Variety (Dec 1934)

5fr VARtEtY 11 C ■ ¥ 1 M A T iE on POST ROAD SOMANYPATHS A CoUh and Hddl* Scanlbn production of lirree-nct comedy-drama by Irvlner Kayc iJavIs (ono, set), featurInK Norma. Torrls, Staged ^'by " Priestly Morrison; ■ sotting, Wntabri narrdtt, Opened Dee, the Rltz, N.- .T.: ¥2-75 top. .0, 1084, at M«lodTOinnllo comedy In. two Acts . pre- sented .at ,tlie MniKiuo Dec. by H. G. Vot- tor nnd Oeorge Halkhti NvrlUon. by Wilbur Dknlal SCoeJe iand Norma; Mitchell; 'staged iy PotVer; t.uclUo-Watson fentured; George Preble............;. . I'ercy Kilbride Miiy Mudlbon P>'*l)le.,........Mary Sorient — .. Weiilfcy C.irtwrlglit.... ..Rbmalne Callender I lluth Keiiny .., ,,pilloh Pensy I Clara Kenny • Gernidlhe Brown .'.Lucille WatBoh . A.da Mny.: Reed ..Edward Fielding .Ednn M.i Holland .Wendy Atkln .Henry NoreU .Edmon Ryan r„,^^„"«""iI?i,^!iSbI I Some day Irvlnff Kaye Davis-•will ' • ''"'°v"^inrTr"^ a - great play. He's Comlne. ^ iracy ^long fast; iHls 'All Rights Re- Tx-i -D w . XT VI „Kf served,'.-which closed the preceding 1^1 iPn?;^ f^^ Saturday at tills «tme house, where Ith 'Post Ro?id ,they should have .go Many Paths' was Inducted cage. 'Tomorrow's Harvest! -Itk©- wlse . Is localed In a small town, Wetonka, Wis., and .there 1b .inuqh more tamlly. also much more trou- ble^ In the GoerUch claii. , Why It was hecossary to have Johii Goerllch a German wasn't quite clear, save to be sure to moke the; man more detestable. But a person like him would bo the saiho | in any language. .Bin. Celln...... . ... £mliy .Madison. Jeeiiy Casliler... Di'. Speiuler;.... Nur.-.; Martin.,. The. Gill,......, Mutf. .,. ....... ... Virt;!!: }).>nils... .Joy..:.. . . . Mr..!. C.inby.. Mrs. C«-h!sr..-.., •Mvii. Kenny. Walter Hcnderabri,,..;. Howard Brown....... • Margaret. Kenny nrown llonrj- J.! Stewart....... 1 MlsB Pearsbn;.,.>....<, TIeulnh ..... ^\ .Madame Fusolll....... • Sora Perry ..,. Nancy .Sheridan ...... l^orma^TerrlB , .Qeorge Blaokwood .Matt Brlgge Natalie Schafeir . ^Hcirniann Ueb .,, Blanche Fleming ; ■,Mory Barker .......Xea Penman ROMEO AND JUl.I£t (KATHARINE CORNELL) , Detrottt Dec. 8. —, „ , ,1 iSl>ake»p«»r<j'B rom»nUo trfigedy, produced The older Goiarlich Is a tyrannical I by KMharlna Cornell, Btasvil by Quthrte father ot the old school. Hid word WcCllntlo; •ettln«^ond portumei.j^^^ Jo i»w oVi.f -iia piilnn his household MleUner. Opened at Cwu theaUe, D«6. 8. with .Blsmarcklan ^ternness. ,Hifl *■ b,j^ : ay«ni. Idea Is to be the boss and. make oroon Wellea, Charles WaMron. Reynold* pveirybody like it.: How the wife | Evaiia. qeorce MacReady, John MtUem, can take it, much less the ohildroh (most of them grown up), and still have affection for the old man. Is tough.for metropolitan audiences to flgure. . •.■ At least one daughter rebels. with some spending moneyv The; play , ■ should fl 6 fairly weil ph the stage, and even better as a picture • First act (it's a two-act play) ;is funny, with the latter half more or less serious. On paper thie snatch ^ .racket: doesn't seem suitable - for "elage fare,' but: making it funny ; Aolyes the problem; Somewhere out on the Boston by a brand-new Broadway produc- ing combo, Cohn & Stanlon; received some fine critical commendatipn, I albeit B; bit gnidginglyi on the pax.t of sortie of the reviewers who werei too much . steeped In the Sardl fcstaurant small tallv. Halving b^en but briefly pro- duced in former years (two oi Post-Road-thls-Bide-ofJBiddgepbrjt^ thr»& JJfe^^ ■; Emily Madison, spinster with a . keen sense of! humor, takes In tour . ists. She kids the star boarder, a . sanctimonious parsop : without: A , flock, not realizing until the end that the tellow belongs to a quartet ■ of kidnappiets^ j;\::lDr. Spender . and Nurse. Martin ;; rinvade the liouse with : a girl pa tlent,. unable to continue their Jour • ney to the hospital.' ,-adjoining room conie groans . and' flnally ;the cloo ah . nourices it's a boy. Their story is ' that thie girl is a deb who had gone •:,^.astrayivV., ; -;'•... : "Aiiht Emily-' decides to protect ■ '^"the : neV: guests. So/ when state -troopers enter to inquire about .the babe -^. somebody's child had beeii Icldnapped—^he palms: the :kld oft ■:■ . ad her oWHj the cops exiting smll- Ingly scripts making the rounds and Davis living: off the 9600 option moneys received periodically had made a i>eiculiar Impression oh the reviewers, ; to .the - degree .that re- views on his first entry of this, sea-.^ son, "All Rights Reserved,' , seemed concerned more with this Inside trade stuff rather than the major Job In hand, that Of expressing etn From the I opinion oh a he w. play, occasional I Similarly the same critical coh^. descensibn has' been accorded 'So Many Paths,' although the sum total Is the same—It's not a sturdy enough play; Probably none knows It better than Abe Cdhn ahd Eddie Scanlon, Shubert company manager alumni,; . who are marking their Broadway production, debiit/ and Davis, the author. Play Is no piinic, but also It'^ not bad, , and may even eke out a Leblang ! run. No real Miss Madison's niece' to mairrled click, It may fare moderately, and Is to George Preble and they make up certain to more than break even the family. Qeorge Is a hlckey guy on the picture and stock rights. It's out of a Job, tinkering with a radio one; of those plays. Bet being his principal occupation. I One set, a good premise and some He is chased out of the living room piihchy writing commend It for the frequently and carries the gadget I summer stocks, etc. But Its best around with blm> How«iver, a po-I commercial bet Is , pictures. Film lice call Is the means of imparting I chances are chiefly predicated on • the snatch part of the-story. I the current miisical vogue. Theme .Just by. whiLt" r eason bp era^lTiiger-wh' arrives at the conclusion that she! I barters her honor for her big bp Ja. harboring the missing babe aiid 1 portunlty, which pt familiar pat the mob docs not come out clearly, I tern, is deftly depicted, and Is sub- but is through her that the tops I Ject to considerable embellishment .a^at^ onto toe scene arid there la I arid elaboration, -' piudli oft-^tage^shootlrig—ter-mInat»-r->--i^orma-^errl3--3ln ;Ing .with the assertion that 'We got U^jth distinction and eclat. It's the 'em ail.'. first act aria from Puccini's .'La There la no indication that its soheme, and it was a bell-ringer a . mystery play until the first act ^jje second act audition scene turtaln. After intermission there before the diva, Madame Fuselll; U are additional clues for the audi-' erice, becarise the minister makes a slip" of tfie tongue, the "doc's 1%^ Out of T<^ HoTonl . 01a«n, Arthur' Ctaatterton, Paul 7ullan, Franklyn Gray,' Irvine . IConow, Brenda ITorbM, Irby Marahall. - ' .' . Broadway will sit up arid take notice of this artlstlo production, ^jiu^i^a *n tL lopir^ftt'^'her fath«^°a Is an elaborate and lengthy moir«.a, irnnri. Ad buvep In o I Misa Cornell proves her ability to ISSr^ ^^>5n^?ra Vlsi? she is calmly facings JSv j«ll«t* «?no^^^ father, who l)ltterly fresented her any ^, leaving. HiB story Is that the. acr . «athbo^^^^ tlon lessened his standing In the Mshed ft. Romeo, Aherne as^the more community. Paula actually re-tef«1fi'^,SJ®!^^^^^^ turned to get Anton's, assent to with the first scenes. EnUre cast divorce. With Reno available tote".*?? J" excellent performances, the girl, why she should go into the Edith Bvans^ fariiilir thing ia the author's secret, ment in "Christopher Bean.» in an Anyhow, Ipaula finds her brother English tour to play the NuWe, giving EmU-Jammed _-up,.. having, ..copped .l.e.xceptlQ0al.,pprti*y^^^^^^ some of the bid man's coin. He la Settings are unique, havlriff been working, but has to kick it biack at done in the manner of the Italian the rate of a yard -and a half pirlmiltive.style almllar to tbei art of monthly, which- keeps him broke. Qlottb; angle*. glU and vivid colors <fhen Paula finds her kid sister preidorictlnating^ Alriiai Is In trouble. iCld. in love Whole show is played with terrlflc xlth a lad whorii the: old man fired speedy haying only one intermission frbrii the office, la going to have a hind nc waita. So: much. exj^enae bahy; haB been gone Into that the prodiic- - Tb ■ aniobth but their troublea, tloh > will -probably run into red, Paula, rejects an offer to be Paris despite Its New York engagement, representative for a Fifths avenue .jt la the most finished Sbakespear-' concern, and would live In Wetonka ean offisring In years, again. That, however, doesn't hap- it opened to: a ilmall hoiiae here peri. Father has heart trouble. He but; increased to fbrir sell-outa at -dies after Paula fiercely berates the end of the week. 'Sophisticated llm, bursting, with pent-up resent- taste and many years of experience merit over his meddllrig. . Rest bf Uyjth Shakespearean ret>ertory Is the fariilly theri turns on the girl, ueQgsaary to .appreciate this Interr blaming her for the death of that pretatlon. dour a.k. She exits with the prom falL Author attempts a frank s^ dlscuasiori here, biit the scene falla flat; mostly due to vindifXeront act< Ingi Quln takeia to drink, >Horii)ir almost dies In premature, childbirth arid they wind up bitterly acknowl- edirlng. the fact, that Quln lives - only for hlihseir. Couple ore about to call everything oft when Quln comes to hla seriaea arid realizes he really wnrited love. 'J'uUe Haydon plays Honor Bloke and, no mattef* what hapi>ens to the play, this lntr6ducto]:y break should mean plenty to her per- sonally. She hopped in from Holly. ' wood for the j^art, and she certalrily has wha^ver' It takea to put: over role of thia type. Phyalcally. attractive,: with a pleaaant- Voice and ability to uae It Intellltrently, she has poise; charm aiid the gerieifat class that spells talorit. Hope Wllllanis fits in like, an ermine collar on a rkbhlt-akln cqat. She apends her time alttlng on sofas and fingering ian antique piano, arid only at' brief Intervals does .she get a chance to; read lines. Much. of the play should ; be re- wrltteri If only for the: purpose of glTlnK . her sbmethlrig tb""ao.~"30r" the, male: Ibad, iiloyd Oough. falls to impress favorably.; ;NeVer sure of himself, Oough ;rlves a stilled perfonriance that Is pretty bad at times, especially In a.-drank scenie;: Could have done thln^rA with that scene, : Shepperd . Strudwick Is more authentic, as itlddle and handles himself creditably. . Staging" la up to the Hopklna atandard, f /^vlth Raymond ; Sovey contributing iari' attractive setting. •■■ ■'-. Bone. ■ BRIGHT STAR New Haven, Dec. I. Drama la Uireo .acts by PhUlp Barry. Settlas by . Baymond Sovey. Stased^and ^ Arthur Hopklna ftt Shubert ise of' happier, times and marriage to an understanding doctor in Chicago; '■- ' Selection of players seemed un- even. Kay Strozzl as Paula and , William F. Schoeller as the father ^^^tga,fi,y had the nioat to do and were effec- jjeo. „ w - , « Uve.'^Latter .la hardly known 0^ U^V:s{^oyd Qous^^J^^^^ Shegj Broadway. Valerie Bergere assumed g'™^^"*'"^*'^ ^"i^ Bdi Hethemann a dialect to play the mother part. | and uemloe Blcbmond. Shena Trent, Lester Vail and Heleri ■ ■ ^ . . . . . Salinger were best among the oth- 'As it opened here, this newest ers. There's a guy named Cheater .Barry, effort is.just.aJolr .p.lay_tha.t Stratton lri'^tae'T!gBtr~but-he-rlsn- t injedH p lerity^f-hypoderiBics-^lt^t amiuslrig. Tbee. (Withdravofi Friday after four ord.) ■. ■./ -' ■ ■ (krent Road Sh^ chalifEeur gets tough and the sup- prosed unwed mother seems, phoney. . .Lucille Watsori puffs ..her st»ge record; with the likable Irdpersoria- tlon-ot-Aunt Emily. : There are. other good players, such as Percy KU- : bride', Edward Fielding, Bomalne CaHerider arid Mary Sargerit. 'Post Road' calls for one set arid =clmTsuccessfully'^'operate^OTrioder- ate takings. Ibee. . iS em : rctttii r ed - wlth : MAX dOBDON'S "BOBISETA" •nie CiMliRatl. r«rt*„e" .Moailiy,. Dei. S, VI934, Mid:,''Oditl* Myrtll, M^the what hytterlcal •urtemer - ef Reberte, wiw blwmoui tandeiMlM a*d Marly M,ty,^ M Hudkloberry Halmi, areJha mait^^lovlaljfet- turea »f 'fieberta' aad Ifcerj are tfnjMjrtjeo the thew leant htavlly mi their thoalderi." lMe-B.'way.H9alte:.:Ul^Bryi.S:^<.. sufiiciently manifested the novice's basic 4alent as- a. soprano. A -twistj on It, howeveir, wias Mme: Fuselll's curt but honest opinion that Clara Kenny (Terrls) didn't have It-^he sings well enough from the volcp, but riot from the heart. Seeminjgly her Voluntary-aurreri-- der to the influential member of the Met opera board, gives her that necessary worldly 'experience,' be- -cause- -three yeacs_ .later_she_wins triumphs In Milan, Paris, and flrial lv the Met. Against this backbone is tne romantic struggle with an Im- pecuriious author who succumbs: tb the heroine's possesslye sister and marries her in pique because of the singer's-ambitions. The sketchy plot Is punctuated by some frequently brilliant dialog by Davis. Expert casting, of which the featured member as well as Sdra Perry, Nancy Sheridan, George Blackwood, Matt Briggs, Natalie Schafer and Lea Penman: are the most distinguished/ does riiore than well by its assignments to bolster the familiar passages in the drama, The single set by Watson Barratt is good and . Priestly Morrison's direction expert, all: on a par with the tiptop tfouplng. Combination of I talent s Is more tha n . a dequate the booker by that name, . I hopea to get anywhere. In its . Play, waa flrat called'Home Again, present atate It__can't stand the but under any title It wouldn't be Broadway gaff andT'lf IKey try to ' shoot it into New York as is, it ,wlll probably be another case of ■a.-' ■ producer—7dolng—-hISrT-ChrIstmas. flopping early. Has a fairly interesting plot, a competent cast and the dlaolg con-, tains flashes of brilliance, but llries ;are not consistently bright. With crisp cracks being too few and far between.. With a^cleyjer actressJlke Hope Williams, they've set the stage, for some swell possibilities and then let therii wander off into thin aj. Comedy angle is kllowed to fall by the wayalde; Action takes place iri thb sriiall Connecticut towri of Eppsvllle,' where Quln Hanna (Lloyd Gough) Sam Riddle (Shepperd Strudwick) and Catherine HastIn>a_(Hope: Wll iiamis), all metfopolitan news THE In BCAX GORDON'S . "The Great Waltz" .■■..;.■'. .. O'VBBBNTLT ' CENTER THEATRE Rorckefeller CeilveT. r?ew -York for the merits of the play, but Broadway toda,y Is such thait unless it's something uriusual, they wont buy. It^ For this reason 'So Many Paths' la llmitedi • Abel. Drama' iii three acts, presented at the 4llth .Street, Dec. 6, by Douglas O, Hertz; WTlttcfn..by, HaiiB Rastede ,and.Hym(in Ad-: ler; Btoged by Frank Morlln: August Qoorlloh. Kmll Qoerllch...... Qrctchen Qocrllch. Anton Hleber.. . Frieda..:,...., ,. Dr. Jerry Warder ; John Goerll6h.S... Almd' Qoerllch...;. Paiiln OoerJlL'h.,... fred Westlftlco..... .Valerie Bergere, Robert . Henderson ,.... .Sheila, ^'rent rlioward St, John ...Helen Salinger ...... .liester Vail ■Wm.. Pi Schoeller . ,Qreta Oranstedt ......Kay Strbzzl . .Chester Slratton The trouble complex,, which ha's afflicted oLher. plays, is present In this one and again the authors arid producer will 'probably discover that playgoers do not regard the topic as good theatre. , : ■.-'-Week .pi.-(lvious-'Bit t-KoL PoivJiOye' il'.-:ho<t .out family troubles In a small town home not far from Ghi- Chl- •Ah WilclerritsV I^longer^^^ cago.' , "V •Aa Thousands Cheer,^ Grand, Chi- cago.'' ■ ;•■:• ■•;•:•;■': ■:■.■ ' ,:.-■-■'.''::""' ;'■■ . 'Bririo on the Qiria,' Court Square, Sprtngfleld, 10-12; Parsons, Hart- ford,- M-IB.. ,.' ..V ■ •Fbliroa;'~"lAlzpah—Temple; Ft. ^ ^ Wayne, > ; RKO P alace, South Bend, [ ^'iter's, have "^Jent " three ^eeks 10; .Da-^rldson, Mtrwaukee; 11-16; _ . . .. Fritz teiber Repertory, Masonic Temple; Portland, 10-12; Salefti, Ore.' 13;' Corvallis, Ore,, 14; Eugene, Ore., 16. 'Joy of Living,' Fovrest, Philadel- phia. " *■ :' •• ;-■ ■ ; Katharine Cornell Repertory, Hanna, ' Cleveland, -10-12; .Nlxbn, Plttsbuipgh, 13-15. •Milky y/iay,' Erlanger, Phllailel- .phla. •■■.,: ' 'Ode to Liberty,' National, Wash- ington.' ;■■■-■■' 'Pagan Lady,' Audltorlurii, BaUl- riiore. ."' :: 'Petticoat Fever,' Chestnut, Phll- adelphla.:; .'Piper Paid,' Maryland; Baltimore. fPursuit of; Happiness,' Broad, Philadelphia. -: .i'- ;'■ '.pursuit of ... Mappineas,': Hollls, Boston, : ^fRain .from: Boston. ' ' / 'Roberta/. Caas, Detroit, : ; .'Aomsnco,' Biackstone, Chicago. Ruth Draper, Majestic, Brdbklyri," 'Sljghtly Delirloue,' Walnut, Phil- adelphla. 'Stevedore/: Garrlck, Philadelphia. 'These Few - Aahes,': Playhouse, Hollywood. 'Vanitiea,' Auditorium, Wichita Fails, Tex., -10; Shrine; Oklahoma City, llrl2; Aztec, Eiild, Okla., 13'; Arcadia;, Wichita, 14; .Convention Hall, "Tulsa,. 16. Waltep Hampden Repertory, Par- soria, Hartford; 10; Shubert, New Haven; 11-12; Plymouth, Worcostefi 13; Cburt,Square/ Springfield; MaKs., i4;- Carlton, Providence, 1$. ■ / - cot^erln^ a triurder case. Trio falls hard for the biicollc atmosphere of the town and Quln lands himself iri a betrothal with. Hoiior Blake, wealthy young orphan who decides it's a case of love at first sight Play opens on their wedding eve. after a whirlwind .. courtship,, and Quln confides to Sam that he really doesn't loye the girl arid he Infers that he sees a way to realize some of., his idealistic dreams through her wealth. Honor preserits hlni with the local newspaper as a wed- ding gift and the four of therii. plan to establish a coJony ..of literati. .. ^A: year arid a half latter things are not going so" well. Qulri has failed tb find, real love and has burled himself Iri a campaign to land ori top bf the heap, regardless , :> Beverly Hills, Cat, Dec. 6. Drama in 10 eplaodes. by Mears Fltoher aiid Jay Richardson. Staged and directed by-Dickson. Morgan, ' Fr«Mnted by the Bev- erly HIIIi. Community Player* at t^e Bev* eriy'Vista Khool> Dec. S, for one iveek only. Anton von Stolle.,........ i... .Darwin Rudd Nora Clover...,.;.'..<•.•...Virginia Howard Julia von Stolle. ..iicieanor Rudolph Timothy Clark Marshall T.'C. Rex,';,...:..........,.,..Mnrc Locbell Satirical drama that-reaches Into the realm of the great beyond. and petmlts an Imnior.tal to return , to earth tb ooritlriue his drive for world control 'World Without End* Is isomewhat of a contribution to the fleld-Qf drama; but hardly geared for pbpular conaumptlon. Mears JL'itcner and Jay RIchardaon, who authored, have drawn-heavlly-^n the- imagined: tion, particularly in their conception of life among the immortals. . : Yam Is based on the biblicail text 7f5i^whmns~a~Ta"an~Tpiroflted If her shall gain the whole, world and lose hla own abul.' >rlth the whole'bril- liantly depicting the natural end of futile alma and ambltloria; Corttmu- nlty Players extended themaelvea on production; with a caat of more than 36-headed- by -Marc -I^oebeil and Vir- ginia Howard, Having experlericed death, Tibe- rius Caesar, with his lust for power and conquest, la enabled.to return to earth after 2,000 years, through an Invention of a wealthy ezperiment- aliat which permita penetration Into the realm of the unknown. Tiberius assumes the character of T. B. Rex, and iri^three^years-completely domi- nates the financial, structural of the universe. Jiist as he Is about to or -wripse toes ne steps on. xne paper is in a bad way financially and, as a iife-aaver and against the ethics of Honor and Sam;. Quln 'prbmbtes . a young- fortune, frbrii Paul: Herrlck; (Carl Rukoff)^.a for-: mer suitor bf Honor's, on the stall that he will back him for mayor. -This he;- dbiBS; through hla paper, but only wlth.the Idea that Paul's campaign wiir serve to spilt the party open so that he (Quln) - can step -In-as .a;candidate-two -years later, •. But there'a a slip somciwhere and Paul .wlris- ' Meanwhile, a "grass widow has been making a play for Qulri, solely on the physical basis with no thought of love, but he refuses to bring about chaos and ruin; Rex la; brought to a realization that there is a power Infinitely greiater than himself which controls the destinies of man and the universe. Marc Loebell enacts the dual role of' Tiberius and Rex, and gives a forceful, dynamic portrayal that is decidedly outstanding. Playing the femme lead, Virginia Howard re- veals' a dellcatei, somewhat intan- gible quality that rlriga true in every essential. . .Darwin Rudd does "well as the inventor and Eleanor Ran- dolph, although soriiewhat forceful In her- delineation, suitably, fits, her asslgnirient as the inventor's young and somewhat ;frIvolou8 wife. / Clark Marshall Is okay .as a morr tail who, through some inexplicable reetson. Is installed In the Garden of Immortals, along with such charac- ters aa Bernhardt, Samuel Pcpya, Salome,: Qacar Wilde, Socrates, the Caesars^ Queen of Sheba and others. In addition to, the five principals, a cast of triore than 20-subordlnate8 Is used to depict the various Immor- tals,; who are ca.lled upon to face each rother wearing masks-ehiblem- atic - of how they are .best remerri- bered ori earth. ' Production . Is considerably above •the~a-verage' offered by the^ Commu- nity Players, and reflects painstak- ing care by all concerned. With a strong Broadway ciist, this: bpua might hope for box-oflice cpriisidera- tlon from riibre sophisticated audi- ences. . EdWdr'-. OIKS Le o di I n g p ro d u r s f tn d fhm l»rlc«s. In «ur n«w tliaotrlcal dspArtmAiits, o pUasdnt furprltQ