Variety (May 1933)

52 VARiETY L E CI TI Ml A¥C TvLt9dmji Maf 16, 1935 s on $25 AN HOUR Coniedy in three acts presented, at the Masque May 10 by Alfred Adrons and Thomas MUchell; written by Gladys Unger and Leyla Gcbrgle: Georpes Mcttixa, piga Xtacianova and Jean Arthur featured:' staged by Mitchell. Miss MInners, • ••• • • Aniia -Olson.. Mrs. .Kosenwasaer... Claude de Rozay. •. • ■WUUamv Cornelius, Hope' Belmore.'. •. •: Mr. Menaker.: , Gprmnlhe Granville; tucy-i. Mr. .Barton'.... •.. ,, .Natalie Brownlnj? .... .Catherine Field . i.. .Helena Bapport .,... Georges Metaxa ...Stanley Harrison' .James ST. Llghtfoot ,...... Cyrena Smith : .Ralph Sanford ,;.. ^01ga Baclanova ..,;..\.Jeah Arthur ......i/.paul Ruber Advance reports favored this, feminine collaboration, but a flossy, first" hljht Broadway audience re- versed.that prognostiGatlon.. So did the reviewers. '$25 an Hour* Is scened within the studio, of aii iattractlve vocal teach-, er, Clai4de, X)e" Rozay, a ybun^ Ru- manian-who flopped in his operatic a^but abroad because of stage fright. Much of the story has. to do with his amours, two attractive blondes fighting for his affections, and with his. occasional excursions with the pupils. At the curtain Germairie Gran- iville,. who conducts a, smart gown, shop, is .Clayde's mistress and a J|ea:i6us one. She had backed him in the studio venture and th.e eaise with which he is ■ gathering coin msvkes him forget hlg early .stage • ambition; After a fiery interchange, niaine departs for PaHs to be gone three months. Eut she has it all that . her • lover • will be saved for her return.' iLucy, one of her customers, ev6n more attrac- tive than the modish Germaln'e^ has agreed to move into the . studio; When she calmly tells Cl«iude that she is assigned , to dp everything Qermalne had done; it Isn't believ- able. 'Disregarding his orders to . go and stay away, Liticy returns and while Claude, is enticing a girl pupil walks down the stairs of the duplex in pa- Jamas. The visitor, although tipsy* stalks out angrily. Lucy then tells him what It lis all about—that she -was present at .liis unfortunate vocal debut) that she -has seen blm had, also the Guild's,cast Impressed as better balanced. Instead of a male lead, the Guild's presentation gives the honor to an actress— Judith Ai^derson. Bat the play is the sam^ in story essentials and actually there Isn t niuch fun about it. Indications are that the foreign audiences thought it more laughable than. over here. It discusses the divergent View- points of some men in regard to the infidelities of their wives, one of which spouts this line: 'Fidelity is riot a virtue^it is stupid,' , Paola Grazla; however, has his own ideas about that. He declares If he caught his. wife with another man, he'll kill her;; Paola has a chance to go into action that very, hour. The Intruding, male escapes, but wiien he clutches his Saylha's throat, he can't go through •v\tith it., ■go'Se Isehds" Ref off to another land aiid to appease his vanity swears that he strangled Savlna and that she sank'in the lake.. (Como). After six months, in the pen he is acquitted. Oh that day the wife comes back, heavily veiled. They spend the night together and they are real lover.", again. There , is a complication. The body of a wom^ an Us retrieved frbni.the lake and it Is preSiiriied to bp Saviiia. All the Grazla friends are on hand In solemn black and the f^ineral pro- ceeds in another room aiR the lovers clinch happily. . ' . Miss Anderson afeemed to enjpy herself playing. Savlna, a part lighter than her Usual .'asslenments; Stanley Ridges made a very good Paola. Shirley Booth, attracted some attention as a wi fe whos e chief_ato. Is to have affairs with other meii. Ernest Gossart is the husband, cog- nizant of his mate's activities, but e3;plains he is partly to blame he- cause he ia 29 years her senior. •The Mask and the Face* will do as a fill-in, but the Guild pirobably has no plans to tour it. Actually it is a revival. Ihee. They All Cbme to Moscow Comedy AVi three acts present^ at the Lyceum Ma/ 11 by the Players theatre; written by John TVdshburne and Butli KennetU •taged br WIlHem J. O'NeaU.. Dunya Sultcta.......'Natasha Boleslavakr Earl Collins Thomaji Paradlne at the opera weekly and that she realizes now* that she. has always I Jira Hardy been In love with him. Jjater shei is I ^»;Yf* •... - t - - - Michael Daiaicr disclosed as an impresario, .trtshtog? Ki^^riiflVid/.V.l^r.V.r.LiuSS T^eS to guide hhn to operatic fame. She I HbnyVhitz .....aumh Foe wishes to marrv jhlni, too. iNatalya, Brlkln.;^,... —?^5??55* Before that Gemalne changes her ^^""^^^rS—^T^^^^^^^^^^ SlIS mind about sailing and storms IntoKoS^ii Leb«t2...........-Borta ManbaiMr the studio.' The iscrap between the Audrey Brlkin....... ...CUftora Odets FOREKN REVIEWS SCHLAGETER Berlin. May 3. A' drama ih Hve acts by. Hanna Jolist, produced by Dr. Ulbrich at. tita Berlin Statotheatre, atarrlns Albert^ Bassermano,. l^thar Muethel. featurlns Emmr Sonne- mann. Walter Frank, etc. Sets by Benno y. '.Aront. '' Thl6 is the most successful , play, oit the day in Germany. Play has been accepted by more than 50 the- atres all over the coiirttry,«most of them are successfully playing it, and many others are preparing to stage ^**The Berlin State theatre has put the play over in very big style as the first production under the new reglmq, in fact a personal produc- tion by the new boss. Dr. Ulbrich. Play is big b.O; here, with marvelr ous press notices. American availability could be rated nil. Its German" poiiit' of In- terest Is that thi^ play happens^ to portray almost exactly public opin- ion rampant among '& large propor- tion ot the pdpulation Just now. Schiageter was' the name of a man c6n^ldeted a national liero. When the French occupied the Rhlneland, young Schiageter (a stu- dent and a former distinguished army officer) took charge of a group of young Hotspur patriots.. He blew up some" bridge or other, wa* arrested and sentenced to d,eath by the French and suffered the supreme penalty ih an heroic manner. This story. has bewi very well dramatized by Hanns Johst, who Is one of the really sincere Natlonal- iata noWv althpugh he started out on the extreme left wing of the Communists 10 years ago, Play has some very good ^lalog, and is_Well constructed. "~Aa. a fframa^ It's doubtless a good job.. It wa.s writr ten a few years ago, but in view of its political tendency it never got a production. That's the very reason why now, fitting In perfectly with •the present trend. It's such a nltv Lothar Muethel In the title part Is very good, and Albert Baaeer- mann. as might be expected, gives an outstanding performance In, the role of an old general. The rest of the very large cast is also happily chosen, with the exception of one Emmy Sonnemann, ah imi>ort from the provinces, playing the feminine lea^ very amateurishly. Phys Out of Town AN AMAZING CAREER Chicago, May 9. ' Ettiel Barrymore as star.-producer oC a farce cdroedy by Victor. Wittgenstein and aherldah Glbney. Sottlniss by Robert Ed- motid Jones. Staged'by 'E. M. Biythe.' At the Harris, Chicago, openlilg May B at $2.76 top. I^renzo Danielli...;.. .debastian Bragglottl Marie.. Qeorglo -Drewr Meadum Bodlta Morales'.Ethel Bacrymore Andre Barteau.v,.....,.V.,Alft«d: A. Hesse O-war Schwartz.. ..Misha Ferenzo Max von Klempe.Davld Teatle Fran Hochsteln Lttiiderschlager, Josephine Hull Artist* 8 lilodel Erha Rowan Robert Braln^rd;........ .Frederic Worioc* An Attendant........,..«.>.Z<ouls Delgardo Gretchen,...........Blca,not Powers Fritz Reed McClelland 'l^lkl' and Tiulu BeUe^) th6 piay turned out to be a success. But 'Hard-Boiled Angel' may be the ex- ception If the Jagged spots smoothed^ Her Majesty, the Widow lios Angeles; May 10.^ , Road production (no. producer credits) M a comedy In three iacts by John. Charles Brownell at Brlanger'a Blltmore. Pauline FriBderIck starred. Cast: Grayce Harap- toDi Boyd Irwin. Carlyle >foore„ Jr., Dyrlght Frye. Isabel Withers. liaurette BuUlvant and Richard Tucker. Plays only three days at Blltnioye at $1.06 top before moving to San FranclscoT and theii north along the coast, Staged by Edward Elsnoc, .Maurice Maneon Marjorie • Balton Mary Collins....... ....Marie NevlUe pjRTiR Richardson -..'....Olga »olow Dr. gcr>!'ey-StjrogoV.....Ranl JovanowtUch Victor Markov. .Cecil Clovelly An O.G.P.U- Officer......iltogcr O.-Moore George Spelvlnsky JOOSS BALl^ETS aerraan ballet troope^ dire^e* ^y Kurt Jooss. Opened at the Salle Pleyel. Parto^ Anril 2T, for a Hinlted engagement. Pre- Ssoted W A. Meckel and I-. Greaoin. girls provides the second act cur- tain, a pale of blondes rolling; across thei floor In grips. . ^ , .There are three featured players, Georges Metaxa as Ola'ude. Olga | An o.g.p.u. officer BapHnova as Oermaine. and Jean Arthur as Lucy. They all have their 1 flecojid comedy this season about moments, and a fair amount of fiin . jjuaaja,, Soviet brand, t'irst was Is provided.. Metaxa,. who/landed I "dear-All Wires,'' which did mod Itust season In 'The Cat and the ^pj^^^iy ^ell. 'They All Come to Fiddle,' warbles to the. new love of J jy^oscow* has little chance to turn his life nlceily enough, but with no trick. It's too confusing. A special tenor power. Miss. Arthur I g^^gg^jy. gl^Qul^ Iijive been supplied, and the Russian Mme. Baclanova I "Moscow' has a heap of local color are from pictures, with all three I j^g one-scene set (quite okay In leads making for an exceptionally I way), a living room, the en- gpod-Iobklng set of players. trance. to which is from steps The singing of an 'aria from! through a front window. Perhaps fRigoletto' by Catherine ?leld at the J £^,ither! work on the script would The chief clali^^taade f or ^»J- terest created by theso ballots is their distinct oriSinall^y' treatment Verging on surrealism and tho anguUr style which^charac- terlzes the movements <A the danc- ers and breaks away team conven- tions and tradlUons. The scejilc backgroimda and .costumes are nSrted by a simplicity which never distracts the attention from the dancers. ' . . .r _ mn The nrinclpal number la La Ta- ble Verte' ('Tho^^"?'^, T«H i which was showa here last Jw at the Champs Blysees and won torthe Jooss company tho first prize in the International choreographic compe- tition held in Paris In 1932.^The im- Plays about grand opera divas have been nunrtierous but not suc- cessful 'An Amassing Career* has the advantage , of approaching the theme-*rom-a-l«0 %. farcical stance; But that la also the weakness of thlia attraction; Its humoj;s *re more or less artiftclallj^ sustiUnedi and the whole enterprise Is brittle, precarious and uneven. Fortunately there are some bright sallies and several genuine comic. moments, a good cast, and Miss Barrymore, so that when the performance is fin- ished, a measure of amusement has beeii provided. ismd if ■ complete en- grossment hasn't been achieved, no- body has been caught yawning. There are four husbands suc- cessively .acquired aind cut adrift, in the 20-year-long career of the gtfand opera diva. With each marriage Is added step-children whom the. diva loves Impartially, but vaguely as to which is which. Ultimately the brood numhers something like nine cHildrieh, but only two of these, and then for a but a moment In Act III, are ever seen by the audience. There are three changes of scenery and the costumes vary from 1910 to 1931. Incidentally Miss Barrymore first in the highrhecked picture-hat- ted attire of 1910 and again In a velvet negligee appropriate to 1920 looks stunning. ■ While the flrst-nlghters and such undependable barometers may leel that Miss Barrymore tould hjave chosen better, she may be presumed to kiiow something about her own following on the road, and it is a^si a touring attraction, probably avoid- ing New York altogether, that *An Amazing Career* should no doubt bo judged. Miss Barrymore has sought to deliver cozhedy; and while the plot is structurally flimsy, the dialog Is generally good, often clever, and there are laughs. Of a uniformly able support Sebastian Bragglottl is the. hand somest of the husbands, Alfred Hesse the most whimsical, David Tearle the most bombastic, and Frederick Woriock the one that is presumed to end the series. Mlsha Ferenzo and Josephine Hull stand out in small parts. Land. opening of the show was the high- light^ drawing loiig and loud plaud its. Miss Field was In the coast company of 'Cat and the Fiddle.' '$25 an Hour* brought together Alfred E, Aarons, and Thomas Mit- chell managerially,' the latter , doing the staging and pacing the perform- ance well. But it looks like wasted, ance well. Show Is better than the critics Indicated, but doubtful Of Overconriing the' eCEects " of the notices. Ibee. Pauline Frederick gives this play its first staging. Dialog, and action mark the effort as an oridlnary of- fering, with the cast unable to,carry it to rfeal distinction. Show needs boltshlh^ up before it can be rated as even mild entertaln- nlent for the road. First act, though best of the lot In speed, dialog and action, .finds Pa.uline Frederick re- sortihg to a performance bordering on. burleycue for laughs. Second act ifaiters in temp(>, with Occasional lapses when it is. Qotcer- ta:in whether the. action is. going to puU through or stop dead. .Appar? ent hervbU'snesS oh t.he'part of the cast at this opening performance: locally may have been responsible for this hesitancy. In the third stanza the cast returns more to nor- mal and peps up the action, but still does' nof attain sufllcient speed. Other than her too-broad comedy In the .first stanza, Miss. Frederick. Beeibafhgly iindei'.a strain to satisfy, ' gives a pleasing performance. She' Is capably assisted ..by (Irayce Hampton as the. domlheering maicC who, however, fails to take advan- tage of a drunken scene In the last act. Isabel Withers and Lauretto Bullivant give good accounts of themselves, as does Richard Tucker* The two juvcs, Carlyle Moore, Jr„ and Dwlght Frye, show a tendency throughout to chew the scenery. 'Her Majesty* is the story of a mother who had once been unhap- pily married''and now seeks to break up an affair between her son and la designing femme who is much older than the youth, 'yarn is light and has hardly sufficient weight to sup- port an evening in the theatre. AMBER tiOB Angeles, - ay 12. Road -iMroductton, no producer credits. Pauline . Ftedorlck In a-^comedy drama . lA prologue and tbree acta by Martin Brown. Directed by Edward Elsnor. fiX the Bllt- more Xor three nighta and a mat. com- mencing May 11. Top. ^(LQO; Cast:, Marjorie > Ashton,- Pfiullne. Frederick. Dwlght Frye, Joseph McQuIre, Grayoe Hampton, Carina Moore, Jr., Isabel WIthet-s, . Richard Tucker, Laurette Bul- livant. Boyd IrwlB. MAJ5K AND THE FACE Comedy in three acts presented iat the Giilld May 8 by the' Theatre Guild: trans- lated.: from the Italian ot Luifel ChlarelU by W. Somerset Maugham; 'staged by Philip Moeller. Ellsa Zanotti ^ .....; Shirley Booth Giorgio Ala toari.;. .. .Donald McClelland Marta Setta.vi..>..X)brothy .Patteh Clrillo Zanottl........Lfeo G. Carroll Wanda Sereiil Marco Mlllottl....... Plero PuccI......;,. S^Wnfi Grazla....... Count.Paolo Grazla. Iiuclano Spina.... ...>. Andrea.. •.>........ Glacomo.... Teresa ..:Allce Rclnheart ... .firriest ■ Coasart .. Charles' Campbell Judith Anderson ..'. .Stanley Ridges .Humphrey Bogart ....Manart Kippen ... i .William. Lovejoy .1.............Joan Marion There was some speculation over the selection of this play by the (iuild, but there had to be another show to cohiplete the subscription =g6ireDni^aiid it "might-a8=welHbe^thls known piece, which will span a flve- week period. No more. 'The Mask and the Face,' which makes a farce out of a funeral, has been done , on both sides of the At- lantic. Nine years ago Brock Pem- berton produced it with William Faversham in .the lead. Ran one performance less than two weeks, and as few people saw it, the Guild probably figured that as another reason for diggfing it up. There are some differences in the two pvesontations. Somerset MaiiKli.'im's T)>'Cfent vo.r.slon of thfr JtftUan oriBlnal appeared, distinctly lighler than-^that which Pem'bCrton have resulted in a'box-office draw, for there are elements of a strange show in an unusual locale. It l8 something of a Russian mys- tery play, and that Is not What was Intended. . Sponsors, mostly new to Broadway, denied that 'MOscowr was a propaganda work, but that is not strictly true. One of the points Clearly put forth Is that the Soviet puts everything secondary to the achlevejnent of Its Five-Year Plan, which comes her tweeh a young Red industrial di- rector, and his devoted wife. In the crowded quarters of am American. newspaperwoman, editor of the 'Moscow News,' there comes a varied group of people. Among th«nii aro John McNalr, an Arner- Ican engineer working on a project known as the 'Gosmet,* and his sec- retary, Nataiya, wife of , Atidrey- Birkin, the director. Andrey Is so taken with his wOrk that Natalya sees little Of him. He has an idea that she loves McNalr and quietly secures a divorce that she rhay be free. But It turns out that Natalya loves her Andrey—clinch for the curtain. She is content then, even though he must leave for Siberia ifor the. cause. That thread of the story became clear, but there were many other angles. A girl about*tp become ^in Wwed "'ISMR^ttPPl Vet^^ Ger- many, demanding'a doctor. For a presslve nervous but precise mili- tary-^rill effect of the troupe is par Uculai marked In tho eight scenes HARD BOILED ANGEL Albany, May 15. Three-act play by Wlhjon Collison. fea- turing I.enore Ulrlc; production by Arcb Selwyh; staged by William Sullivan. Top price $2;20. ' Joe Martin . .Paul Kelly Lura Roland..... Catherine Dale Owen Bob Geldlss.. Walter Armltago Phil Boland Henry DanieU Mlpa Fisher ......Jane Farrell Mima Carson .Lenore Ulrlc Of this extraordinary ballet which Is a satirical and sardonic commen- tary of the destructive power pf war and shows politicians and diplomats harrangulng In rhythm. The music is by Frlti Coheh. The three new numbers all por- tray striking imagery combined with an intense sense .of reality. i.a (jrtndf^Vmef ('Tho Big City?), with njtijlc hy Alexandre Tahsman, d6- sc> iU'v- ths hectic modem life of any big a. u spoils. 'Utt Sal au Vieux Vlenfci <'A Ball 1^ Old Vienna') Is the most graceful and delicate of all, treated a little less radically modernistic, than, the others, but with a touch ot .tourlesquo here, and there. The music la composed, by the old rival of Strauss, Joseph Lanher, and arraniged by Fritz A- Cohen. .'Jeaviiinft.. p^r._.une^^ Defunte' ('Pava,ne for a Deceased Infanta') is Inspired by the exqul-- slto composition of Maurice. Ravel and is an outstanding example of how every note In sound can be spoken in movementi ' - There is little doubt that the Jooss Ballets, which, according to present negotiations, will most probably be booked In America by F. C. Copplcus of Columbia Con- certs, who is now in Paris, are of . international appeal. time she was weak and weary, but toward the finish she seemed to have just dropped the whole mat- ter. One Lebets, another, engi- neer, prefers charges of sabotage against McNalr and friends. So the secret police conduct an investiga- tion on the spot. Other events in^ trude, and to murk it up further a nutty ex-cbunt makes furtive en- trances and exits. Thftre is. however, an enjoyahle character, that of DUn,va. a maid, made up pi inn n, plus red petticoat. Ilor shrill exclamations' recall her In 'ChaiiVe-Sourls.' She Is Natasha Boleslavsy (wife ot Richard, the director) and an attractive blonde under her 'kerchief headdress. There also was Tamara, whO strummed a! guitar and sang In New York's night clubs and vaude stages a couple of seasons back. She was the demure Natalya. Cllftprd Odets did a neat job as Birkin, willing to sacrifice his beloved, bilt not his party as Dunya' called it. If 'They All Come to Moscow* were not so confusing, it might have broken the spring's long string of so-so shows.' Ibee. Lenore Ulrlc again demonstrates her ability to delight an audience in 'Hard-Bolled Angel,' opening at the Capitol theatre Tuesday night. It is her vibrant personality that gives this piay its aippeal; Though it may appeal, to the discriminating on the road, It Is not yet iprepared for Broadway,' The story Is of the good old tri- angle. A grroup of passengers trav- eling by airplane and forced down somewhere between New YOrk. ahd Los Angeles during a heavy storm finds an abandoned cabin.' People remain in the cabin until a' rescuei plane comes to their relief three hours latcV. Included m, the . group are a wo- man, missionary, who Is easily shocked; a man and wife; a friend of~the--huSband—In -lov€>T-wlth—the wifei; the hard-boiled but angelic girl, and the; pilot. Though blunt In her speech and manner, Mlina, who. refuses to. di- vulge who. she is or where she came from, /makes herself adored by all, even the missionary. When she steps intentionally in front of a bullet aimed at the wife by the despondent husband. Brooding over the un- faithfulness of his wife, the hus- band walks out of the cabin and takes his life by cutting his throat. _At „the^end Mima_wins the heart of the pilot, altW'h'^ Wpi^^^ Although programmed as a com- edy, the play Is Interwoven with melodrama and tragedy. While the frequent jokes were appreciated, yet many of tljem by innuendo were pretty blue. 'Hard-Boiled Angel' has a good supporting cast. Mr. Kelly's, fine qharacterization of Joe Martin was well received. Armitage, Danlell and the attractive Miss Owen did extremely well. It has been said that whenever Miss tJlric appeared in a production' with the name of a character con- i^alnlng four letters (Tiger Rose,? ^3 Taking the scarlet Woman 19 years aft^r her initial disgrace and attempting to rehabilitate her. Mar- tin Brown's 'Amber' wades through melodrama, sophistication, English comedy, and mother love only to wind up as sugary romance. While all this may be just dandy for exploiting Paulino Frederick's versatility as an actress, it resulta in the audience's ^bewilderment. The heroine starts out In an Italian resort as a notorious baddle who is visited by her son, whom she hasn't seen since he was three. He tells her that a deathbed con- fession has revealed that she had been framed. Boy and mother be- come reunited. jChance meeting with some of his friends and the arrival' of MB fiaincee cbmpUcato the situation ana the mother is considered/a dud ^be- cause of her subdued and repentanc attitude. •■ ^ Seeing that she will never get along with his sort of people, she attempts to shock them all, so tnac the hoy may break away from ms obligations. This delights tho friends who think she's 'Just too i)recious.' Rather than let tms block her purpose, she runs ofE wiw a IfflddTB^feanrrienjT of f^*^ hoping to thus shoc^;.-^?*"^ abandoning her. Instead the esca^ pade results in her saving the boy S sweetheart from a fatal mistake while she herself falls In love with her running mate. us-hiv Miss Frederick gives * ">ff"'J artificial and actorish performance, a bit 1920 even for her draw, son's part is essayed by P^^fJ: Frye, an excellent character actor but sadly miscast In his present as_ Slgnment, falling to get the sj^ Tjathy the role-calls for.==^Bichltfg^ Tucker walks through the play wun case and polish as the man t?® heroine finally gets. Grayce HamP ton has some rough comedy to w liver. .. ^ Joseph McGulre Is fat*^«^^^Sg thetlc as a good-looking yo"°| Italian major domo who is vaiopea by Isabel Withers. Garlyle Moore- .Tr., does a young English puPP^ rather well but Boyd Irwin, its father of Frye's .fiancee, ^ "J^Je a buriesque Englishman. T-^"7a,r Bullivant, the fiancee, ^ ., Marjorie Ashton as the star -, tnai winds up the cast.