Variety (Dec 1934)

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TAKlETr I. E G I T I M >^ T E l^iesdaJ, December 18t 1934; Plays Out rf^^^^T^ tHUMBS UP Philadelphia, Deo. 18. . ,' This hew Eddie Dowllni? rievue caused plenty, of headaohea on Its opening and there were those who pulled the natural, piin—'thumba down/ But by Thursday the show hit Its stride and right now It; looks like'a . potential wallop for Proad- way, even with the. sturdy opposi- tion over there.. There Is still plenty to be done In the way>f sharpening, elimination, re-spottlng and substi- tutions, but 'Thumbs Up'. Is a flrst- rate revuie as it stands right now and that is quite an aqhievenient considering how slovenly it wisis the opening nl^ht at the Forrest here. , As is usually the case with; pro- , duictlons of this kind the weakest spot Is the-.comedy, but 'Thumbs Up* Is^better •.equipped" in thte^ spect Vthaii. most. Bobhy clftrkj . working hdt/wlth his old side-kick, Paul McCuIlOMgh, so ihUeh as with Kay ppoley, Sddie : Oarr an<l'Others of the principals should stage sbmeV thing of a come-back :with this show. He didn't look so hot JHon- day night in some 6f the skits, but that was their fault rather than his. Hls.burlesque 'Merry '\yidow" num- ber Jn which he works with Ray Dooley is an butstander, but he l£f also- immensely funny In 'Domina:- tlon/ a sketch wlth:^. good Idea that doesn't quite Jell evert v yet* in a sleigh ^ ride bit with Rose .King which Is plenty rouis:h Ijut gboia for giggleis, and irt 'AWed in Court,' one ; of the longest sket6hes of the rbvue and'One of the .best.' - , • T ? . : Clark really has ; more cdiiiedy ; than- Dowllhe? himserf. " .The- latter - appears to good «ltect in several of the. sketches but; for the most part, ' la tonteht to 'take a; subordinate position and' let thd other members of his cast get theSpotlight. ,' : ito work in this show Is ,quite' dlfterent than. a:ny he has shown: beforia.Gone Is; the sentl- inehtal hoke and homespun comedy. : Hero ^ he - is strictly - sophisticate. There will be plenty who will re- gret the. changel, . biJt there's no : denying that he does a swell Job In his hew role. He Is funny In such sketches as .'A Scottish 'Wedding,' ■ which won't set a tumble from th,e average audience luit has plenty Of subtle humOr, and in 'i>bmlnatloh.' But should have, more piaterlaL Eddie Garr, besides appearing In a number of the sketches, works twice: In front of the curtain with ' his Imitation specialties and, clicks. His Chevaller-Pehher-R 1 e h m a h trilogy Is a staidbu.t. ^' V .• Ray Dooley does one of her fa- miliar 'biaby' bits, this time as one of the Dlonne quintuplets, in which she works with Barhett Parker. Nothing new aboutjher Imj^ersona- '"tlbh biif 11 fa "sfllV ;go6d "ior^p of hilarity. Ray la also strong In a . number^ with -the- Demnatl- (Arab) . Jtrpupe. Theyfre. tuiQi>lers and acro^ bats, and she does sbme swell trav- esty arid also some clever acro- batic climbing," TJie number, with a few routine alterations, should be a : wallop. Rose King stands out in the /Sleigh Rlde^ affair and impresses on all appearances. Sheila Barrett does a coUple of swell Imitations (In- cluding a new Garbo) and a 'torch song* that Is getting better with ,;,every performance, 'Thumbs Up* hais two^uicers that •Vring-the bell.- In fact thb' mystery is why the management cared to take a chance on having two such personagea Introduced la pretty feeble, bi^t show made a major mis- take in cutting out a novel num- ber Introducing the stars, called •Musical Chairs.' 'Thumbs Up' Is hot Ih the Dowllng tradition. It Is pfbtty sophlstlciEited, sometimes actually idlrty and never naively sehtlmental. on the 'Honey- ihooh- Lane'-.'Sally, Irene and Sliary' order. Bjit it Is, Ih every way, a distinctly up.-tb-the-mlnute revue and has a great chance for success. ■ . Wiaters. . ODE TO LIBERTY Washington, Deo. 11. ■ Comedy: drama In three acta adapted by Sidney Ho^Ta^d froiti Michel Dorah's "Llb- erte Provlsolre/' Presented by .Gilbert Miller at : National theatre Dec. 10-15. Ctiat: Iiiai Claire, Walter Slezak, . Paul Ho- Qrath.-Nlcholas-Joyf-Stt^nleyJessupi-Allen- Fagaii, Katherlne Stewart, Hal K. Dawson', Colin Hunter. \ specialties competing. One Is Hal LeRoy, whose hpoidhg Is better thah ever.: but who shouldn't be ciskect to sing the number he was assigned • at the bpenirigi The other is Paul Draper, who ought to be the sensa tibh of the shbw. He'; has two tap numbers, : one of which,. 'Music Without Words,' was first done with a; painted drop and later before the curta.ln. First way was the most effective, Eunice Healey, working : -With^Lie .R6y:_ohcfi,^la jthe:outatahd-T ihg femme dancer, ■ > , Singing end bit the slidw is car- ried principally by J. Harold -Mur- . rior, who acquits himself well de- spite , mostly unsatisfactory num- bers. ..One corking number for him Is a, vital need of 'Thumbs Up.' He deserves a medal for getting by at — all with ^ 'Eileen Avourrieen,' &n In- • terminable piece, and Time and Tide,' also lugubrious Pickens Sisters, need nb ^ changes In their part of the showi 'Jogging Along Through the Park' and, more particularly^ ; 'Cbhtlnental Honey mbori,' fit them perfectly. Margaret Adams does: nicely In her numbers i with Murray. Song hits of the show seem to be 'Zing, Went the Strings of My Heart,' Tve Gotta See a Man About His Daughter' and 'fJbntl ttental Honeymoon.' " ^ John Murray Anderson htia done A classy job of staging, althougii It may not Imprest as 'thoroughly as his .work In '8:40.' 'Thumbs Up' Is Irt fine artistic taste and except for the long-drawn out "Elleien Avourneeh'. (apparently onb of An?' dersbn's favoriteis) It has plenty bf animation , and movement. Deslgnl9 are colorful and costuming first-, class. Highbrow, opeplhg (At Faunce's ; Tiverh') ■with George |- Washinetbn ~. and other hlstbrioat Ina Claire, will repeait her success In 'Blograiphy', aU bVer aga;ln with .this one. Situations, atmosphere and lines iare almost a second edi- tion and all will probably be just as grood when the pbllshlhg process Is done. It's the llrst show to get wow reviews in every ibcal sheet this season; and the town- has seen ilye openings. VThlis time Miss Claire Is the wife bf a; rich Paris banker. Havlnig tired of staid life, she has set herself up in a semi-doggy apartment and keeps It going by wbrklng as a^ travel agent, - arranging tours, for swell£|,. Bulk of play has tb do with: Ina's, ihotherlng, of a young com-. .TOunlst. who busts. Irtto .th^^ hide, frbm police. Curtalh .rises on ai verbal battle between Husband-Banker Bariiaud (Mlcholas .- Joy) alrid Edltbr-Friehd Dorlay (Paul McGrath) over Dor- lay's attentions tb Madeleine. lilnes have .a lot oif .fUn, with iEte^rnaud calling Dorlay a bolshevik and Dor- lay (Calling Barnaud a capltiEilist, while; Madeleine gets madder and madder. ■ Suddenly a gendarme: breaks In and says he's Iboklng for an es- calped communist algltator. Giiy, ;it seeiha. Is wanted- all over Europe fbr forgery; treasbn and just about everything. Trio lets the cop out 'on the rbof. In ^comes a detiectlve and salys the ilrst dick was a pho- ney, being. In .fact, , the aforesaid 'Communist.; At end Of first act, the commUhlst (Walter Slezak) .returns to Made- leine's apartment, sticks a giin. In het ribs; tells her- the oops have surrounded the house ' and an- nounces he Is going to stay there all night. Rest , of pUiy finds him staying five days and nights. Part of; Madeleine Is unbeatable for. Ina: Claire.:: Sophisticated^, ma- ture,, clever and pretty, Madeleine first-wants to toss Hansle (the ;communlst)-but on -his ear.- That- wonLtLjdo, however, and pretty sooh- she Is buying Wm .clothes. Best jgags come when Hansle discovers every BO often that he Is 'going BotV from eating; plank steaks and drinking champagne; He balances bourgeois luxuries by spending time cleluiilhg out the: .iaink r drain, and fixing clocks. . Slezak does a swell job as Hansle. Alternately launching Into antl-: capitalistic speeches and admiring his hew.-SUlt, h,e,;la_second_only- to Miss Claire in applause and some- times-:beatsrher-.-^-- - - Others do bke With plenty of laughe coming through Hal K. Daw son as Ducroux, 'who Is a plumber between revolutions,' and visits the apartment several times to arrange for. Hansle' to escape thru the po- lice - cordon. . He-finally -gives up when Hansle and Madeleine decide to biiy a farm in Spain,.'where the industrial situation Is most acute.' Single set Is not lavish, but bright and colorful. Winding staircase to second" floor bedroom causes most interest. Gowns ^ worn .by. Iha won tons of sp&be ln_ fashion c olum ns and-were among the cTiIeI""TopIcs all week In lobby chatter. • RAIN FROM HEAVEN Boston, Dec. 14. Comedy. drama In. three . acta and four scenes by 8; N. Bebrmani produced by the Theatre. Guild; dlreksted by Phillip uoeiier; settings by i>erformance-on any- Theatre Dec 10, ,- 'J<>an....:.:...,.-...;., Mrs.- ■.Dlhlfle.-.;....', Raiid . Bldrldee..,.. Hobart: '.^EldrldKe;.. Le/dy Wyni;ate,;. HuRO Wilier*.,..,'. Sasctia. Barashaey.'^ Phoebe. .BldrldKO... Clendon . Wyatt.... ^ Nikolai Jurln....... JUee simonson: flrst staire at. ttae. Plymouth .. . . .Hancey Castle iAlice BelmorO'CIIffe .. •^;....Bea Smith .i;...,Thurston' Hall ............Jane Cowl ,..John Httlllday. .■i .;.MarshaU Grant ..........Ijlly CahlU ,....., .Robert Woods ......... .'Jose Ruben Tho Tii^atfe Guild has probably done S. N. Behrman a:.real favbr by letting him get this off his chest and prbylng to him that Involved and lengthy dialog without comedy relief had better be left to Eugene ■O'Neill.'- ■'• Even in the hands of Jane Cowl and John' Halliday, .who are both turning In brilliant performanciesi the. dialog drags frequently almost to the yawning point, especially when Behilnan startd. wrestling with what's wrong with the world and falls to gjet a toe-hold. "Veteran" Theatre Guild subscrljp-; tlonlsts, who love their'mental and . verbal wrestling,. thought it was good heavy fodder, but the casual theatre-goer was left dangling In; mid-air:. In bewilderment at the vague final curtain. . Low-brows who Ibve their laughs and 'Wanted to see Jane Cowl emote'or see Halll>- day in the flesh took a devout nap: The story: centers around the wealthy Widow of a .Communist publisher who is trying to ca,rry, on ;his Ideals, At her estate out-; side of Liondoh'she has gathered a diverslfled cblibptlbn of- mortals,' ranging from a capitalist down to emlgriBs, explorers, ;exlles, and other wandering Idealists, " . .. ; V : Abstract;. theories begin ' to be dragged; Ih by the-heels In unpar- : donably Ibrig dialogs eiarly In the: story and before the final curtain radicalism', capitalism, communism, socialism, racial tolerance, the League ,of : Nations, Hitler, Lenin and evert Jesiis have been discussed and argued back and forth.. The widow finally rescues a: maligned.. .- guest.: .;by. 1, announcing . prbudly that he Is not . only her loVer but a house guest, this, gracious gestur.e,;;by . the< . hostess complicating . everythlrt?> ihcludlrtg her own legitimate loye affc^lr with; a. young ;avlator. The maligned guest is riot her lover but; decides he wants to marry her. At the; final curtfiih they decide; nbt - tb metse until they crusade a while as in- dividualists In /an ■ attempt', to find ; out whftt Is wrong with the world. ; Halliday arid : Miss Cowl have riiost bf; the .speeehes that clock oyer five mlhutesV and Lily iCahlli clicks In : the surprise role oif' the va.pld 'blonde wife of a capitalist who.; IbVes a Qermaii emigre and. w'lllVhot let hirii shake her off.. Her dumb refusal to leave, him alorie In, his other: iamours register^ her As ah unforgettable stage- character^ ; Doubtful whether Behrmah; will want to popularize Ills play by aidd- Ihg touches of his ■ Agft cbriiedy or add dramatic -high/'spots.; He apr ^ pa.rently warited,.tb take a crack at heavier writing; ind It reid well' enough. ".. ; Now;; that It has been the stage, Behrman- will, probably go back to his happier vein arid , turn out hid next bne with a little less braln- stralrt and a little more appeal. , ZAhhey. ■'■ PETTICOAT FEVER Philadelphia, Deci 16. Young V firm of Richard . Aldrlch and: Alfred De Llagre, Jr., which tried to ma;ke a. start last year, comes back ' with this comedy by Mark Reed, breaklhg it In at the Chestnut Street; Opera HbUse here. Piece looks pretty InQocuous, btit may. get some attention oa strength of Dennis King. That's the reasbh management lis talcing It to Chicago, where king, has quite a following. After first night the y had seriously; cbhsldef ed" clbidhg, ' and'- perhapi that's What they should have done, for :«ecastlrig could help^ 'Pettlcoa,t Fever* Immensely. ; . ;- . - Locale has an element of novelty, and If there's a trend back to Out- door drama this one may cash In on it. Story la laid Ih a lohely wire- less statlbn on the coast of Labra:^: dor In mid-winter. ;Klrig plays the role of Dascbm Dihsmore, young Englishman Who has sowed plenty: bf wild bats -and has come to this desolate: spot to; settle dbWn and forget. . ■.'. ■ .--.,:,.- ■ He Is: lonesbme and ' bored, and when " a " woman ""Ttp^pears on the scene it's a..blg eventsHer.hame; Is: Ethel Campion and she Is the fian- cee bf Sir James Fenton, whose plane crashes hearbyr:Slr J amea. la tun unimaginative:, hlo^e. and Dlria- more Is a, handsome young feller, and when. he starts dreisslng fbr dlnher .and. ;inaklrtg a play: for. Ethel she falls for It. Dlrtsmbre Is . so anxious to keep the girl there: he double-crosses Fehtoh on a radio appeal for aid. Ethel, although much Intrigued by. the young operator, Is a Uttle afraid of him ajid finally she and her flahce. make an attempt to get back to clvllizatlon-.by-way of; a nearby 'mission post. They doh't make It, but while they're -gone DInsmore's old .girl arrives. In the; middle of the night via a/passing whaler.' ■ . In the pai^t .she had given him; the gate,' but since then she's heard that he'g fAllftii hftlf in « titip nnA a fortune and that's the reason for her arrival at the lonely outpost'. DIhsmoref's bid love is dead, but he tries to live ,up ,tb his part of the arrangement. When; Ethel arid; Sir James return complications ensue. . .The minister ; at the.^old mission comed' bvbr and everything Is set: for the marriage bf Dlnsmore and his bid flame and of Sir James arid Ethel; but Dlnsmore and. Ethel can't go thrbugh with It, and finally they get spliced Instead,; leiaving the other pair to their own devices. Last act la Ibng drawn out with the upshot obvious from the begin- ning. In fact that's -'Petticoat Fever's'-main defect; It's as obvious as a comic strip,. although .ftbssess- ing some glibly amusing' scenes and some fairly humorous dialog'.; Most of the laughs come from Dlnsi- more's attempt to'put on the dog In his rude and lonely .headquarters.: , Kltig gives .a .capital performance save for a few moments of undue coyjiess; he does more fbr the i>axi' than It really deserves. Rest of cast IS nbt so good. ;Slr James Is flatly arid obviously played by:> J^ Fiuit sett, who tries too: h^rd .for . hi* points. The two gals, Doris Dalton arid Ona;. Munson, are satlsfactbiv without' being: distinguished, and others don't matter.. DeLlagre staged the pliay and has done a fairly satisfactory job;, Slri- gle set is excellent; |ihd. supplies real atmosphere. But, all In all; 'Petticoat Fever! dbetin't^ look to have mrich of a chance. WaterSi ^IPER PAID ; ; paitimbre, Dec; 10. ' Harry Albert (David tidier man and Harold B,erg) ' prosenta Bdlth Barrett In 'Piper Paid' with Harry dreen: written by Sarah B. Smith-aiid Viola Brothers Shore; . Btased - . by-,. CUftord Brooke; sdttlnBB by John Boot; EQWha by senla flosenberff. At. the Maryland. Bait., w6ek Doc, 10, at-$1.60 top. ; Amy Mlntpn........., i .Spring ByJnston A German Walter,...... ...Wolter Ciailo' Asst. Hotel Manaser.;'.Fred De Cordova Dltnor Crane......, . . iKatharlne Warren Dr. Martin Sperllns.... John Maraton Zelda; Kay..;..; .^.r.rvBdltli Bat^ett David Craiie.,.....;,... Donald DouelaB I<arry Allen,..;..;.'...Raymond Hack^tt Basil 'Galnsbordagh......-.. .Harry Green In iBaitlmore, w.here for the psat couple of sparsely fed ieglt seasons, audle.nces have ; been, neax-pushr; bver^'Plper, Paid* :idld-ri^^ Upoh ; the pliay's eritree Into J^. ' T., however, It api!iears :;,hlghly iikely that the press, will paddle lt soundly. Even Intensive re-wrltlng; . It' iac- compllshed during... the; opening week here and the subsequent stand in Philly, would seerii uriable to yltaillze '; chances , bf '■. propitious notices or longevity bh Broadway. Basle -weakness, lies in the very core of the play . Itself, In thenie, treatmeht and di^houement. : Ple6e concerns Itself with the Ih- yolved loves;: hates. Indifferences and perplexities of Ave Americans abroad; a 'dress ' designer tor a ariiart Fifth Avenue salon' (Edith 9arrett) ; her flahce; a psychiatrist (John ;MarstQn)i a. foreign - news cbrresiiondent (Raymond Hackett) and wife.(Katharine Warren): and the wife's brother, an artist (Dohald Douglas). ' In Paris/ the desiigner falls in love with the artist but, spurred by an Imagined slight, gives herself to the newspaperman. She then flees to Karlsbad, .In the AUstriui Tyrol, where he Is quasi-partner In biz, A middle-aged and fluttery modiste (Spring Bylngton) has been taking treatments. Designer's flancee and wife of riian to whom, she has given herself are also upon the- scene and soon the artist and the newsie come scooting into vlewi though there's nothing to give a hint that they possessed any clues as to where Barrett had iscrammed when taking a powder out of Parls^ Wife of the newsie, who is hep to his philander- ing, does 4 constant deep-flred; burn when; he unashamedly and openly -goes on-the; imake^'agitln for the de- signer while the artist quietly sighs devotion for her, and her' flance, "the psychiatrist, gives up without a struggle WhateveT-^l«ir«rTre'"TO^ tertalned. The. modiste just flutters around and digs for laughs. Designer tells the newsie she Is through for ever^that their brief, one-nite affair was a mistake; that she loves hls; brother-in-law, the mural <> dauber. He staggers off. His wife comes and. says she knows It may be shameless but she can't surrender her husband, even though she doesn't'want him un- happy. She • suggests that the de'- slgner come live with them. While the ^Ife la- suggesting' this' afriahge-" nient a shot Is heard, from within -ftnri the audlence^ls—tipped—the newsie has aittenipted suicide! That's the secbnd act curtain, and the bnly slice of play that carries any punch. . -Final -act presents- the- designer, newsie and wife all platbnlcally re- siding together In Paris .while the reporter recoups from his self-In- fllcted wound, Trio, attempting superficially, to get along,—can't; there's plenty of; smoldering frictlon. Then, at slpaced intervals, the psy- chiatrist, the modiste, and the artist Tetum tbVParls and among 'em they manage to pry thb designer iiway from her self-plastered punishment of staying around a.nd paying the household bills: while the reporter regaiins his health—because 'It was my fault/, At the curtain she is tramping off with the artist / the ^po rt e r la iJlannlng a grfefc t novel, and his wife has dc^serted him alrid Is taking their kids back to the States to raise :'em. The psy- chiatrist's plans aren't known; neither, precisely, are the modiste's; they, more than the rest, are char- ac,teri3 , ringing fflSlrly true.. Others are Just a. trifle ;off-edee In actions, reactions and convictions. They Irnpreas as a morbid neuirotlc crew of .unsatisfactory : characters and seem unworthy .of a play being written around 'em; there is "sym- pathy ac<{ruihg to hone bf them. Cast is more than worthy. Edith- Barrett, starred, suffers by being handcuffed to a shallbw role. Spring Bylngton Is smartly enough cast as the chattering riibdlste but " she lacked sparkling lines; / Hackett's pa;rt Is sourly Unsympathetic, Rest of line-up bke; with Katherlrte War- ren a stahdrout thrbugh -virtue of a palr.of well-handled dramatic bits and her hysterical walk-but on her husband hear third-act, ending, Bcharper, CHANTiCLEER : (YALE DRAMA SCHOOL) - ■ ;N6^ Haven, Deo. 11;; A revival of ' Bdmond Rostand'a- play; tranalated by Qertrude Hall. Presented at Tale Vnlverolty theatre by the Department of Drama of the Tale School ot Fine Arts; With Christmas Just ground the corner,- the Tale Drama School faiculty entered-into the happy spir^lt of things by feetting out all their toys to have spme -fun—and ended up by staging a swell/ theatrical production. Not. that the produc- tion has ariythirig at all to do with St. Nick, but when It comes tb khowlhg. the projpet way to get the most out' of ; their; playthings, this Yale group Stands high on the list. Robert G. Scott had a grand time designing three artistic sets, Frank Poole Bevt^n wtts In his. seventh heaven oreatlng some; 40 colorful-' fowl and anlmial Costuriiea, Stanley R. McCiahdless played around with ■ his lamps, spots,, foots, etc. to .man- ufacture .sunrises and sunsets and Jld^ardJC.Cole; as -technical super- visor, had. a circus trying to repro- duce diick iquacks, turkey-gobbles iand. rooster crows. . Alexander Dean . directed, the group; wliHe-Professor Allardyce Kicoll : looked: on with a critical eye. The-faculty had, a ^swOll time, al- rlgbtp hut so. did the, audiences: ; Once a year tUo Drama Dept. sponsors a revival, designed "arid di-- rectbd by the facuity'arid with the entire production built and acted by Students of the schobU - -;Theso re- - 'Vlyals. areviisually selected with an eye- to' spreading , about . as ^ riiiich work ;as possible amorig the school persorinei, simply as a means of letting a lairge number of-them dis- play their talentSi 'Ghantlcleer! is no exception tb this rule;.; They've called; out more than 40 riibmbers as a cast,' with iairi addlttdnal flOck to handle the technical; work. , Production, as-a, whole is:A-1. It's no 'cinch for ia director to pass ;9ri to such a large, cast the spirit of a play pif the 'Chanticleer' type, but Alexander Dean haridledlthe assign- ment Well. Frarik Bevah's cbstumes were clever and. When required;' ..beautiful. Play failed to offer ^tan- ley McCaridless the lighting bppor- tUhitles of some ■ previous revivals, notably ; last year's 'Venice Pre- served,' but he contributed; heavily, tb the Sucpess. of the production as a whole. Cbnstahce- Wblch and. Elizabeth Elson acted, as asslstartt dlrebtors. Arthur L. Sachs handled the tHle role capably and; Marie BrowUi op- posite him, matched, hlrii. Other strindbUts In the large cast were J. Edward Rogers, Henry Boettcher, Albert Tdrbell and Virginia;. Boe- dlger. Production was remarkably , sriiooth fbr an amateui- group. Plaly was offered to two private audiences prior to single: public perfbrmahce = ABd drew plenty favorable comment.;, Bone. La Ma<bRine^ Iiifeniale7~ H ARVAR D D RA MAT-i C C LUfl . _ _BjC)S.ton, .D_ec. 14^ Coatume play; In. four epUo,des by T7eaa Cocteau. Presented,and. produced.by Hai^ . Vard Dramatic .Club at.'Repertory theatre, Boston,. Adapted from Fronch by John: Cecil Hocgott aiid XldWard Eager. Directed by Edward Massey. Scenes by Johii Cecil: HagKott. Incidental music by James Pap- poutsakls and Sydney Szathmary;; Narrator..Richard Sulllvaa Ybungr Soldier........;,.......Munro Lyetli Second Soldier..;...^ Paul KUIIam, Jr. Captain .Robert McKea Jocasta .i .i ..;.>.;.,... Jean Goodtila Tlreslos. . ....;........ . Arthur Szathmary Ghost of Lalus.. . .. ...James W'llson Tower Sphinx.;..;. . ;.-. ;.; . .% ;;..;;Lol3 Hall Anubls..i.....,.......;..,... .George ISdgell -Matron:..; .-w'.;.r. i-.. .Umellne -IIIll Little Boy..;........^..Arthur Howard. 2d Uttle OlrK..;........,...Jacqueline Rlnov " " ....W miam-Hiint^d Drunken Msin......;;;..'...,Robert McJCce- Creon ,.'. Da.vld . Barber Messeneer.., ...-...............Glenn Morris Old Shepherd:..Stephen' Greene Antigone.'...........Doris Relraer . 'Machine' has everything from the amateur point bf ;vlew In prbduction possibilities, and It offered the Har- vard thespiahs a bi|g; chunk to chew;. but tri pro lure it Is thbroughljr bar- ren. The student dramatists de- serve a load of credit for bringing Cocteau's piece into this country for its 'American pirerhlere, rarid espe- cially ; for their translation and adaptation of his pbetic tragedy first produced in Paris last spring., : ,;in the translation of' this version of the old-Greek legend of Oedipus^; whb was singled out by the gods for a: series; of tr.agic even ts, the adapters must have enjoyed a few chuckles; In their script conferences Avhen they pliced such modem slang in; the mouths of ancient Greek Sol- diers as .'jittery', and 'big shot!' But the boys' were: eritltled to a. little levity , In working out the hefty theme.'::;■;■; ;,, ■ ■'''■.: ';- :'. ' .;■ "- The irifernal machlrie represents the theme of the play, ripimcly, the complete fulfillment; Of the wrath of the gods as embodied in the-destiny of OediDiis, whb in due time unwit- tingly murders his own father and then marrlies his own mother. Under the banner of thia Harvard Dramatic club the latter angle apparently did not ruffle the Hub censors. In four episodes this: ■weird ti'-le unfolds against - gp. airty, • Frenchy set, cleverly adapted tb represent ramparts, a throne reom, a court- yard, and the ofllclal han$rout of the Sphinx, who Is conquered In the iice scene of the; play by Oddipus. Light- ing, sound effects.; musical back,'^ ' (Cohtlriued on page 6B)