Variety (Feb 1932)

46 VARIETY L E €IT ATE Tuesdaif, February 23, 1932 Plays 00 Broadway FACE THE MUSIC Sam H.. Harris production ' co-atarrlDe Mary Boland. find J.' Harold Murray. A 'musical pomedy revue' by Irvintr Berlin and Moss Hart staged and lighted-by Has- sard Short; .book directed by George S, Kaufman; dances • byAlbertlna HascK; settings by Albert. R. Johnson;, orchestra direction, Frank Tours.. .Qpened at ?T."0 Feb. ITj at New Amsterdam, N. T.-Regu- lar scale 15.50 top. ' Cast Includes;. Andrew Tombes, Kather- Ine Carrlnglon, Peter Sargent, Helen Lyons, Hugh O'Connell; Edward Gftrgan, Alda Conkcy, Dorothy Waller, Margaret Lee and Jack Good, .Dave Burnsi Frances Halllday, . Elizabeth Houston, Jean tor- gent. Ward Arnold, Dorothy Clalro. Joseph Macauley. Oscar Polk, Clyde .t'"l'no'0; Martin Shepard, Charles Burrows, 'l^onias Arace, Charles Coleman, Vernon Jaxjon, Blue 'and. >Vhlte Mjirjmba^ba.nd (AUred Jameaworth director), Albertlna Basch dancers, (7): Girls 8a, boys li. >Face the Music' le the town s newest • smash, A curious aUmlxture of conventional musical comedy with satire, legit comedy and in- termittent production punctuations of extravaganza, It Is along a new standard In musicals which makes the pre-1932 type of namby-pamby musical comedy appear elemeritaxy. Authored by a dramatist, this libretto of Moss Hart's could almost be set down as straight larce, com- parable to the" rich buffoonery of. his 'Once In a Lifetime.' His shafts of barbed wit at the expense of the local, municipal administration caused much craning of necks In the direction of Mayor Walker who was present opening night, •. Motivation of the plot starts with the social elite strutting their stuff In the Automat, while Sergeant Martin Van Buren Meshbesher (Hugh O'Connell) and his cops are cleaning up on alt the available cash in sight. When faced with an- other of those investigations, they agree to finance Hal Relsman's new show only on condition that that broken-down entrepreneur will also break them with sufficient dispatch to eilminate. any complications. Relsman assures through the me-, dlum of a promise he'll spend ?150,- 000 on a scene 'and then I may not ■use it.' That seems to satisfy the affluent bluecoats who meantime are further complicated by the elaborate stock exchange board In the precinct house. It's only after the city faces a deficit that the cop&, who pooled almost a half million to.get rid of their surplus cash, are forced to dirty up the show so that It be- comes a boxofflce panic. The manner In which this Is done, 'to the degree that even Mae West would have walked out on It, is physically transmuted for aiidi- ence edification and Is the unquali- fied boxofflce strength of this entry. Along with the general satire which takes in lots of territory, none is spared. The politicians get It as do tiie critics, show business, agents and kindred personalities and enterprises. . - Marking her Initial musical com- edy work, Mary Boland is rouslngly rowdy as Mrs. Meshbesher, the wife of the desk sergeant whose sole complaint Is that 'we're lousy with money,' An Idea of the vice squad s financial rating Is gathered from the ambitions of one non-cop character that he'll make enough money to ■ buy a seat on the police force. Huf \ O'Connell, also a first time muslcaler. Is Sgt Meshbesher. J. Harold Murray, with Katherlne Carrington, are the layoffs who pro mote Mrs. Meshbesher into flnanc Ing the new Hal Relsman (An drew^ Tombes) musical, letter ob serves that 'just because they call It sl^ow business, the tankers think it's a business, as witness the way those downtown boys are stuck with Fox.' "To which Sgt Mesh- besher observes that It holds noth- ing to frighten him excepting that he remembers when a child h Is mother warned him about the Shuberts. Underlying It all, the same gen- eral barbs which highlight' 'Of Thee I Sing' also distinguish 'Face the Music' Hart's lines, plus the Kaufman libretto staging, gave the city fathers the same 'Once In a lilfetlme' treatment as this twain applied to the Hollywood moguls. Dialog is rich and racy, plus ex pert purveying by a well balancied cast which knows how to tlnle Its stuff when • audience enthusiasm overwhelmed 'em. They didn't muft a thing. Timing and pacing throughout evidenced the advantages of the I'hiliy previews, and while the show rtrtw runs a little too long, It's hardly noticeable. . .. When \he satire perhaps becomes a bit too serious, there's always the Hassard Short mounting and the Albertlna Rasch tcrp routines to rc^ lieve everytliing. In between, the tuneful Irving B<irllh muslq. confounds as to what wlli wind UP as the hit number of a rich ^coro. It packs a lot and augurs a lot for 4- real comeback by Berlin, This Is his first show In years and with It he evidences his mastery of pop songwrltlng. Lyxlcs haven't been sacrificed for commer- cial purposes either, as witness the lines mentioning 'ta;rt' and a fair sprinkling of hells and damns, but it's of a calibre that Is suspectlblc to editing and modification for sheet music commercial purposes. The diversity of staging in this musical has. miade for a generally Interesting and beneficial presenta- tion. Kaufman's book direction Is 100% leglty^ while the Hassard Short extravaganzi highlights give It the . true musical comedy touch. Audience will siense the alternate shlftings from the straight legit Idea Into mq.slcal comedy but It's never mindful. Albertlna- Rasch's terp creations are distinguished, joining into the spirit of lampoonery. and biirlesk In almost every routine. ; Highlight of the straight terp stuff Is-the 'Roof in Manhattan' (cinch hU) number, with Its Spanish motif whlbh con- form$ with the ipastles-In-Spaln Idea of the penthouse lyric. , 'Torch Sbng,' a solo wow by Jean Sargent, is the ilrst song. out- stander. Follows 'Roof in Manhat- tan' and 'Soft Lights and Sweet Music,' while 'I Say It's Spinach* and 'Manhattan Madness' impress exceptionally In the second portion. Latter Is a distinctive interpreta - tive Instrumental. Other cast oUtstanders include Hugh O'Connell as the eeml-boob desk sgt and the Margaret Lee- Jack Good ^dance team with their eccentric legrdania. ' 'Face the Music; at $6.50 a copy should make a chump oiit of. the very thing it kids—the depression. There's .always a market for good value and this one holds plenty. . Abel, When the Bough Breaks Drama In three acts and a prolog. Pre- sented, at the 48th, Feb. 10, by Arthur Lubln. Written by Jerome ^ackhelm; staged' by Mr. liubln;- associate director,. Lester Fwler. . Faulliie Frederick starred. Richard Warren........William Post, Jr. Lewfis Warren ........Clyde -Franklin Prltch. , .Maud Durand Magma Warren......... Poullne Frederick Walker Maltland........ Malcolm Duncan Jim Hamilton ...iLouls Jean Heydt Joan ■ Leonard. .Dorothy Ltbarie Show« in Rehearsal .Barrie Plays (Brady) Play- house. 'Too Much Moneiy' (Row- land) Rita. 'Warrior*! Husband' (Moses) Chanin. 'Child of MahhatUn' (Fears) Erlan'ger. . 'Death Takes a .-Holiday' (Chicago stock, Sharpe) .Golden. .~ ■ . fToo Good .to Be true* (Guild) Guild. act is slow, spent, mainly in paint- ing the mother role in dark colors. Play may benefit from what draw Miss Frederick's film playing gave her. William Post, Jr., Is good Os the smothered son. Heydt Is ah Up and coming, actor. Dorothy Hbaire is Joan, the disappointed sweet- heart, while . Clyde Franklin Is the likeable father^ but seen. only in the pi-olog. Maud .Durand Is good as the Warren's-. Jong established housekeeper, who also feels the effects of Magma's scheming. Leblang Interests in the prodiic-. tloh should help. A well handled and nicely pro- duced drama, but dealing with much used subject matter, the selfish mother, who through her conniving ruins her son's life, career and happiness. Despite the play's bringing back Pauline Frederick to Broadway In the flesh, and not In celluloid, it doesn't look to be 'In.' The star, of course. Is the mother, and delivers In her performance. Interesting to note that she has been similarly cast previously in talkers, particularly in her last for Paramount ('Wayward'), where her role called for almost similar situ- ations, but not so tragic as in •Bough.* Women probably will s.tay away. While th^re are some laugh lines, mostly In the able hands of Louis Jean Heydt the elements of tragedy are strong thi-oughout The deaths ot Richard Warren'is father and of his sweetheart and flancee, Joan, are two contributing factors, and the general collapse of the boy him- self finishes the grimness. . 'The Silver Cord,' of some years ago, was very closely allied In story, save that In 'When the Bough Breaks' there is but one son, Rich- ard, played by William Post, Jr., a newcomer, Prolog shows the close, friendly and loving palshlp existent between Richard and his father, Lewis Warren, which the mother resents violently. Then Lewis dies, and. his widow starts to break down barriers be- tween her son and herself. First he is deprived of f ulfllllng a dream of both his and his father's; a busi- ness trip to Chile. Then, when he wants to marry Joan, his mother says It's sex and not love. Why not make Joan a mistress instead of a, wife? The young people accept the situation. : When the young pair, finding Joan is to have d baby, decide to marry as they wanted to do, Magma steps In and breaks this up. Thus, the second, act curtalii finds Joan sending both Magma and her son away. '■ At the rise of the third act cur- tain, Richard has been away some- time, failing even to attend the funeral of his fiancee, who has died, apparently a suicide. When lie does come it is to tell his mother he is leaving for Chile with his friend Jim (Heydt). Again she interferes, reading a letter that Jim, likewise in love with Joan, had written, the girl .telling of his love and offering to marry her and . be a father to Richard's child should things go wrong. That breaks up the friend- ship of the two .men, Jim walking out afterVflrst letting Magma have It But Richard follows suit; as the 'bough breaks.' Malcolm. DUncan Is the friend of the husband, who years before had lost his suit for Magma's hand and who has been sticking around ever jiliice; Several times he has tried to teli Magma what she Is doing with her eon, but It never seeps through, with him finally giving up the xase and walking oiit as the others have done, but not until he also has told Magma wh.at she is doing. 'Bough' is no mammy song. And so» it's all sadness. First WILD WAVES Dorab, Ray & Hewed'production of three! act comedy In nine scenes-by W. Man- ley, staged by Worthlngton Minor. Opened Feb: 10 at Times Sq., N. T. ^ lop. Pro- duction designed by Raymond Sovey. Miss Croft..., ......Edith Van Cleve Dr. -Podmora ^......... .Bertram Marburgh Roy Denny.'. ;.Bruce MacFarlunc Harold V...Richard Hucy Control Mnn.. .Robert Shayne Pru.lenc6 Prewltt...,. ..Violet• Barney Urii .... ....Paul Porter MIS9 Lehman.........Anne Revere Dogelman Stuart Brown Daisy Mary -Robinson Joe. ,.Frank Verigun Nancy' HodSon.............. Betty. Starbuck Mr. Eldward Relss. ;..JoHeph King Mr. Seymour Haverstr&w. .George, Graham Dr. Hammerhooh.^ ;..Maurice Cass Mitch Gratwlck............Osgood Perkins John Duffy...-...;...... ;..John Beal WTielpley .St; Clair Bayneld Mr. Thwacker............. .Horace Slnclalr - After a number of fals6 starts, 'Wild Waves' finally started at the Times' Square but, judging from Its premiere, It would have been just as well, had the days been pro- longed. This attempted satire on radio broadcasting missed a grand opportunity to make Itself the 'Once In a Lifetime' of the ether. It will not be a isuccesstul entry. Instead, after a. promising start, which .discloses cross-sections of broadcasting studios, it evolves into a progressively dull triangle having to do with a ghost voice who does the actual crooning for the light heavy who happens to possess a nlcei!' 'front' than his actual vocal double. This basic premise, with its atten- dant spurious import that even the prez of a broadcasting co. can't get into the actual broadcasting studio of a temperamental star, is of the same shallow texture as many another detail. True It may be that not every golden voiced crooner is an Adonis, but there are enough Rudys, BingSj Russes, Mortons, etc., to refute that a nice personality can't go with a commercially appealing pair of pipes. Anybody, who has been within a block of a broadcasting . station would know that executives and commercial sponsors do not hecti- cally rush pell-mell In and out of exits and entrances to transact their big business In the outer lobby where the usual squatters, audition hounds and ether fans are parking their bodies. But so far as William Ford Manley, the au- thor, Is concerned^—and he should khow betterj . being a commercial radio continuity writer:—that's just where the advertising counsellors, the contacting v.p.'s, the inspired continuity scribes, this famous crooners dnd all the others strut their stuflC. It wouldn't • require much ingenuity to have set It In a more effective locale. As a result Wild Waves,' aft^r.a wavering first: act which is solely, sustained by a strong introductory ten\po, collapses completely .into a trite triangle. The baGfhful tenor's reticence when. facing his micro- phonic opportunity, and his subse-r quent 'mike'. fright despite the actual existence of. such thing, doesn't ring true. As a studio at- tache, even If he's only the lowly 'chimes' sounder, but with a volc6 which has carried his actual croon- ing from coast to coast, while the Desperate Desmond tenor gets the bows, he should be beyond that premise. Paramount is said to Iiave the screen rights for this one all set and may have figured in the financ. Ing as originally Par backed the Whltakor Ray-Worthlngton Minor play production outfit which dis- banded when taken over by X)oran, Ray. & Hewes. Minor staged hut lis not now of the production pre- senters. It's the same Ray as with Ray-Minor, while D. A. Doran, of .the firm, is now with the Par edl torial board. . Margaret Hewes, of the firm, figures' on the financial end. Most prominent cast names al'e Osgood Perkins, as the program manager who berates his fate and finally gets one of those silly stagey 'inspirations' for a real plecd ot music, which he dashes off in be tweon the tbenae song drivel which falls to his lot. He rants at the mechanical operandi of a heartless broadcasting corporation but is stil 1 doubling as a circular mailer at 3 a. m. This bit of business, with John Beal as Duffy, the gifted .but bashful tenor, as his aide* is an- other of the stupidities of the piece Cbmmoh sense lmi>lles that a large mailing and stenographic personnel takes care of such work. Bietty. Starbuck, as another pro- gram pfinclal, could have been a swell take-olX on a woman : who has been a radio .pioneer with one of the rhajor chains. . Instead;^ she's just a talky, hapless aUtomatum. blameable solely on the script . Edith Van "Cleve does the fresh reception clerk with some degree of faithfulness, while Bruce Mac Farlane Is the villainous tenor who Is being-harassed, on the side (as d convlncer that he's a bad egg) by a dame who wants her $1,500 loan returned 'and a name for my baby.' That gives an Idea. John Beal ds the McC!oy tenor Is dull. That goes for everything and ho dick. Abel. COLLISION Comedy in three acta presented at the Gaiety Feb. 16 by Lewis E. Gensler; adapted from this German of Rudolt Lothar and Erno Sebesl by John Anderson: June Walker and • Geoffrey -Kerr featured; etaged by Melville Burke. . Lla .' ...Eva Condon HorttI i.-. .Porter Hall Porter. ............... i. .Harry Tyler Klenltsch ........i...Victor KHJan Milk Woman ................Patsy .Klein Olga ....June Walker Passenger ............James Hagan Dr. Gcszti - .....Geoffrey, Kerr Head waiter .-Ralph Nalrii First Walter. .George Falrchlld Second-Walter .> Franklin Munnell Orchestra .'Leader ....^.M. Charles Palazzl Author ;^.....Lennox Fawle Author's Bride , ...Frances Dade Bridegroom ,. i. Richard Hemingway His Bride. ........... Joahn' Castle A Guest .'.Anita Murray Fedor. Rozgonyl ...............P. Yanyst The GJalety has been trying hard to break, away from pictures. First with a show that never came In arid ditto for the second, the third a one-week runner, 'Peter Files High.' Fourth out appears tO be 'Collision,' which won't do either. In the orljgrinal Cierman 'Colllsloh* may have been naughty, if hot dirty. It's supposed to be quite' continen- tal, localled in provincial Germany. In the Americanization the cleaning processes took Out most of tlie con- tinental atmosphere. . Olga, the local belle, is enamoured of Dr. Gesztl, a young physician. He's that way about her, too, but Is either too shy. or too busy to go get her. Being a resourceful dam- sel she iinvents a flarice,' one Fedoi- Rozoghyl, a famed pianist, who that day. is .comlnf- to wed her. There is a wreck ot the nearby bridge and the first class coach lands in the. bend of the river. Olga faints and upon coming to, pretends loss of memory and embraceis' the doctor whem she calls her Fedor.. The doc tolls the anxious parents that the case is serious arid unless he starts on a honeymoon with Olga there's no telling how her brain would.be affected. They dine and dance in a honeymoon gitot. She deftly avoids taking a sedative aiid taunts the doctor until he at last carries her to bed in his arms. In the mo,i^lng the parents are on hand. Young doctor readily ad- mits the night had been spent to- gether and rather glories In It They cannot do ar.ythlng about It dnd he further states the treatment will have to go on for some time. Enter happy Olga and When the Fedor person is mentioned as having es- caped^ the wreck, the doctor makes threats. ' Then she cOni^esses she invented the pianist that she Is Just crazy about her doctor and just had to do something to win him. Curiously, there is the name Fedor Rozgohyl programmed as the last character., supposed to be pla)red by one P. Ydnyst. . No such person appears. Perhaps the billing was to invite audience curiosity. There are several useless charac- terSj making for a gabby perform- ance all around. ;.. , June Walker and Geoffrey Ken- are the featured leads. Both have! done better any number of times. A ■ playwright . said. to represent Molnar is prrseht, he being a corpu- lant white-haired fellow on a hoiieymoon with his fifth wife. It had to be the luck of John Anderson, drama critic fOr the 'E-'enlng Journal' that he made the adaptation. . Play was known to be very light in the original and by re- moving what it ever had to attract attention originally, little was left. Probably won't stay longer than to protect the managemient on the picture rights and none are indi- cated. JTbee. Th ere's Always Juliet Comedy In three acts. Presented by Gil- bert Miller a;t the Empire Feb, <25, Written by John Van Druten. Edna Best and Her- bert Marshall starred, Stog^ by Aurlcl I..ee.. LeODori Perrycoate.,' Edna Best Florence . May Whltty Dwlglit Houston...........Herbert Marshall Peter Walmaiey. ...<..,.Cyril Raymond If Gilbert Miller's latest import matches its London engagement of four months at the Apollo there it should have well served the man- ager. Doubtful if it AVill go quite that long, though 'There's Always Juliet' is very, pleasant romance pleasantly performed and has enough for class audiences. The author, John Van Druten Is best known for his 'Youiig Woodley' which attracted the more attention because his own England would hot permit It for some reason until nftep It scored here. Certainly Van Dru- ten is more likeable in the lighter vein. Judging from the poor showlnir of his 'After Air here at the Booth a month or ^wo dgo, especially when two such favorites as Edna Beist and Herbert Marshall are the; leads. Only four characters and one set for the enactment of this sweet 'Juliet*^^ which .'is a nimble treatment of. the quick love story, Leonora Perrycoste. an English girl of groat perception and warmth, meets Dwight Houston, ah Ameri- can architect, at a London tea. Fiye hours later they are embracing in her home, an experience she never dreamed could .happen with a man she knew nothing about Her par- ents are holidaying'in Biarritz and Leonora Is in the care of the elderly maid; who knew her from babyhood. It isn't long before the Now York- er nicknames her Steve; In fact, they call each other that Each concedes a liking for the other. Next day is. spent in the country, and they plan a dinner and theatre for the evening, A cablie changes that,: Houston being summoned to America the next noon. The attachment is stronger than either believes possible. ■ He asks her to wed. No. And that goes oh until he at last makes for the Rita to pack. Leonora spends d bad night. Next evening, to forget, she sups but with Peter (Porky) Walm- sley, an admirer. Peter knows Houston, having first met him out in India, where the Yank had hroken the rules In trying to snapshot the statue of a Buddha god from tlie rear. When he visited America he met Houston agalh»,ahd: background was quite satisfactory — above the rating of 'the 400,' according to Peter. That dispelled all the doubts LeonOra niay have had. for her man. And he isn't on the Majestic at all. Another message brought him back to London. Over the phone she tells her mother that she is to be man"lc3. The third act virtually: m.-ikes 'There's Always Juliet.' It has more lightness and laughter than the pre- ceding acts. In it the fourth char- acter, that of Peter, makes a solo appearance. Before that the dialog was a duolog, save for the times when Florence, the maid, was on. Story and unseen people frequently called for the use of the telephone. Invariably the voice of the other party is audible to some degree. That got some giggles. , Miss Best and Marshall portray the lovers with such finesse that the story^ is at all times believable. In ho instance have these two London players failed to please New York audiences. Cyril' Raymond Is the unlucky Peter, while May "Whltty Is the maid. (SoOd title Is "There's Alwayi; Juliet.' Light play but enjoyable. Ibee, TRICK FOR TRICK Mystery melodrama In three acts. Pre-, sented at .the Harris theatre by Robert V. Kewman, Feb. 18. . Written by Vivian Crosby, Shlrlet Warde' and Harry Wag- sUft Grlbble: staged by Grlbble, vrltU Lawrence Bolton, associated. J'ames Ren- nie. featured. John Russell., Burke. Clarke Constance Russell..........Eleanor Phelps Walter Lawrence. ..James Rennle Albert Toung ......Lawrence Bolton David Adams Walter Vaughn Professor Roland King....Harry Mestayer Lieutenant Jed Dodson.,..Granville Bates George La Tour. ..Henry O'Neill Susie Henry....i Sascha Beaumont Dr. Frank Fitzgerald....HalUnm Bosworth Sergeant Pete Dennehy...Robert W. Craig Joseph Lombard . AverlU HUrrla ■ Stenographer Fred Knight. Jim Peabody Paiil Hoover . Best mystery, show in years. There have been numerous plays of the type this • season,' though none have stood out like 'Trick for Trick.' Brought In by Robert V. Newman, it looks like the kid pro- ducer's top try ta date. It is the trickiest of perfofmdnces. There is first rate magician's stuff, ahd this feature Is concentrated upon by Vivian Crosby, onei of the authors, who had the services of professional trlckstera Harry Wag- staff Grlbble worked on the script and Is credited for its finished form. The phenomenon of bringing back the soul of a deceased person is all but fulfilled, a murder intervening. Receiving messages from the dead is a part of the play. Walter Law- - rence, known as 'Azrah' the magi- clan, possessias what he terms a control. In a partially- self hyp-- riotic state he twice purports to speak warnihgs from his departed niother. 'Aside from Its. metaphyislcal as*' pect, 'Trick for Trick' is interesting diversion. There Is a thread of ro- mance, the melodramatics are ex- cellently acted, the intricate light cues clicked, and are .very Impor-, tdnt, and there is comedy plus nov- elty. The time to tlme^ exhibition of the magi's stock in trad© n^^;^ not be amazing but Is done wtli dexterity. There/ is onei sot This show, , in its weird moments, has an excuse which mystery plays generally laclc Azrah is believed to be involved m the suicide of. the girl, assistant ol (Continued on page 48)