiles Wellington was (Continued on page 3S) Theatrical Shoes By I. MILLER a Slippers logs Roman Sandal Jingles Russian Boot Imitation Dutch Sabot I. MILLER 1554 Broadway State St. at Monroe NEW YORK CHICAGO ~> Og ia eal 7 em