Variety (Dec 1936)

Wednesday, December 30, 1936 LECI TIM4TE VARIETY 51 Plays On Broadwiiy THE SHOW IS ON Btevijie In two parte preaenteU at AVlnt^r Garden. N. T.. Peo.. 555. 'Stl, by tlie Shy- heitni drifted by VIncerite Mlnn^Ul; eketcbes,' iJavW Freedman; one liy Mosb Hart; Bcore,, Vernon DuH*. T^d Fetter, Hoagy Cdv Ichael and v Staiiley Adamsj ■Hqward' Dlcti!' and >Arthur. -.'Schwartz,-- Qebrge . and' Ira ,aei'9)iwii), ■- .Hernian Hup- feld, 'Will . Irwin and Norman -Zeno,. HlcH-. ani: Bogero. and Lorenz Hart; Bly ^ar- biUir-and -Harold. Arlen; Bke'tcbeB staKed by fld^ard Clarke I^illley; dances by Rob' >rt/ Anort;-..$|,40 top.- Starii Beatrice LUlIe, Bert. Ldhr. F^ealurea .Beglnaid Gardiner, Mit^l Maytalr. .Paul Haakon. Grade Barrie, Cbarles Walters, Vera Allen, Rpbert Shnter; Jnok McCauley.- ISYelyn ^l^anl, Balph BIbkh,^ Uarie Carroll. Boy Campbell's ContlnentuIsr/ alBo fh.caet: "WilUam V&n Loon, Andre. Charlse; Gene . Ashley/Fred Nay, Mlscba Poifiplano, Marie Carroll, Glltord : Nash,. One of the .smartest things in con- nection with 'The Show. lis On,': pe.r- haps the best reViie in yedlrs, is that it was kept out of town Until its weaknesses were corrected. Even though it ran overtime at the debut there was no doubt \abQut the ^how. ciicldiig in a big way and the indica- tions are that the Shuberis will hot be thinkiiig about turning the Wi - ter Garden into ^a ,dine-aud-show place again for some time.. ■ -In .a maze of billing eredits, Vin- ieente Minnelli is spotted as the cbh- ceiver and designer of 'Show.' Atr tradtibn carries, the plural. name of the Shuberts but Lee> alone handled the budgeting: ,; He figured in the choice of' mslterial and talent, too, but having been confined to . his apartinent for' a .month, had little to; say .about what . stayed in :ahd what went biit. That, and the all impor- tant, Matter of routining,: was . done , by Hirry Kaufman, who has super-' : vised Lee Shubert's ihiisicals for the past several years. JBefitrice Lillie aiid .Bert ILahr, . 'starred, top the cast,, but the come- dienne has ia distinct edge in the proceedings. Not that Lahr does not Pl^ oVeC'SOiiie comedy punches,' for ne has generous aissighments with !Miss Lillie, alone, and with others. But the pint-sized fuii-maker from London lands more surely. If there is. it runnerrup it is Ileginald Gar- diner, also from Britain and \6ne of thie most, Versatile players ajrbuhdi Use of a xrime, not done since Lil- lian' Lorraine's days,: proves one of the; show's funniest interludes.' It has Miss Lillie oh ^ a prop ihoon, BwingihS over the front rows and. tossing away her garters-^mbre than two. -She duiightSy too, in «t. Moss Hart contribution traviestying John Gielgud in 'Hamlet.' . Miss LiUie is supposed, to be in the audience (oh toe stiage), talking blithely about every thing, but -the pilay and meh- v.tioning Leslie Howard, who, it de- .'. vidops,: sent :her tickets so that she 'could <lb her stiifE.. Lahr's 'Sbnig of ttie Woodman,': by B. Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, and 'Wobf by Norhiah Zeno and WiU Irwin, iare toppers. Most of the sketches are by the late David 7V0edman' aiid funny. Gomcidy strength- of 'Show* is the chief fac- tor-in-its. successl One I of , ' Freedmdh's contributions Is a~ skit in which Lahr is questioned by a government tax expert because of heavy .deductions. ; It brings many giggles, Gardiner acting as the inquisitor. ..Another laugh-getter from the same author is 'Box Office,' in Which the The9tre Guild is ribbed heavily. Miss LiUie is the yticket seller and Lahr. tries to buy sbnie pasteboards. A travesty on 'Tova- rich*^ is played principally by Vera Allen and Lahr, they being Repub- licans out in service. /The Reading of the Play' has Miss Lillie in high-at another poiht, with Gardiner the. chief aide. She does a bit of dancing in a taikeoff on Jo?.- sephine Baker,- and in ;-Burlesque' with Lahr she pretends to . do some strip.-teasingi: Lahr gpes back to the putty . nose and baggy pants here. Idea Of the .skit is that cops wander Into the place, frequently. When they do red lights fiash on, while green lights mean go the limits . Gardiner's lustiest appearance is:as a,'symphony orchestra leader.. Rec- ord through Ibud.speakers furnishes the music but it camie but too loud at the opening. That amplifyinjg device seemed balky at other times, too.' Gardiner, in addition to; frequent; ap- jrances, goes. on next to closing With a monolog descriptive bf his trip over from London, quite ainusT .....iDP.. ,jj'On the dance end there is Paul - jiaakpn and Mitzi Mayf&i^. Haakon js Casanova,' a production sketch. ,-g»ey team for the firstrpart finale, Farade Night.* Miss Mayfair, who MOks somewhat heavier than when «st out, also dances with Charles Walters. ^Oiv the music end the revue is not Werhoard.: Indicated standout ywrng. as You^ve Got Your Health. gL.^aX^urg, -Norman Zeho and ♦S^ V "'s warbled by Gracie Bar- W,. - ^J" assigned to most of the score. 'The Show: Goes . On* is aii- vE ^""e which should, de- iS;* -^5 comoosers and Srfe ^^earth of good song thf. ik ' element that kept Pr!S.°^..°^t so long. • faSnw'^^o^'J^y the revue is satis- MoRf - >vP"r. are some novejtics. *ost Of the skits are masked 4n IS with" ease, Half way Up the prbsr ceniUm arch -there.. iis" a simulation of a theatre canopy with occasional- lettering giving the names of num^ bers of sketches. It is all a showrhanly job;. Post- humous ci^edit goes tb.Diave .Freed- nian; It Would have been a . igreat satisfaction, had he been', able. .to watch hiis-sketches click .in sncces- sibn. ., Ibee. v. THE WOMEN Comedy-draiiqa In three acts (12 scenes) by Clare Boothe presented' by Max Gordon at . Ether Sarrymore thefttre,-N, Y;, Dec, 26; 'aC;,: Btaieed by. Bobert: Sinclair- sets by Jp Mlelzlher; $3.30 top. Jane ■.>,.-<....... ...-.^..Aiine. Teema'n Sylvia (Mrs. Hewai-d Fowler)...Ilka Chase Nancy . Blake,... i . J....,.: Jane Seyniour. Pegrgy (Mrff. John Day) i. Adrierine Marden Edith (Mrs. FbelM Potter). .Phyllis Poyab Uary <]fra. Slephen Haines), arfraio Glllihpre. Mrs. ■ Wagstaft..,, .... Ethel Jackson Olga-. ..,-i,,,',,...fiuth. Hammond Fliet HatrdreBBer...;^,..Mam Stuart Second Hali-dresser,.Jane Moore Pedicurlst.., .... i......v.'. ', .. Ann Watson ^uphle.'..,.,,,..,•'.<.. lolse Bennett Miss Fordyco.....,,,, ,.,, . Eileen Burns Little . Mary-.",.Charita' Bauer Mrs. Morehead.;..,.,,«;«^.,.Jes.<*le Busley First Saleswoman..,,«......... ;Dorl8 Day .Second Saleswoman ^..Tean. Rodney Head Saleswoman.... ;, ..,. .LuctUe Fenton First Model....Beryl Wallace Third Saleswoman-.Martina.Thomas Ci-ystal Allen..-.,....Betty T^awlord A FItter.>;V.'..,.4;.,..,..,.Joy Hathaway Second Model.:,.. : Beatrice Cole Prlncesia TaniaTa............Ai-lehe Francis Bxerclfie Instructress.. .;..... Ann^ Hunter Maggie.-;.....;,v,.';.Mhry -'cecU Miss Watts;,,,..;..,..i'.;...,Virgllia Chew Miss .Trlmmerback..,,,..iv..Miiry. .Miit-i-ay A. Nurser,',..;;,,..-.J..'.:,;.-..Lucille Fenton Lucy....'. ■ i.. ■;.. •.'''■:>■' .L..... .Mai-jpVIe JUntn. Countess H6 Lage.......Margaret Douglnss Miriam ;Aarons.. .* ;•«.. .;. Audrey Chrlsti^ Helehe.i,..i.-.;.......;.Arlene Frannle Sadie. . . . , i ...,<4,...«.l; .MarJorJe'. Wood Cigarette Girl.....; . *...,.;..; Lllliu Noi-.ton. have sbme money In the show and allegedly did some rewriting on it .That may or may not be true but* if so, they could havie done better, judging,, that i by past efforts oh their-own. Tb the producer gbes* the bo-ws. Robert Sinclair, who directed, did a snappy job. Jp Mielziner, who did the bts;.. devised some snappy, fast- mp-ylns jackknife scenes; And the actre$sis are gbod,; most bf them, lyiarsd.p Giilraorei as Mary Haines, almost. makes one believe, that all the agony and suffering sihe goes through has some, reason .for being (which it hasn't): Ilka Chase is; the most vicious of vicious wenches;- Phyllis Pbyah, .thb busy breeder, is the most plei^sant of Uie cats; Charita Bauer, as the Haines child, turns in an excellent jbb as the play's bnly Completely acceptable character^* Betty JL.awfbrd makes, a pretty har-^ lot; Margaret Dougla^ is a swell .comedienne; Audrey Christib is still playing 'Sailor BeWare'. (in whaV looks like the same pajarnas); Adri- enne Marden- is just an ihgehUe. Harry M. Goetz of Reliance Pic-^ tures is in with Gbrdon on this prb- di^ctioh'as the first of . a series which the diio/are tb make as films after thby're through as plaiys. There doesn't seem to be much sense in thiis as . a film .: unless, bf ' coiurse. it does so weir as a play as to hike up its potential values. It's not the fact that there are ho male characters at all in .-t>)e pliay; that's ain only slight-' ly annoying (althbugh. tbtally uh-. necessary) trick anid, in films. Would be dbnie away with; But, translated to the screen .there, woidd heed tb Oparre,. tblling . her he didn't inean what he 3aid and realizes he must be at her side for the rest bf their days. But it is too late; she dies in his «Li*rnSa * Miss Cornell Is. everything that stardom hieaiis. She can be. alluring j«§ Oparre.. Her rendition of. Ander- son's, verse is at all timies so clear that the. wordage seems doubly, iih- •pressive. They brought. Walter Abel back from the Coast, and his-Na-? [ thiahiel 'is a.^corking . performance. £ffie. Shannon as the mother of the- McQuestons, Ken as the flinty :c.ler- gyman, and Ruth. Matteso'n as' a girl Who ioved Nathaniel are standoutis, in'support. ' Ibeci . . ._ Washburn has been prbmising to be a lot more play and logic written'i fibt this play <iaut ot his system for m. Katif. Plays, roughly, can be divided into foUr clasi^es: good, bad, good but im- commercial and bad but salable. 'The Wbmen'. is in that last category.* It is a completely bad piece of writ- ing but has all the elements of fall- ing into the classification of -woman's show.* As such it should db good business for quite a spell. In essence it's best described ias trivia drCssed up in fancy tissue paper/ It's the sort of thing (from a story standpoint) as may be read in- the cheaper, more lurid maga- ^nes. But on gloss paper. ' Play has been given such an ex- cellent production as to make it, at first bliish, seem a shame. But that very, factor is one., which will have a lot to do with its ultimaite sUccess. Because the girls will accept it that way, where they wouldn't have it. Were it shoddy, scenically. And there ; is this to remember, in. fiction and in magazines, those lurid sbxy yarns 9bout the sorcalled smart set have attracted' much customer at- trition; The . mob, that buys True Love StorieSt or that reads Faith Baldwin and AUene Cbrliss and that W1NGLESI5 VICTORY rama In three acts.' 'Presented at' Eih- pli-e. N; Y-., Dec. ., 23, /SB,V by. and with -Kathari c'Cornell; wrlttten .by Maxwell An' derson;, staged by Guthrie McCllntlc; $3;30 top; . . ■; ', -. A Girl ;...; ...Mary Michael. Rev'.. Phlnens. McQueston..; ... ... Kent. Smith Jni-ed Mungoy.......,;;..Arthur Chattertoh Wlijston llrquhart;.';. •..'..; .John Wlrithrbp Mrs, AlcQuesto'n.....Bf0e Shannon Ruei McQucs>'lon. yrpn .McCormiok Venture ,.,.-,; .IjoIs Jameson Ftiitli Ingalls '...... :Ruth Mattesoh 'Happy Penny...........i;^......Barry Kelly Letty......-,....Theodora Pleadwell Nathaniel McQueston...Walter Abel ,Oparre...'«''. Katharine -.Cornell Toala ..;..;...••••'.. .Helen Zellnskaya r>urian ......'....,».;,».•..... Claire- Howard Harry.......;..;..,.;.. t,.., .John Wlnthrpp Van Zandt ;...... i. . r......: Victor Cdltoh I:,cing8Uoi-eman.....i .Franklin i>avi's First, really dramatic period play bf the seasbn so far is 'ijie Wingless Victory,' in; which Katharine Cornell presents, herself,. .Pespite somb. dif- ference of first-night, opinion, the plaiy will hot miss, even though it hasn't quite the lure of some of . the star's previous appearances. Maxwell Anderson;, who has a fiair .for writing in blank verse,.has.again ■^proven his stuff with a story that has been told before-but in another form.: Films have Used it, too; as, fbr in- stance, in 'Java! Head.* THieme is the East is East and West is West busi- ness; ..Its 'Similarity - to. the .Josepih Hergesheimer story is striking. 'Victory' is a 'love story, the .pas- goupT W pn?b^l?"S "S^ 'Si ^^'^^&^ f show^ That's « lot of customers. Cliare Boothe (She doesn't use thb Luce finale of hier name in the bill- ing) would seeih to know whereof she speaks in . discussing her sisters. When she calls her play 'The Women* that's a mild sbrt Of criti-* cism' she quite distinctly doesn't mean 'The Ladies.* There are 35 of 'em in the play. Only One of th^t number is painted'as a nice person—' and the paints used on that one portrait are just a bit under sus-v oicioh. - It's possible, that that one nersoh, the play's central chiaractbr, Mrs. Stephen Haines, is a bit of a Ibol, Miss Boothe doesn't like her fel then^ in all sorts bf places, in a bath room, in a night club, powder room, in a hair-dressihg parlor, in a fitting ways there is a five-letter wbrd to describe them. They gossip brutally, they malign each , other constantly," they plot intermihably at each other's foundations. 'The.oiib exception is Mary Haines. She iis, it seems, a good girl. with bad friends.^. She's in love ^with her | ^enly evapbrStes. Threat of husband. After 12. years, of married • bliss he does a bit bf cheating with a pretty blonde. That is called tb her^ jittentibn prbhtb by her friends. She can't take it and that leads tb divbrce,' forcing the husband .iritb marriage with the hussy. . ('Huissy's' the word; it's that kind xf a charac- ter.) At thb. end, Mary, havinig Ibarned wisdom . and found out, seemingly, that, men: roust; have their little nocturnal excursions, turns plotter and'jbins the category of cats to divorce her iex-husbahd froih the blonde vixen and- win him back. ALL EDITIONS ^..Fni-.fe In' tliree-:.icts. 'presented.-rit ..Ivong'-: acre; N. .. Vv, Dec. 22. ..'30, by Juliana Mor- gan; Wilnen by Qharles Washburn arid. Clyde 2Sorth; staged, by latter; |3.30 top. Miss Colso-h........;, Gladls, Griswold Mortimer Caldwell..,...;,..Clyde Franklin Rollo Heppleworth-...,Franlclyn Dae 'Page.-..... . ... i.. 4.-,vi,. .,,' Eric. Udo Clarence ...........Walter M; Greaza Drake.... i ... ;.....,.;.,, ..;.. iJohn .TZoUer Bei-rile ' ' •.. Carlottn... i,.., Dot >1<>l»-ose... The llhinbt; Radio Actress. Bddlii- Aclor.;. Spike Heiiiiejiisy Nicky Jlnnlo ;. Danny ■ Dow .. . . !k 4 ...«,.. . . • .V*-* • • , . Jerry. Sloan'e .;Ruth Holden l-Mancy Evanii ,..T<ihn Ravold '..,.•••■>..-.... ...Claire Nblie-' r,.';..'««..CarrinB.ton : LeWis . •.. •. .... i.. Jb.'ieph' Vitale . r'ederick - -H6ward ' . V..,........ . Albert, Bergh ChairlCs Washburn is an acb press agent, bccasioniail author of books and a good guy, besides, but that his 'All .Editions,' will make the irade is que.<;tibnable, sbh of a puritanical New England family. Locale; Salem, and the yeiar is 1830. Into the harbor sail£ Nathaniel. McQueston,- black sheep who promised he would never return Unless able to buy the town. Hold is filled with valuable spices; and Oparre, his ^bronzed wife and their two children, in charge bf a hative nurse are aboard. From, his swaggering entrance - into the McQUestbn living rbOm and the demure arrival of the lovely^ exotic girr from the Celebes; they are Upi. against a stone wall.. Nathaniel's stern clergyman brother Phineas is Unrelenting, and his mother takes his 't;marriage the hard way, too, biit they are in financial straits, as is. the Ibw 'womeh,^ it seems. She shows** JP^- All borrow from Nat biit they shun him iand Opairre. ■ It is excellent theatrie, and, ..al- though given to long speeches, the room of a gown shbp, etc. And al-,. E^rfbrmance holds the auditor Oparre is a revelation, exhibiting the culture and pui-e English of the best of her race,, which traces lineage to a Caucasian origin. She has adopted the Christian faith, but in the end forsakes it and prays to an Unknown god., -.y^ : Nathaniel's finaihcial. security .sud-; chi- canery is always present ;^mong these unsmiling . people. It is discovered that .Nathariibl's bbat was secured through piracy^ and he .aidmits killing several, sailors ivho mutinied, Givbri the choice Of either sending -his wife; away <>t being; exposed, he .chooses the former. .■; It. is then that .Miss Cornell's-hibst impaissioned. speech comes, the but-, cry of a heart-wrenched woman whb thought her ' mah. was . loyal. She cpnipares.Sher peoplb 'with his, as wide a divergence as between the eagle; and the rat. . This is all told in many scenesl , Oparre, her childifen and her at- and with many wise-cracks. Fact,.tendant,go aboard the boat, forlbrn, that, mbst bf the wise-cracks are " ' old probably doesn't/matter; majbri- ty of most audiences don't- know the difference. Fact that a lot of it will be accepted is icy may help at the b.o. Fact that one desperate',: .determined. She puts the tots to their last sleep, having ^i'ven them the fatal 'hemlock bf which she and the maid have also partaken. As for the children, : she. homicides to a year but, being , an industrious fellow, he tossed off 'Come Into My Parlor,'. •b9ok about the Everleigh Sisters, on the side. That volume and another, nearly finished, shbuld sobth Washburn's disappbintment ih the drama. 'Editions' a farce about a car- nival spieler who comes to the me" tropolis and becomes a bigrtime press agent. His name is Clarbnce Class and he's, known as .Fearlesso^ He has flossy .offices and the desk .ap- purtehances of ia high powered idea man. ' Clients include racketeers; supposedly turned square and .a maker bf coffins (caskets, the man insists on. calling 'em) whose aim is to .find the. ugliest person in the world, someone about to die. His idea is to prove that a mortician can even make such a person beau- tiful when, going on the last ride. Such a person is in the play- and is called the Rhinoceros. Has a pan that is something of a marvel in makeup. Past of the' barker creeps up bh hirti. ■when Cariotta, a former copch. dancer, comes on the scene. She is now a revivalist; , To add to ihe mixed assemblage there is Dot Melrose, former snake charmer, looking for front page publicity. She gets it, being oh the Scene, when Class's tough mug client bumps off a rival, News ribbon effect detail- irig the murder is used and of Course, the story hits all editibhs. 'Editions' is intended to be a laugh play but the pdce of the dialog in the first act is so fast thdt thb actors can't possibly register that way. Fact that the giggles dbh't cbme in the vblume hbped fbr was the chief letrdown for Washburn and his col- laborator, Clyde North, who worked on the script after Baltimore tryout; Cast is pretty good for the char- actei* parts assigned them, Walter Greaza being head man; Not ah easy task, his being on stage most of the time. Rhinoceros niay 'shock some bf the customers as played by John Ravold. If Hbllywood. figures on more horirbr films, he is a candi- date. Feminine contingent is not So forte, but perhaps the authbrs didn't give those' parts much, atten- tion. Ibcc. lighter vein. Fred Perkins was 4 fairly successful hardw.are.merchantt but now hi'bke and unaible. tb collect his bills. His sbh had a gobd enough job in a Detroit motor bar factbry. His daughter,- a. skilled stenographer in Chicago, giaye ; ujp; her well paid. pbst:to marry a, clever: salesman. ■ ' But back ihtb the home of the Perkinses qbme both the boy and the girl.- He has been , out Of work so' long that he turns down the wrong road. Girl's young husband is on the verge of fbllbwing suit There, is an attemipted stick-up . at the rail-, road station where the boys , know mopey is waiting to be sent to ia big- ger town. They lose their nei ve bnt are dtstected. Because UnCle Artbs. is the constable the affair is dropped.^ It is his philbsophy that there are many people^ worldng . : and , : m?iny businesses, going, which rings the play down on a hopeful note. . But that seems hardly enough. There is i good cast; , including" Charleis Cbbum, Cyrus W. Kendall, Dodsbn Mitchell, Lillian vEmersbn^ Milburn Stone and Boyd .Crawford. Latter. three are younger players whb should land. Ibee. Plays Ahrmid (Continued.' ifrom page.' 50.) Arpund the Corner Drama In three acts presented: St 48ih Street, Y.-, Dec. 28, ;'30, hy I^idcwlck Vrooiri; written hy Martlp Flavin; staged by - Be'rlram'.H.TrrisOn; ' i;..7.')- ttip. : ? ' ■ Euhraiin Clark.........;;. ^Dodson MltcheU .Sarah Clark:,,..... .. .Zamah Cunningham Fred Perkins.....;i ,. .<:harles Cobum M.nry T'erklnSi......... .Merle Maddem Ariiofl Perkins...;...-;.4i;Gyrue W. Kendall ,S:il]y.....,;.;.;,...Lillian: EmerSon Ji) .-..'....»;;.;i.'.-,,.,','.;'.-. .Milbuirn - stone- pine,',.. Boyd Crawford Miic.... ., ....;,.,,..,.' .Edwin Cushman .Mr;: Peterson....,.,'....; ,,i. .Frank .T.wcddell. ^This play reminds of the cycle of trpUble dramas that were offered- bh Broadway last seasbn, but- which playgoers stayed aWay frorh.. Whether '^Around the Corner* has a better chanc6 is questionable. Authored by Martin Flavin, piece was .originally presented oh the coast wider the title of 'Sunday*" Considerable revision of the script .Was made, it iS: said, especially the third act, but the story is essentially the same. When it started rehear- sals here the label wsis 'The Good Old Summer Time.' ; It is perhaps; a di icult play writing ]bb to .successfully lure .playgoers into believing that family squabbles are diyerlirig enbuflh for an evening in the theatre, Inlvoduction of com- edv appears the only solution/ Third act supplies' a fair quota oi laughs . prevent them, from landing In the ... , of the scenes takes place in a lady's j brothels of the East, the end of all . and had the first two bech .sb light bathrobm while she's taking a bath;| half-castes. ened the new play might have im- Will" probably help at the b-p,, inl In the second act, when her hus-, prti.sscd. spite of the iact .that it is, if any- band renounces their union nd- , However, the text of this story is thing, one bf the 'clean', spots of the i-scnds her to the boat alone, the im-' depression. A small midwestern show. And that's not intended tb be • pres.sion made is that his is, after qll, town where everybody thinks the a pun. I a Weak character, belying what went George S, Kaufman and Moss Hart on before. At thife end he comes to country has gone to seed completely hardly furnishes soil for a sustained very. stories Emi telling-about him.. Stringer is, actually just a. passer- by with, a' - sense- bf hunior,' whb;: overhearing the Cbnyersation. ber tweeh husband' and" wife tfirbugh- their bpen windbwT-has decided to help a. husband in distress. Didih^^, the wife, is so pleased that . she im- miediately- invites the stranger to stay at the house. Emilio. on the other, hand, knowing the man to be a fraud, since he is impersonating someone who never existed, tries hard to throw cold Water on Didihas hbspitable actions by saying that lii friend is married. Pidina, how i an expansive mood, resbiimds' by inr vitinij the friend tb bring his wife, too... ■'';.: ..' Situiation- is :'further cbmplicated When the stranger returns ivith Emilio's girl friend. Whom he ihtrb- duces to the eouple as his . wife. Frbm then oh a greiat time is had by all. There is a greiat deal of skfiting on thin ice. In the end hus- >r*T^i : and. wife are left h^poilv tb- t/>t>>oi<; -v^rhfievthe -str?>'i^»r ' the. girl friend leave, the field. Heln. LONTANAZA IfDistanflc*) Rome, Dep. 10. Play In three acta by P; 'HiccDra, at iQuf«' rlno theatre, Rome; Panquallho.,-Popplna Do <FlUp,p» Marcc.............if^.'.EdDardo Die Filtppo. Grandmother.'.;Tltlna Se' FIHppo. .JUargherlta. /•>*•••............Signorlna Pica 'tJhcle Gennaro.'....... a.-;...Signer -Carlonl TTieme of this play is that distance lends enchantment to the' vieWi . and that is: abbut all there is to it; When Pasqualino is in Rome «tudying med^ icir^ he forgets hbW boring, petty and constrained Yai life. liad been at the home of his uncle in the prov- inces, and is consumed by'liome^ sickness for his relations, And iti the sanie :wav > • relations forget; in his absence, his. selfishness, bis temper and his iself-centered views.' But when he returns to his tela-' tions all is not as beautiful as every* one had remembered it: To Pas^^ qualino, the family seiems prbvinbidt and absurd, and to them he appears a dandified, citified useless ybung man. Fires of misunderstanding ar0 vi(!brbiisly fanned by Marco, a richr clumsy neasant who wants tb inarry Pasqualino's cousin Margherita. In the elegant yoimg Pasqualino he sees a dangerous rival, so Marco proceeds to make life uncomfortably for him. FinaUy Pasqualino decides to clear out. Soon as he'is ^ohe, the family beconies thoroughly aware of his charms again and Mar* gherita finds she cannot live without him. They all -set out to brihg.hini back into the fold once inbr6. The De Filippos, whb are probably the most noted set-up bf comic actbrii in Italy, snueeze all the laufhi ♦^^ey cani out of, such a banal plb^ Helit* ,- The Astonished Ostrii^ London, Dec. 18, Farce coVncdy Iii three actr by Ar<;hf Menselett. preiiented by . David Sheiintone: staged by Charles. CnrBOh',. at Puke or york'8 theatre, Lpndori, Dec, 17^ '80. Charle*'..Mackenzie 'Ward Arthur Waring... .fiasW KaiUord Mulse Do.Yter,.....,....... Nora .Swinburne Anne Hunter.,..'.:....,;El.speth Duxbnry Peter .Hunter...:,...,..David .Markhani; A pbmpbus, sophisticated play- wright in the eiarly 40s is isudttenly confronted with the fact that he is the father of ia. sort of 17, :grhose mother was a maid in his hbuse. Butler, to save the girl's name, had miarried her, and iis still in the emi- ploy of the iactual father. An interestihg ituation which gives scope for cpnsiderable.farcical amusement Author, however, is ap* parently too inexperienced to prb» vide the ludicrous entertainment, in sufficient quantity for a full-length play, and us. a cortsequience, there are long and tedious patches of bore- dom. . , Rewritten, with the aid of a play doctor, the piecb has possibilities.