Variety (Feb 1937)

54 variety: LEG ITlMATE Wednesday, February 10, 1937 Plays On Broadway MASQUE OF KINGS Drama In three acts presented at Shu- bert,. N. T.,.Fcb. 8,. '37. by '.TheatreGuild; ■written by Maxwell Anderson s 'Henry Hull, Dudley Dieses, Martro, arid . Pauline.: Vi-ed- eriek' featured; blaged- by--PJillip- Moeller; *y.3u top. '":,''• Countess (.arisen... .-.v.i*.«'.Claudia, organ. A Maid......, .Vi.,...». .Ca'fherlne..Xiawrehce" Count Taiife.........'..'.Herbert Yost Emperor Franz Joseph. . i vDudic-y- DjKgetf A Servant.-....... v .. ..i. Kolnoff.. i..... Empress 'llxnbeth.,.... Count Lurlscn.... Mnrle Fritz vott Bremer..;:.,.', Louise D'Orsy...-.';.... Loschek.,.......-.■;'.»•;. .s Crown Prince Rudolph.. Brat Ash.. ■„......... Baroness Mary Vetsera. Archduke John...\.. Pierre Chiice .. ...Glenn Anders auline Frederick ■;■". .John : Hoysriidt . ijou : Fernandez .. .. .Alan Hewitt .Elizabeth Young .. .Benjamin. Otis ward Broadley .'..-.Henry HUH .Henry Hull. Jr. .;>,..;.Miirjjo Joseph Holland Seeps..,......; . .•. Wyrley. Birch Ah Officer;-..-.. .FrariKlIn DowhinR. -A Soldier ',,;..... .Charles Holden 'A Soldier:-.,.,. I-*-, ; ■. ;. .v.;; iHobart Skldtnbre Count Joseph Hoyos........ .Lea G. Carroll Theatre Guild's, fourth. presenta- tion /Broadway this: season is the most ambitious yet, but its fine . writ- ing in blank verse by Maxwell An- derson is. doubtful of winning more than moderate popularity. Author set himself a task in re^ vealing, the inner; workings of an Emperor,, the power of such a mon- arch, the drudgery entailed, arid the cruelties, that go with the sceptre. First act/is much too quiet and too lengthy; in /fact; the script might well have been shortened to advan- tage. Second act has some fire, but the third , act tapers and the play ends in tragedy. It. is the stage session of a historic event Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and his son, Grown Prince Rudolph, are the central characters. Prince abhors' the iron fist of his father and. sides with liberals who plan a revolution. It is their idea to seize Hungary,: but there are spies within the young group's midst and suddenly all the} regiments are sent out of Vienna to Hungary. . They decide on. a coup arid Vienna is taken, the king being placed in a cell. But that situation, censored from the press, lasts only a few hours. Nobles are roused froth bed and jailed,: several being . killed. Then the- prince's advisers demand the death of Franz Joseph, saying that, is the only solution. Prince refuses to give that com- mand. He suddenly realizes what it means to rule a country arid de- clares the revolution off. Old man comes forth with full pardons for all concerned arid • the offer to make Rudolph king of Hungary. But the Prince\iill have none of ruling and shoots himself in the same room in which his lover had just suicided. '. • Baroness Mary; Vetsera was his mistress and : it is she who Utters the line that caused talk out of town, to the effect that; a Prince will not give- up an empire for a woman who has been his for the asking. Mary, was tossed Jrt the Prince by the King and. reported back to the throne, until she fell in love with Rudolph. Romantic factor in the play may be' its lighter side, but it is no gay affair. Rudolph wants to divorce -and Wed Mary, Franz Joseph will not countenance that. In the end he be- rates the girl but. when she dies, he realizes they, could not be parted Her death act comes on her .Tjealiza- • tion that. they will be.parted; Soirie fine acting punctuates *Masque of Kings;* still another of the season's costume or period plays. i^edcriW Henry Hull as'the Prince; Dudley , —-'=■'■" Digges as the King, Mar go as Mary and - Pauline Frederick as the : estranged empress, are featured^ First three are given the heavier burdens, with Hull arid Digges split- ting the honors of the. performance; Margo. piquant: as Mary, counts too. •' Fairly ' populous cast includes Claudia Morgan,. Glenri Anders. Her- bert Yost, Leo G. Carroll. John Hoys- radt and Edward Broadley. Jbee. Which.seems a. complete puzzle when viewed in its present showing; be- cause as done here it. is a moving, exciting and interesting play. All credit for which goes, of necessity, to Maurice Evans, a really outstanding player. ; " ' When the records for the season of. 1936-'37 in New York are computed, it will be noted that this was a re- markable session, i Broadway drama in that it introduced to these shores a number of sterling English players Who will linger. Evans played here twice before, once with Katharine Cornell in 'St. Joan'and riot so long ago the. ill-fated 'St. Helena,' on his own. But it is as Richard that he makes an unforgettable stand. And this, too, of course, is the season in which Broadway became acquainted with John Gielgud, Sir Cedric Hardwicke arid Roger Livesey. It is Maurice Evans, practically single handed,, who makes of this an outstanding propositioii. .-When Shakespeare wrote this play he was barely 30 years old and just beginning to. formulate . a . real style. It is an ungainly* long-winded work, fre- quently verbose, more often obtuse. It is thus understandable why it isn't seen often" and why .it hasn't been attempted in New York since Edwin Booth last tried it at jfoe,Fifth Ave. theatre. But Evans makes it live and makes it mean something. Also Evans makes the title role a character of real theatrical interest, It makes pretty dull reading in the school books. But exciting theatre, most of the way, via Evans. This King Richard wasn't much of a. gent; he was a vain, self-conscious, small person. Shakespeare doesn't seem to have had much patience with him. And yet Shakespeare, as read and interpreted by Evans, takes Richard to heart and makes of him a sympa- thetic soul; as played by Evans, one doesn't resent Richard's stupidity arid vainglory; brie feels sorry for his un- fortunate end, instead. ... And the best answer to that is that: Evans manages to make the title role transcendant, despite the fact that the play's actually dominating and. central character is Henry BOling- broke: Ian Keith, incidentally, iri that assignment does iriighty well, but is swept down,in the Evans tidal wave. There isn't room for any. other ac- tor in Evans'. version lof this play. Augustin Duncan, however, manages the John of. Gaunt speeches, excel- lently, "and Lionel Hogarth turns in a style interpretation of the scatter- brained Duke of York. There are practically no female characters in the play, but Olive Deering has a bit as the Queen which- she handles okay. Margaret Webster has done excel- lently by the direction, keeping things moving neatly. There is an exceptionally .. fine group of sets which, for some strange reason, is uri- credited. Whoever devised it, arid whoever devised the lighting (also uncredited) deserves bends. Kauf. only the poet-laureate but also tr minister of finance. Growing weary of exacting duties, his thoughts re- turn to" Frederika and- he goes back to marry her. Again his plan is thwarted, for the duke arrives to offer him the. premiership. It is Ricky who urges him to accept, and Who says she will wait for him. • Historically this . may: be correct; but the play ends there and Goethe's later marriage to his housekeeper is riot, shown. _ ..• . Dennis King gives grace arid voice, to the handsome young Goethe, while Helen Gleason is equally ex- cellent vocally iri the title role. Ern- est Truex, making his. first appear- ance in a costume show, has the comedy .assignment' as Lenz. loyal friend of Goethe.. He manages to lighten the story, but there is no hearty comedy in this operetta, any more than' there is. in : most such. : . >':; 'Frederika' * ; made poetic . by Ed- ward Eliscu, both in lines and lyrics, it being one of his best stage contri- butions. Orchestrations .of. Hilldjn - Anderson and William' Weaver also stand out. iThere is a limited amount of dancing, but one of Chester Hale's ensembles was encored at the open- ing. '' ,. ;... Show has a male, chorus of 18, nc over Used by any means.. .' Miss Gleason's standout number 'One,' is. reprised .several tirnes .dur- ing the Derfortriance. King'^ triaior; solo is 'Rose in the Heather/ 'Rising Star/ sung by King and: George Tra- bert, 'Out in the Sun/ warbled by Doris Patston, George Dobbs .and. Charles Columbus, and 'I Asked Heart/ handled by Miss Gleason, arc highlights of the score. Jbee. BE SO KINDLY ■Farce In.'thiive-adts (four «ce'n.es> by Sara'-. SandbCvg. presented by Richard -. Skinner and Hope Lawder in: association ' with Aldrlch and Myers. ..at.Little. N. Y.. ..Feb. 8; '37; staged by Kenneth : WaeKenna: $3,30 top, ".' y Mr*.. Kadan .:' 1 .', Clarissa Kadan. Delia- Kadnn. . . Mr. Kadiln George Herzois.... Misa .Payne. Bert Kadan.. Shirley Iief|«bwitz; Kdith Martinson.. David. Frledsaih. . . Angela Jacobs . ,Jeanne Oreene, . .Eva.. LdnKborU .Franeis-.-PierloV' ...Albert Hayes ,... Jdn» Dewey , . . . ..John Call ..Edith Tachna . . .Judith Barry . .Franklin Gray FREDERIKA Operetta . In- three acts, presented' at Inv perlal. N. Y., Feb. , '37. hy the Slrubprts; score, Franz Lehar: book and Ivt'cs. adapted by Edward Eliscu; ataued by Has- aard Short; dances. Chester Kale; Dennis Kins, Helen Gleason : and Ernest Truex starred;..SU.85 too. Parson Brton : MaKda Brlon. . . Salomea .....'... I'dstillloti Countess Scholl. KING RICHARD II Tragedy .In three acts (if .scenes) by .Wli- ■ liant.-.' Shakespeare; •'prpschted . ; by ' IPiddie Dovrlliigr and Robinson Smith at St. JmneS; Jf* y.-. - Feb.'-6,. '37; . stni'B.-Maurice. Evans, features -Ian- -Keith; ■ staged, by; Margaret Webster;.'costumes, David Ftolkes; Inci- dental music, Herbert. Mengcs; $53.30 top. ' King Blchara II. John of Gaunt..... Duke of \York.',.■;;;' Henry • Bolin^tbi-olce. 'Duke of. Aumerle.... -Thomas Mawbi ay^.. Burtliy Bagot Green... ,i Earl Of Nprthum . Hfenrjr Pe'rcy..;'.;-.. Lord Rdsg.......... Lord Wlllduphby... Lord Marshall...... First Herald......... : Second Hera Id...... Earl Of Salisbury:.. Sir Stephen Scroop!. Gardener.-; Second Gardener'. . . ; Queen to Richard.. . Duchees.of Gloucester. Ladles.. ..:..... Maurice E vnos .. .. AiigtiStlh. Duncan ...... Lionel Hosarth v. ; .. Jan Krlth .;'....Shpvlinc Oliver ./. .William Tost, Jr. • ■'i ;'*'.-. .John < Hal.lorah- Everett 'Itlpley ... : .no)iert K- Adams' . .Ciinries .'DiiUon ..... .Randolph. Echols ;. y;Brani'.No.osi'h ,.. .Stetiheri Courtlelgh .•.■.■...r.Keyn.oWs' Kva.ns. ... .Lawrence Murray ,.,i.,..Uhys -.Wllll'am.s. ..... ; ....Lionel Incp ...iDonald ita^dolph' . i...- ."Whitford' Kane ...VPhmp TruPx .......Ollye- peering Irene- Ted row a Betty Jenckes, Julia, Lathrop It's an old theatrical truism that; the actor makes the play. There has never been a more complete illustra- tion of that than in this show. One of the least known of Shakespeare's plays, 'King Richard H' has hot been seen in New York ih alhlost 60 years (since Nov. 29, 1878/ to be exact). Jung-Slilllng;. .-.'.. Meyer Ungolbac -T.en/.. ■: .. '. ■ Veylarid , tloethe .......... Herr Gruenwald., Captain Kn'ebel..; Countess Haiin... I.lseiotte ... . .v. .'. Lackey. ."....., t.'ount Hahtt.;..'.-.., Hortense;'....';. '. .' . Jessica Thome... . Arthur Young .'Rose Wlpter .'.Doj-ls Pttston , Fred Sherman TJllta. Torgerson .... ;>l ^len' ■ (i lennnn- . ■. .. Ueurgc 11 . .Charles ColumbuR . .•AViHl.arii Ne'wgoi'd .Kriiest Tviiex ..;';. George Trabert ...... .Dennis Kin-j ,.. . .Karl . cDooald ,...'. .Arthur "Vinton ........Kdith King . ,■... .-Diana Ga.vlen ,. i'Weyi'py Bender ,'..;AVheelnr. Dr.y.dc.n • Mary Jane Barrett . . .Mildred Schroeder Itpyers of the operetta type of mu- sical comedy should welcome 'Fred- erika.' Despite, the fact that it !is dated, there is -enough that is ad- mirable in this presentation to carry i t . along moderately welL ; : No operetta by the Shuberts has been so richly dressed. in; a . long time. No productibn splurge in. the matter of settings, but elaborate pe- riod costuming is. eye-filling and probably the major item in>preseh- tation costs.- . Indications are that Hassard Short, as the stager, had much to do with the : selection of the wardrobe . ?ind the undeniable; class of the show, is to : 'his..-credit :also. Book js kept down, one .factor in favor of the show. Lehar. score is melodious and bleasant, numbers being lively - for the most part, and splendidly sung. Operetta was done abroad iri a num - ber . of cities, • originally about 10 years without especially jm- pressi . ■■'',..; - : . j ' Story is entirely romantic, hayitir to do with the early life" of the great noet Goethe. As a student'he courted frederika, lovely daughter of a par- sort, who wanted her to wed a- rich banker. Soon his fame develops ajnd. on the eve .of ' settling down with 'Ricky/ he is summoned to the court at Weimar. But the court's messen- ger points out. that marriage is. no for him at this time. . '' .Eight years pass. Goethe i This is a sort of series season oh Broadway. First there . were three plays on military schools; two plays were announced on Napoleon, only one of which showed up; there were two concurrent 'Hamlets/ and there were several other such. And now comes the first of two comedies on Jewish life, 'Be So Kindly/ with a second, 'Having a : Wonderful Time* due next week. Except that .'Be So Kindly' isn't likely to be competition to anything much for .any. length of time, .!, Title was switched at the last min- ute from 'In Gold We Trust/ and without much improvement.' Some sort of switching was obviously i - dicated, but. it should have been on the play itself,' rather than merely its cognomen. Based on the travails of the mid- dle strata Jews of New York, those living on the West 80's, there are. a number of sly observations and a few genuine .glimpses of that sector. There are also a few. genuine laugh lines. But there are not. enough of. either to make up for the many dull moments. Mrs. Kadan is interested solely in getting her growing brood well mar- ried, well, meaning financially, of course. Entire family lives in one or another strata of four-flushery with the notion of catching the wealthiest possible young men for the: two. girls and a wealthy girl for. the boy. Naturally, all the plans go amiss, but all manages to end well. Miss Sand-berg. first play authoress, ought to do worth-while work some day if she improves on the strain. shown here and. can manage to avoid common pitfalls. With doctoring even this could have been made okay; Not only, however; was the play not doctored, but it was miscast. Neither Angela Jacobs nor Francis Pierlot ,as momma arid poppa are convincing, y Jeanne Greene is ex- cellently cast as the oldest girl, and Albert Ha#es as her young lawyer catch is .ditto. But. no one els£ im- presses really belonging; John Call in. comedy assignment does well despite, the fact it is mighty difficult to accept: his Irish freckled mugg as that of a Jewish lad. It's a one-setter arid cheap to' operate, with no cast names to worry about. Therefore it micht linger a bit to small coin, but that's hardly likely.. :- <»u/.- AND fiOW qOODBYE Ouine'dy drama in three, acts presented at John • Golden..- X; Y, (frirrnerly M^snue). I:>b. 2, '37. by John Goldoh: adapted ,fmm 'Jaihea-.'.Ullt.nh's novel '..or' same' .name by ■Philip .Hoivurd: Philip Merlvalp Viatre'd.; Mfirguorlta .ChiiiThlll .featured; staged bx .R'relnald'-Bach:.'to|>." '-. Ttev, 14n\vat' Frppinantle.;;'..PhMlp;; Merlv'ale .".^"Margaret- Anderson M a r i p •. Vie B0 f k e r . I .Katliryn .C.o'JIIe'c . .... i. ...UlclilP' T..ing Hilda PlowrJiflit ... .v... Morno'o ..Sinclair- ..•...... I-'dgiir Ifpnt ...;.;...:.l > .iiih,Vivliin '.Mai^uerlfe , nitiirhlll '.'..-. ,...' .Thiitnas. s-il p ... TCdii Helnemann Inside Stuff—Legit Rosamond Pinchot and Sam Jaffe on the Thursday morning department store broadcast over WOR and affiliated stations, spoke for six minutes about 'The Eternal Road'. Statistics and information poured from their lips in an interview with Lawrence Grey, emcee. Script tried for a light touch, but what came thrgugh the loudspeakers, was rapid-fire talking, perhaps too much so for perfect reception at 9:36 . m. Among the inter- esting things revealed was that: Max Bernhardt had a production book of 2,631 pages for the musical drama; the score has been recorded on. two .-sep- arate sound tracks and, for further protection ih case of breakdown, a spe- ial score is on hand for the small orchestra, which playing tor the intimal scenes, in a room under the stage of the Manhattan Opera House/ niUsic piped up through loudspeakiers; the stagehands wear black hoods, robes and shoes, <permitting them to walk out on the stage for scene changes without the audience seeing them, 'Frederika/ which opened at the Imperial, N. Y., last week, is spotted i the same theatre as housed several of Broadway's operetta hits, including 'Rose-Marie', and "The New Moon/ Former earned a total of $2,225,000, inclusive of road appearances, Helen Gleason of the Metropolitan Opera, who is making her legit debut in 'Frederika/ appeared last summer with the St. Louis opera company's 'Merry Wido\y' presentation. On the strength of that showing she secured the present engagement. . r Although 'Frederika' is presented under the name of the Messrs. Shubert, the show's presentation is strictly J. J.. Shubert's venture; ikewise J.- J; had no part in "The Show Is On/ Winter Garden, which also has the plural billing.. ,-- .../'.'-' ! .- '• Lee. Shubert is "still, in Florida recuperating from illness. George Somnes, who has announced- himself as a producer.; with Helen G. Bpnfils Xhis wife and owner of The Denver. Post) is . former stage manager as referred to, but a director. He is known in the Middle West as the director of the Indianapolis Stuart Walker C6 7 a post which he held for some eight years. Or so. Following that he spent several years as a director for Paramount in Hollywood. Prior to his Indianapolis interlude he was known as both irector and actor on Broadway. He still acts occasionally,, laist time being in-' ibel/ Last summer he directed the Elitch Gardens Stock Co. in Denver, where, he met his wife. ; His first production, presented; under the corporate, name of Bonfils Somnes, Inc.; will be Kenyon Nicholson and*RaymOnd Van Sickel's 'Sun. Kissed.' Somnes will direct it; " Gilbert Miller production of 'Amazing Dr. ClitterhoUse/ currently in rehearsal, will, not premiere at the Maryland, Baltimore, during the week of Feb. 22 as previously planned, but will get its pre-Broadway burnish- ing in Toronto. Attraction .could not be fitted' Onto the stage' Of the Maryland, or the adjoining indie Auditorium... In' an effort to make certai that it was impossible to hang 'Clitterhouse* ih either of the two sites. Miller sent Raymond Soyey,.who designed the production,..down to Baltimore to check stage measurements.:, .yerdict was no. Martin Jones, who bought in oh 'Hey, Diddle, iddle/ then: changed his mind, was summoned to Magistrate's Court Monday (8) to explain the check transaction connected with the deal. • Case was postponed one Week at the instance of Frederick E. Goldsmith, representing Anne Nichols, who produced the show. Jones gave. Miss Nichols a check for $5,000, it bounced, tank's notation being that it" was returned on account of, uncollected funds. Mary JYeemphtle .-.. Kllen. „i\. ....... Aunt Vltipy. .... .'. Di'. hlngwimd......... Mrs, VrfPin ntie. Wr. ' Trpvls afi'i Carlit.nd... .,. Mrs. Garland.... rcilfcn'bPlh On:- Waller.;,.....;.,. Miss Potts....... Novels: do not fuinish the easiest material for dramatis's. to work with and the playiyright i emphasized Two writers and' three directors on the 20th-Fox lot are financing the New. York production of Lewv Pollack and Sidney ;D. Mitchell's musical playi'Flicker Follies/ Pollack is coming on from the Coast within a Short time to mate arrangements for a theatre and cast Several film nahies have been pen- cilled in for the cast; Harry Levy, former legit box-office man in New York, who went to the Coast last year, is reported improved after an operation for cataracts, which had considerably impaired his vision. His brother is of the vaude team of Shaw and Lee. Levy was aided by the Treasurers' Ciub, which gives sick members $25 weekly for 12 weeks annually. Settings of 'The Country Wife/ which closes at the Miller, N. Y., week/ will be crated and sent back, to England,; where the scenery was designed and made. . Production was brought over under bond and understood the would exceed the cost of re-shipment fidelity handicaps its . stage effective- ness too much; That seems to apply to 'And Now Goodbye.' . Another barrier for the new drama's chances is its ; .set of char- acters, too many of whom are middle-aged, In the cast of 12, there are only two young people. De- spite the skill with which the story is enacted, it is questionable/ Rev., Howa.t Freehiaritle, iri his parsonage at Browdley, England, leads a placid existence, even though his/duties are exacting. His wife, is wprrysome , and not so well. His only real cbmpanipn is his physician, who tells the cleric he. should get away - to .London for a week-end. That seems impossible to the parson until a minor scandal about Eliza- beth Garland is reported. It seems she was seen enteri in with a riiari. • Parson is | berated By the girl's father, who figures:.- he (the rev. )- rfiay have been partly responsible. All the good man had done was jo teach lizabeth German. Learning /Of her . whereabouts, "the minister visits Elizabeth in London. He quickly, discovers that the other man was just her violin teacher, and also ifinds out the why of the German lesson's.. Girl plans to take more cpmRlete music lessons |n Vienna. Maybe the novel makes it all more plausible, but -; Fre.emantle should have kripwri. that during these hours he was the •' girl's preceptor. , They spend the ' afternoon -and. evening together, gay in their fashiOrii : but quite innocent... When it comes time for him to go, Elizabeth wants him to stay. They talk the night thrOUT'- and. " the mbrni , the reverend realizing they in love, plans elopement. Back i /his study for the last act, the solemn cleric is hailed a hero/ having saved five lives in a train wreck, He fells the doctor the real story, how he and Elizabeth were on the, way to get his visas for the trip to "Vienna, how she left him in the dining car to get their things, how there was a crash and fire dur- ing which she was killed and all identifications destroyed. . Wreck is a story, for the play it- self is much too quiet arid uneventful to catch popular fancy. Second act. which • has Philip Merivale and Marguerite Churchill as the only characters, except for' few mo- ments when a waiter appears, is >>e best. Both are adequate, though riot especially skillfull in 'Arid Now Goodbye.' So are most of the other actors, but the title is nevertheless better "than the. play. Jbee.. THIRSTY SOIL Drama.'. In' three nets' presented at' St.. y.. Feb. 3. *»7. 'by -E; J6h.i In assoc iation with Bll«s-Ha>den; by Raymond Bond; staged hy Hhn-y den. Silos Warner,\ . .. Mrs;- Warner,,..;. w.... .-. Mntt "Warner; ..;.,.... Mlily. Warnci-i..'."......;,>...: I.uUe' Warner.-. ./'... Mr; Hurd...-.:';. Prl rose;-Hurd Last winter, when Broadway was starti ' its- little Tcycle . of misery' dramas, Beverly Hills took on one at the Bliss-Hayden little theatre. It- was the. same .'Thirsty .Soil'; which now arrives on Broadway, where"' has no more indicated chances than the Others, 1 or its. immediate prede- cessor at the ,48th Street—Around the Corner.' . As a little, theatre play, Raymond Bond's tragedy of the drou"ht area is believably effective nd scorns, possessed of more dcama than . (Continued on page 62)