Variety (Jul 1935)

VARIETY LEGITIMATE Wednesday, Julj 10, WiS Snimner Theatres NEW PLAYS THE COUNTRY WIFE (COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE) Westport, Conn., July 6. Lawrence Langner presents a new version of William Wycherley's comedy. Production conceived and atased by the producer. Bet- tings by Tom Adrlsa, Cracraft, At Westport Country Playbouse. Mr. Horner McKay Morris Mr. Dorllant AInn Hewitt Quack • Bobprt Williams Sir Jasper Fidget Victor Mo. loy Lady Fidget.;.... Ruth Weston Mrs. Dllnty Fidget Jacqueline deWIt Mrs. Plnchwlfe Ruth Gordon Mr. Plnchwlfe. Tom Powers Mr. Harcourt Charles Romano Mr. Sparhlsh Louis Hector Allthea Frances Fuller Lucy'... ....Phyllis Langner Mrs. Squeamish Helen Gardner iiMy Squeamish ...Kathleen Comeeye AlaoiRuth Chapman, Jane Keith, Marlon O'Neill, Craig- Livingstone, David Morgan, Lee Baker, Edward Padula and Luclen Wolto. Lawrence Langner has prepared a thoroughly charming restoration of- Wychorlej's social comedy, first produced In 1674, which Is along the lines of the revival of Mollere's 'The School for Lovers,* with a text by Langnt. • and Arthur Gultermann, produced on Broadway, In 1933, ais 'COhe School for Husbands' by the Theatre Guild. Play received a better reception at the opening than Langner ex- pected, and while he has not made the production with a definite Broadway presentation view, he would probably associate himself with a buyer." In Its original text, Wycherley's comedy Is pretty delicate writing, describing the fancy of an Innocent <;ountiy bride for London's greatest beau, who has been forced to claim physical limitations to escape the attentions of his admirers. Langner hes deleted many of the sizzling exclamations . that are . ex- cusied -in the .libraries 'where•'The Country Wife' Is a classic, and only suggests the hero's predicament In a whispered huddle. But there . Is still plenty of snap to the dialog and heire, with a deluxe acting company, the play becomes one of the beat that Langner has offered at his summer playhouse.., ^hen Plnchwlfe, a dissolute fol?- lower of the court of Charles the 2nd; Anally decides to-take" a ,wlfe, he" goes to the. country to find one. Innocent of the iniquities of his circle. Come to town, the country wlfe^ Is'kept away from the ardent pals of "her husband, but one night In the theatre the badgered beau, Horner, turned celibate by the demands of female London, sees her and Is cap- tivated by Her beauty. Information of this unknown admirer reaches the secluded country wife and she conspires to And him. Her husband, whish he taker her in public clothes her as a boy, and Horner, noting the resemblance and suspecting that she Is ,a brother, sends warm messages to the 'sister,' Recogntzinfr her hero, the country wife finally slips opt. of the house and reaches his bed- chamber, ' Discovered there, her lady friends chuckle because she Is with the un- fortunate Beau Horner, but the o-Mntry wife knows his secret. Play is gracefully acted by Ruth Cardon. s the wife and McKay Morris as. the beau, and since It is in the setting of three centuries ago there is no apparent cause for ob- jection of the lines and the sug- gestions. How the same setup would .work In a penthouse or a Long Island estate is another story. Miss Gordon is particularly suc- cessful as the country girl and she clowns the oart with ptood natured intention. Tom Power.f ia likewise effective as her elderly husband and he consumes the role with energetic skill. Kathleen Comegya Is out- standing' In the supporting cast, with her bounclnfr pepformance as an Indignant Rrandmother. Business has been excellent, with few empty seats at a $2.20 ton. Doulena. his father'* guilt, counts heavily In his favor and he Is freed. Final scene, in which the wife Is trapped alone in the house, with her now completely mad husband, Is halr- rt-.lslng In Its intensity, and play ends with an Ingenious twist. A uniformly good cast maintains the mood and pace of the play, Georgo .Somnes, recently returned from Hollywood, where he directed for Paramount, plays Gabriel Perry in a manner that makes the man's curiously twisted character under- standable and fasclpnting. As Mrs. Perry, Jane Grey, appearing on the stage for the first time In years, brings great sympathy and under- standing to her role and makes' It a memorable character, Ann Dere, Harold Moifet and Leslie King are outstanding in smaller parts, and the Perry Children are attractively' played by Stanley Hughes and Mar- garet O'Donnel. Theresa Dale, who directed, de- serves great credit for displaying a finished production after only eight full rehearsals. Atmospheric set- tings so good ,they so'emed better than the play. .. Play should stand a chance on Broadway if produced with a name actor in the leading role, although hovlng' no picture angle. Present pliins seems to Indicate that If and when it comes In James Dale, the author, will play the Gabriel Perry i-ole himself. MENAGERIE (RIDGEWAY THEATRE) Comedy In three acts and Ave scenes, pre.ienfed at the RIdgewar theatre. White Plains,, ,X.,^July 1; written. .1)7 Qren- ^lUe Veroon; director, Fraok McCoy. Cast: Bdth.. Merrill, . Weldco Heyburn, Robert Leonard, Tom Morrison, Alice Mc- Eencle;, John Gtillaudet, ' Blgelow Sayre; Phil White, Robert Lawes, I^dolph Brooks, Franklyn Fo«, and Edith ' Gray- ham. is a gentle little play. Tried out here as a vehicle for Ernest Truex, Play Is light and not' important enough yet for the nimble talents of Truex, although it Is a neat job ;or a first play. Truex may have been attracted to It through its almost biographical second act, wheieln Truex breaks in a musical revue at the old Shubert theatre, New Haven. There, In 1932, Truex broke In 'The Third Little Show." Peter Courtney (Truex) is per- suaded by his daughter to lend his tAlenta as a singer and wit to.a musical show being produced by a rich young manager, with whom she Is In love. Social Mrs. Courtney and a priggish son who attends Yale are properly horrified,-, but Peter carries on'and scores a neat little hit.at the New Ha,ven opening. Daughter Is not fussy about her fascination Xor the handsome pro- ducer and spends a night with him In New Haven, much to the agony of her mother and the distress of her father, who has heretofore humored her liberal Viewpoints. But the producer is ready to marry tho girl and the Yale son makes his fraternity after all. Falher is a particularly ingratiat- ing character and there Is nothing wayward about him, as the play's title might suggest. Truex plays the part in his customary ingenuous manner and gets everything pos- sible out of It. Phyllss Welch, from Cleveland stock, registers as the daughter. She I's good to look" at and plays with simplicity. William 'Post, Jr., Is ex- cellent as the producer; Reglna V/allace is in the picture as the mcther, and Philip Truex, son of the star, is a Tale sophomore down to the snappiest pleat In his trous- ers. Best pait is that of a platinum blonde with an answer and Is filled n«atly by Ruth Holden. Setting of a public school audi- torium is not the most exciting for a summer evening, t)ut' the school terrace overlooks a spacious lawn. Voii^ena. l.-JQUSt WILD JUSTICE (RED BARN) MeloJnma In three a-^ls by Jnmcs Dale, rro.luco:! by D. A. Dovrni. Jr.. and Aitliui' Hnrna, at the lied M.-vrn theatre, Valley, L. 1.. July 8, "30. -.alrlol reiiy-v George Somnesi lodfrev Stanley Hug'ies i);-. Su'mn:ior3 Leslie King William Rend Harold Moftct Mis. Read Ann Dere Mildred Perry Mnrgarct O'Donnel Mrs, Perry Jane Gtcy James Dale,, whose performance in ".Phe Green Bay Tree' was one of the outstanding events of the past sea- ■\ son. has turned his hand to play writing, and the result is a mystery •tnrlller set in the England of tlie m'ddle 19fh century. Hi • somber si-try of a soft-spoken, hypocritical riiurdever is told In terms of swICt di'itma and tense situations. Story- tells of Gabriel Perry, re spectod family m.m, driven to mur- der through need of money. His wife learns of his guilt, but is ter- rorized Into keeping silent. Hus- band, fearing wife will go to the police; tries to prove her Insane, but |;i caught In his own trap and ar- rested. At the trial the testimony ; 'Menagerie' is another one of those frothy little run-of-the-mill comedies constructed according to formula and containing some witty dialog and laugh-^lmpelling situa- tions. In Its present form it Is not likely to hit Broadway very bard and as a picture posslbllty it is probably o\it. ' Locale Is HoUywciod and the story. Is .that'Of an Indiana damsel -who poses as a foreign actress and via that ruse reaches high renown in the film city. She drags up with her i flowery French leading man who is given the' gate when a he-man hero, star of Broadway, comes along. She loses her heart to the cave man, drops her accent and reveals her identity; but the romance sticks. Interwoven with the love theme, which itself is treated In burlesque fashion, are a series of. happenings tbat take place in a picture studio operated by a former pants-press- ing producer bossed by a hard boiled femme secretary and domi- nated by the tempermental countv- felt foreign luminary. * Beth'MerriU as Linda Jonesco Is languid, bored, cynical, cruel and then docile, kind and loving in con trast. Her performance reminds of some of the better impersonations of Garbo. Perhaps that is what it is Intended to be, for the renowned and trite line 'I want to be alone,' is used. Robert Leonard as Abe Rothberg, with a Milt Gross vocabulary. Is the typical halr-tearing .producer when things go topsy-turvey. When tur- moil ceases he Is on the job to start something again. Looks like there might, be chance for Improvement in the part of Rupert Dexter, the cave-man played by Welden Heyburn. As now written the role is almost amateur Ish. • Robert Lawes does well with the sentimental and temperamental part of the Frenchie. An outstanding per tormance Is that o£ Alice McKenzie as Tony Parrar, the sec. Best built part In the play and Miss McKenzie muffs no chances. Before the tinkering ends some .attention should be paid t* detail It is Iiardly possible that every other Word Hollywood uses is 'hell or 'damn.' Too prosaic. Picturesciue ness of expletive is more flavorable Also a shot of Scotch might be in troduced to vary the monotony of constant cigarette ^smoking by everybody. It's a lean play. Crawford. A first play by Tom PrIdeaux and n break-in by Arthur Kurlan, both .q^-aduates of the Yale School of Drama. Has fun with some oC o£ his son, who refuses to believe Yale's stiff customs, and otherwise PRODIGAL FATHER Greenwich, Conn., July G. ArKiur Kurlan proscnl.i n new romody by Tom Prl leaux. Stacd by Mv. Kurlan. .Settings by Lawrence Goldwasucr. At the Havomeycr Playhouse. tlo.-is Hogan William Post. Jr. Mnmla Courtney Heglna Wallace Joseph Porter Rttyd Cruwford *ntonla Courti* - ; Phyllss Welch I'otcr Courtney Krnpst Truex Illchard Courlncy Philip TrueK Maddy Bennett Uuth Holden THE NOBEL PRIZE (C/^SINO THEATRE) - As'bury Park, N. J., July 9. Tfaree-act comedy by HJalmar Bergman, adapted by Herman Bernstein and freaent- ed by William A. Brady, Jr.. Malcolm L. Pearaon-and Donald E, Baruch at the Deal Casino theatr«, week of July 8, '3S. Staged by Charles Hopkins. Martha Beatrice Hendrick RoK Stvedenhlel Brandon Peters Julia KOrner Kathleen Lowry Cacl Swedenhlelm.- EMmund MacDonald Pedersen ,. Alliert Whitley RoK Swedenhlelfci James KIrkwood Aatrld Hancey Caetle Erlcson.,;. Dodson Mitchell Scrubwomen .Ada Curry, Alice Conreyi James KIrkwood is forceful in this faithful adaptation by Herman Bernstein of HJalmar Bergman's continental success, but it Is not a play which is likely to hold the In- terest of metropolitan audiences. Hardly a comedy, although billed as such, the play leans entirely on dialog and sacrifices action to lengthy soliloquies by KIrkwood, cast In the role of Rolf Sweden- hielm, Swedish inventor, who wins the Kobe! prize, but declines to ac- cept It until his family honor has been brushed up to a point where It will withstand public, scrutiny. Coincident with the advice tha.t he has been honored by the Nobel prize committee, S%vedenhielm is visited by Ericson, money lender (Dodson Mitchell), who informs him that Swedenhielm, -Jr.. and a- younger son, Carl, have left a trail of debts throughout Sweden. Among the notes Cricson has pur- chased are a pair of palpable forg- eries. Swedenhielm suspects both sons; the brothers suspect each other, while Julia, a stage-struck niece, and Martha, sister and house keeper for the inventor, maintains a •tight-lipped silence about the whole aftalr. It develops that Ericson, when a young man, dipped his finger:, in the cash drawer of a bank owned by Swedenhlelm's fathe •. For this, he served two years in prison, and when the money lender calls on Swedenhielm his Intentions are, at first, to congratulate the prize win net, talk.over old times and advance a little needed cash on the $40,000 windfall. Swedenhielm and Ericson recall tlieir days as schoolmates, and even- tually the conversation leads up to the latter's. period in prison. Erie- son attempts to wring from 'Swe- dt-i'ihielm tlic admission that tlie in- ventor's father had been wrong in clipping him In jail. KIrkwood harps loud and long on his distaste for criminals and crime, upholds the action of his pnrent and holds forth at length on the honof of the Swedenhlelms and the virtues of Justice. About this time, Ericson flashes the forged notes, and Swedenhielm is crushed completely. He retires to his room for two weeks to devise ways and means of patching up the family honor. Fortunately for the King of Swc- d(-n, who has been waiting all this time for Swedenhielm to appear in court for titled recognition, the real culprit confesses and explains a harmless motive behind the for- geries. BilU JANE BRADY, EDITOR (CASINO PLAYERS) Asbury Park, N. J„ July 2. Now play in three acta and six ioenea by Joseph Elalnger and Steiphen Van.Oluck;' presented by William A. Brady,' Jr., Mal- colm L. Pearson ond Donald £2, Baruch, at the Deal Casino for oae week, July 1. Staged by Forrest C. Harlng. Fenton. Edmund 'MacDonald Mike Ncwlan Robert J. Mulligan Spud Albert Whiteley Pat Pearson ;....Haacey Castle Bertha , Ada Curry Gary Arnold ;, Arthur Plerson. Jane Brady ' Mary Morris .Tom Barrett Dodson Mitchell Henrietta Cort Beatrice Mitchell June-Robbin ; Grena Sloan Izzy Kaplan Brandoa Peters Frustrated love In the city room of a metropolitan paper, mystery and an o'ft-stage murder provide hardly enough- material for the tal- ents of Mary Morris, and the audi- ence knows all the answers two scenes ahead of the slow-witted- supporting cast. Miss Morris, as Jane Brady, a domineering journalist,, makes life unpleasant for two of her em- ployees—Pat Pearson,' played ade- quately by Miss Hancey Castle, and Gary Arnold a reportorlal piece of putty who loves the gal, but trem- bles every time the boss strides across the stage. In addition to keeping Pears6n and Arnold apart for two and a half acts, Jane Brady. Is engaged In a vice crusade which Is climaxed by the murder of the wif6 of William Rand, object of the lady publisher's clcan-up campaign. Rafid Is Indicted for the killing, and the Globe Express pounds edi- torial nails Into his <iofiin. Circula- tion picks up, but public reaction sets in after the date Is set for Rand'9 execution and Miss Brady's advertiser* cancel contracts- right and. left. The star reporter is killed while speeding to the scene of the electro- cution; Rand dheats the law with the aid of his necktie and a con- venient window grill,' and virtually the entire-staff of the Globe-Express turns In Its resignation' whll©. Miss Brady, goea slightly dotty In her sombre private office. Murder will and does out, how- ever, and Messrs, Elslnger and Van Gluck fearlessly pursue their story to its grisly and logical conclusion. Best performance Is that of Dod- son Mitchell as Tom Barrett, make- up editor, while Brandon Peters does most with role of Izzy Kaplan, philosophical photographer. Weaker plots have moved Into New York; Sill. THE NAKED MAN (BEECHWOOD THEATRE) Comedy In a prolog and three acts at the Beechwood theatre, Scarsborough-on- Hudson, July 1; written and staged by Frederick Jacknnn. Cast: Lenore Ulric, Charles Campbell, Gudle Nadze, Louise Prussing, Theodora Peck and AnnalHSlle Williams. Frederick Jackson, who turns out plays like the chain stores sell eggs, by the. dozen, offers his latest, 'The Naked Man' at the Beechwood thea- tre. Opening also signalizes the re- turn of Lenore Ulric to the foot- lights in a new play after a couple seasons of touring. Story concerns the successful snatching of a sweetheart from his wishy-washy finance by Peggy La- zarre (Miss Ulric). Play has sev- eral well-designed parts developed In novel fashion and Is fitted to at- tract attention when the rough edges are sandpapered. Ten minute prolog takes place in absolute darkness of the theatre and stage. Only the» voices of a man and woman iare heard. They are those of Pesgy and Norman Dane (Mr. Nadze). She, smitten with Norman after meeting him at a party,. Inveigles him into the park at midnight and after some parley coaxes him to go on an all-ni.^hf lido in her fiance's auto. At the end of the trip Peggy has her quarry pretty well hooked but, of course, there must be some regrets, remorse, recriminations, declara- tions and disavowals. Therein lies the play. A complication is that Peggy also has a sweetie of whom she must rid her.seir. Peg in the end gets her man and consolation comes to the others. England is the scene of action. Play gets its name from the incident of Peg, wlio is an illustrator, palntins t'.-e face of Norman, us a step in lieT plot, upon the nude figure of man ordered for a ma.ijazine cover. Miss Ulric, a Uttic huslcier both as to voice and form, has lo;;t none oC her vigor or the mannerisms thai made her famous. The part is made to order for her. It could be noth- ing but well played by hor. Mr. Nadze presents the, at first unwilling, lover very vividly and his varying moods as he slowly suc- cumbs to the realization that Pe.? Is the girl for lilm are admirably portrayed. Codric Winstead -is one of those simpering Scotch and soda English- men and Charles Campbell made him very real. This part supplies n good portion of tlie comedy. The minor characters are in capable hands. Mr. Jackson announces a list of an' even dozen original plays for this Beechwood season. Crawfoid, , Central City Nighto 1 Central City, Coio., July 7. ' Musical, revue fn two acta and 21 ace'nes/ based on shows-end -other events In the locol opera- hous» b«(ore 1860. Written and directed by Robert Edmond .Jonea: Paul Porter, stage manager. Music arranged by Frank St. Lcger. Featured: Nan Sunderland, Helen Free- man, Kaibryn Neleon, Perry Ivlns, Cllf. ford'Ne'udahl, Josepb(ne Nerl, Paul torter, Mary Jennings, Dorothy Chapmon, Nlca Doret, and Rvwell Lewis. Claimed to be the first attempt at euch a revue,:it ia the first orlg- 'Inal production of the four play; festivals glveh at the Central City -opera house. " Robert Edmond Jones has gathered the- material from newspapers of Central City and programs from 18'74 to 1890. Each scene was taken-trom some show that appeared iat the old theatre.' Jones not only -wrote and directed but designed the costumes, and la ,both stage settings and costumea usea. his .fialr for color. Jones also uses the depth of thel stage tp full advd,ntage. Stage ' is' narrow, but by 'use of a sky drop, against tho rear wall, stage Is made to look miles deep at times. Applause greeted many of the stage settings as the £urtal'n rose the first .night. The. bl<i curtain, with the panel in the center- for actors to take cur- tain calls; is still In use: Prelude Is a mine scene, 26 men slngJng songs of 1874. Stage dark- ens, lights on'mine caps being used for ..illumination. Two slow num- bers are used for the start but men swing Into action on the finale. Josephine Nerl, local, but top notch, sings 'Bohemian Girl.' She Won lengthy applau.se first night, not because she Is local, but be- cause she earns It. In 'A Moment of Restoration .Cornedy' Jones goes -for burlesque, Clifford Neudahl sings a song about not being able' to do' without wo- men, and four of them, dressed Ilko chickens,, assist. Red combs on heads, feather-like bodices; and ;sklrts. One of ' Jones' discoveries, Dor-. othy Chairman, In- white lace and 'with fan of long ago, mimics slng- ers of the last century. With -a bouquet oh top of her head looks as If: transplanted from the past period. Tough spot to get a reac-^- tlon from the audience, with most, of slng:lng being la-la-la, but her gestures with hands and fan win. A coloratura soprano with plenty of range. ' She is headed toward stardom. Nan Sunderland, Helen Free- man and Perry Ivlns deliver effec- tively the sleep-walking scene from Maobeth. A scene In the 'Moulin Rouge,' 1882, with Kathryn Nelson singing and NIca Doret dancing the French CachQcha, was to have been on« of the high spots, b.ut falls, although Miss Doret and Miss Nelson give It all they have. For the closing of the first act Rip "Van Winkle (Perry Ivlns) la put into .his 20-year sleepi with the aid . of six Dutch bowlers and five fairies. Fairies are back at the opening . of the second act to awaken Rip. These are two of the really beautiful scenes, -with . the mountains in the distance and tho sky looking miles away. Miss Chapman in a pink, lacy, full dress of the 80'3 sings 'Sharon Rose,' supported by an ensemble of 21. She shows a wide range of voice, but her costume, a gorgeous affair, is wasted by her not turn- ing around and giving people a look at the back. Living statues by Kathryn Nel- son give the audience a kick. Five of them, with Miss Nelson in pink full-length stockings, and garbed from the waist up, first as La Vls- conti in person, then the Shepherd- ess, Christmastide, Bonnie Dundee and Victory. Done on a pedestal, with a dancer holding the an- nouncements. Paul Porter and ballet of four do 'Walking Dowri Broadway, 1878.' Spanish dances by Nica Doret and Russell Lewis, alone and to- gether, give both an opportunity to extend themselves, and they take it. ■The Death, of Cleopatra,' with Miss Sunderland as Cleopatra, Is effective. Helen Freeman, Perry Ivins and Mary Jennings are the support. Old butterfly dance is seen in 'The Dance of a Thousand Dreams,' dancers with long sticks and flimsy material. Jo.'sephlne Nerl sings 'Last Roso Of Summer,' with accompaniment playe§ oh a piaho brought from Chicago years ago by ox-cart. Her rich voice gets everything possible out of the song. Kathryn Nelson returns with 'Let Us Forget,' and sings it in the sad, expressionless manner of long ago. Mary Jennings and four gals do 'Little Brown Jug' in expressive manner, garbed in loud costumes of checkered blouses and eunbonnets. Next to last scene has a minstrel .show with P.aul Porter and Russell Lewis, in fiasliing costumes, man and woman in blackface, doing the Louisiana Bombashay. Finale ties back to part of first act and binds tho show together. Gorgeous seems Inadequate to de^crilje tlie costumes. Color is u.sed to the extreme. Jones is un- limited as to expense. Deficits are guaranteed. If appiause ."xnd cheer- ing on first night Is any indication, then 'Central City Xigiits' if a suc- cess. Thing could bo taken to Broadway as is. BoM.