Variety (Nov 1945)

50 IJWITIMATK Wftlurwlay, Novemlwr 14, 1*945 Plays on Broadway The liiil»«<h TIm- soil Rolif.fi liii mi mul (i l.r;l„ iln-pe- To i n n .Mi' ill'l' V lit' I \. V.. Heverl l.'irrlf O 'jii'Vl! nliWn. ■I Hi-vi llynmn soul li'Tiiiii-il Hurt (in villi Jinlla Siwjilavii) iuw[ih- ip| liii'Hiili'Hinn V»o SK'init'l I'.v r.. l'Vniiui-s I'Timtivs iii-i'. iililssohn. : lti'i'.l Ki'nVu. Ji.. SlrlROl ll.v Hons .Min i; inilyri .NV.v. II..III •(I . lof. ilc()u ..lllliilil.i ,<:ni.'i-,C . I vii ll Sin II MlMl.lrtsso .AltivM'l Hit: li'l.'n S. lUll 3 iv null ii|iin Maybe femmes will go Cor the curi- j oils. ' melodramatic "The So/ret I Room." but.it'll probably have ii lim- . itfcd draw. There is plenty the mat- ter villi the show. Joseph M. Hyman and. Bernard | Hart are presenting their second at- traction; Thev clicked with -Dear Ruth." a lauuh show. This one. also, | stayed bv Moss Hal t, who worked on i the' script; too.. is anythini; but es- capist. There are moments calculated i ■ to be spine-i liiUins. but on the whole it's very hard to be.Heve. Ats6_viery .| ouict-—and often dull. ; ' Story of a demented refugee, a vie- i tim oi Nazi atrocities, is unfolded ! principally ,'vki two women and After an absence of 15 years from the leait suuje. Spencer Tracy has The kids are returned to Broadway as slai of the thl . 6Mgh too much, of the new Robert E. Sherwood play. "The Rugged Path." produced under aegis of the Playwrights Co. The produc- tion auspices, the Sherwood tag. the anticipation Of Capt. Garson Kanin's initial directorial job"'since his sin-v- ice discharge-, along w ith Tracy's re- entry into legit, were all of sufficient merit to bring out the season's top audience for the Plymouth theatre preem (10 >. Thtf pic star is turning in one of the crack performances of the still-embryonic legit season and on the basis of the Tracy billing. "Path." despite its inadequacies as a play, should make a run of it. Ofie flaw with Sherwood'* play (it had undergone considerable revision during its tryout period, with Tracy at one point ready to' walk out due to script differences) is the 12-seene structure (with seven different set- tings) which, despite a revolving stage, tends to disrupt the sustained interest and breaks the continuity of thought. Basically the two-act play is a delving into the whys and wherefores .that make its protagonist (Tracy) a skeptic and robs him of faith and hope in his country and its people. Unless Sherwood had re- sorted to sheer talking, it was nec- essary, since the author is treating with a complex, thinking individual, to unravel his character by a mul- tiplicity of steps. This Sherwood ac- complishes by the numerous scenes, but because of the physical problems the manifold changes present, the structure of the play itself is greatly weakened. ' '-■ '■; Sherwood is concerned in "Path" in finding the common denominator 'that will-enable a publisher, a busi- ness manager. • a crack reporter- turned-editor, and his wealthy and sophisticated wife to understand why th performance. Too precocious, it isn't natural for them to turn on their attractive young mother, Susan, wife of a psychiatrist who's in the Army. She's a portraiturist. spending most of the day in her stuido. Leda Perron! is 1 the refugee brought to the house by a tte Jack- son, who is aware of the woman's neurotic condition, to take care of Susan's youngsters. It doesn't seem normal either tor a physician to do that but he believes Susan's husband. Dr. John Beverly, will correct Loda's mental quirks. For that reason he has a notebook in which the refugee's experiences are detailed! • This infuriates the refugee, who smothers Jack'on with a pillow. That, deed is seen ',y the two kids, who emerge from what is supposed to be a secret room. It's hardly believable that the children could keep the homicide a secret. Nor is it believa- ble that they know about the secret room while their mother doesn't, al- though she converted the country- house from a shambles. < - Leda's mental trouble stems from forced prostitution, from which there was a baby, taken away from her. She yearns to kidnap Susan's newly- arrived infant and decamp with the other small girls: Hard to believe, too. that a strange woman could wean the kids.away from their affec- tionate, mother, whom the refugee attempts to suffocate after the note- book is found. Four of the east are featured, but Reed Brown. Jr.. as the young psy- chiatrist, and Grace Coppin have lit- tle to do.. Eleanora Mendelssohn plays the strange Leda/her selection being another error because she talks with a Germanic dialect thouah she's supposed to be Italian-born. Frances Dec. from Hollywood, is making her war was foucsht and the urgency ! i; i of planning the future. Shervvood Bl ^ v - a >" debLlt aS 1,10 y0l '" S doesn't raise any banners: he never 1 mo,m '' gets particularly hot or takes sides: in fact, he puts nice people on both j sides. He has them mouth some trite | and mellow profundities thatTwrfdn'i I have been too startling even hud the play emerged during the early- war period, when the conservative- I isolationist elements were holding j sway. He does use the word com- munist once or twice, but it's all pretty incidental to the emotional | development of the ill-fated hero, i Even though there's one scene where I Sherwood manages to wrap up some choice words that result in workable idealism, the writing on the whole, particularly the dialog, is uninspired. For a man of Sherwood's stature. "Path's pro-democratic vs. pro-fas- cist thinking is reduced to a sim- plicity that's almost immature. From an emotional standpoint, the White Hons:-, the improvised American flag, tho sinking of a .destroyer, the battle scene in the Pacific'title highlighted episodes of the play >—none of these can do much to raise the blood pres- sure. The Playwrights. Go. has extracted everything that the play has to offer. The casting-is uniformly fine, topped, of course, by a Tracy performance thai is sensitive and finely wrought. H : s restrained manner of delivery is perhaps suited to.greater profundi- ties l.han Sherwood provides, but hi* interpretation makes the hero at all times understandable .and sympa- thetic. Martha S'eeper as .the wife who couldn't (it into his scheme of things turns in a performance that's tuned to Tracy's tempo, while Clin-, ton Sundberg. Lawrence Fletcher. Clay Clement and Edward Raquello. among, others in the large cast, pro- vide strong support. Jo Mielziner's flock of settings j merit attention ! in themselves. They're authentic and painstakingly detailed. The Victorian replica of j ..'! the publisher's office, the below-cleck , scene on the destroyer, the beach- head in the Pacific: a suburban liv- ing room—all these are a tough'as- signment for any designer, and each is captured realistically by Miel- jiiner. Rose. She is attractive, believable and definitely belongs. •/bee. Aim* Y«mi Willi ll? HI'S W. <i.'..l CJ .ll.lllllll Stevens-Casey-—Round 3 '•". Chicago, Nov, 12. Round three in Chi's "Battle of the Drama Critics": Herald-American's Ash ton S i e v e n s came out swinging' last week 'with the following philippic vs. Bob Casey, aisle- sitter for the News; "The playwr.iti.ng of 'The Winter's Tale'-' bespeaks a tired Shakespeare and begets tired critics, with the notable exception of Colleague Casey, now back at bat. whose eloquent reconsid- eration of the actors \vorking on it would send me panting to the . boxofTico it I had not been among those present in the Blackslone last Monday night."' It's a book which falls apart some times but the production .--auspices', cast and Iunes put it together in gooct shape so that tile Broadway custom- ers wiil be "Willi It" for some time to. come. It's a costly show which doesn't quite look its reported $200,000 in- vestment but which is: replete with spud, talent, particularly the cast. They're the convincevs so that when the libretto gets loose betimes, along comes a Lew Parker or a Jane Dulo to plug the holes. • - . Joan Roberts heads the cast. She's the original "Oklahoma!'' .ingenue, latterly the femme lead in "Ma- li nka," and truly bespeaks star tim- ber in this entry. She carries the burden well on her capable young shoulders, singing effectively and trooping like an Equity vet. Johnny Downs, somewhat milquetoast as the quiz-kid '.wis: of the Hartford in- surance company who switches a decimal point and tries to hide his shame in a carny company, is a sturdv juvenile vis-a-vis. Per usual he hoofs well and generally deports himself well. Lew Parker, who has done so many Bob Hope road companies in the past that he rates a "road", to the boxofliee himself, proves his vaude vetcranship the way he works as the goodhumorcd carny glitter. Dolores Gray is a surprise as a soubref in a brittle role, with a touch of Gypsy Rose Lee in one of her vocal rou- tines. She's wolf bait, as cast, and registers all the way. Jane Dulo (erstwhile Dillon, in the nileries). the fast-stepping Duke Mellale. the amazingly acro-dancing Lou Wills. Jr.. the dusky June RicHV mond and Bunny Briggs' with their Harlemania. Jane Dealing's ballet specialties and the Buster Shaver midget act are all standout. Hal Hunter, nee Jack Powell. Jr.. moos With his pop's standard comedy drumstick specialty, plus a little shears rhythm to boot. The 21 scenes make for kaleido- scopic action into which Kolimar and Gardiner have dovetailed their spe- cialties well. Sam Perrin and George Ealzer. who used to script for Jack Benny and Fred Allen, have a seu- erally bright book. sometimes puftohecf-UD with sock nifties, though occasionally the specialties clutter things up. It's a matter of an editing job. Opening night curtain ran late despite minimum of encores. Miss Roberts, at least twice, almost stopped the proceedings. The Harry Revel-Arnold Horwitt tunes are bright, with at least four outstanders. notably "Slightly Per- fect." "When a Good Man Takes to Drink" iMcHale and Wills start the first of the challenge dance routines herd. "This Is My Beloved." and "Here I Co Again." Miss Gray has a good specialty in ! 'You Gotta Keep Saying 'No'": Miss i Richmond, foiled by the fast-stepping Bunny, Briggs. registers: with "Just I Beyond the Rainbow": Miss Gray and Parker click, in "Cpzy Little Collage s also a good- circus ballet nice first-act Plays Out of Town TIm> M«>rniaii«l« Kinging New Haven, N°v. 8. Alfiv.i a,. T.Ihkiv. .ii-.. luoiiiiiiloii of coin- I'.lj-lll'llllKI hi lIllTf lU'l.s, sovoii : fUTllllS. by .loini vhii Dniifii, l'Viiiiiivs. wmi-i' til'lHla' hidanni, Hcnih-iiv Umilm.ii. I.ols Wil- tioii. st.iisi'il 1..V inn liiiiti'iv: «.'iiiiii!s. K.'iy- ll.oii.l SOW}. tt|*iijM Sluilii-il lliriilre, Ni iv lliivi'ii. N.'i. S. 4Sj Sn toi), rioiiiwii wini'i low....-,; ll.oi'i;.'. Kt-ritin i.v.i'i:i«iiii. Tlrui CiwIIk... ... Ii,... rtsiuhi'ws... Ml'S. -.InllU'K. .... Mil Mr I'l-olV'ss l.llUl.T KUI.liv .\ Will A I ':.|.' A III III A Hill A Mini A l.ii.l} . . ... . Wiilli'l' Ali.'l Aaliiir iiiWIn .'.-:.. ;.».ti(n W ilson iillin'' Sln.iki'y '.Hwilfl.M. I'.'lilsllll .. .. ..rumi UofTllliru .. . .Krli'ill. ■ Ini'scort Hum I iv in*- . ,"„..liicl( .MiiiVulllK illniv Wi.l.l.'i'ollllu' ...... I 11 l.'l.l lll'S . , .T I.nvi'li- .'. ;.,, . I'-runk Lyon . .., .. I >li.!T StMTHI fiiivta vim. w inuii' . . Kll.-n SoiillilMOoli ti .1:. ll of Tomorrow." There htrmdre.d satire on ; which makes . for a finale. - Tiptop on dancing, domiiiantly a terpin; eostuiiiing is a disappointment. Some- how the execution of a Raoul Pene DuBois designs never came off. al- though something novel was aopar- rcnily soXlght. Abel. is the u< iti.'iiiin ..lohliliv SICIi MiW,t,.il .1.-.n . . . . l iolliiVi. Ci A ilr Ti»«. ItiHi Full |Jf«» . ii. S Ii; ''J In...,-. Si:,,:. .Iu.ll,|, ,, | \ :iKliii:i Wrlnl.-i .-in,i i .u.-.l I.I ill,. |,.,„, Isi .Mini, 'ml M„> l,v \-i I'l-illll, 'I'..?..' Pre-Broadway gandeV at this new-, est John van Di ulen work leaves the impression that "The 'MiM-maids" are singing slightly off-key—-somewhat on the monotone side.. Tame recep- tion accorded premiere emphasized unfulfitlment of anticipation and pegged the play as only moderately appealing. As a film possibility. plot revolves around condonation of adultery; hardly a subject for picture exploitation. . Actually... there is no reason why playgoers should compare "Mer-, maids" with "Voice pf the Turtle." but they will. Despite the traditional dawdliiiK associated with the tprtoise. "Meriiiaids," even with considerable improvement, will never overtake, or even approach, the turtle now running on Broadway. A not-too-original theme, being the story of the middle-aged spouse who is about to have a fling with a young sir! to prove to himself that he is Still in the running, necessarily .relies on bright lines to sell itself as com- plete entertainment. Present status shows shortcomings in this depart- ment. While dialog does contain in- termittent gems; lines as a whole are not yet smart enough, to go to the head ol the class. Van Drulcn's flair lor -clever doctoring may remedy this situation before the show hits Gotham. Walter Abel doing his first stage chore in six years, plays Clement Waterlow\ successful playwright whose latest opus, a script approving adultery to a "reasonable" degree. 1 has just rung -down its out-of-town opening night curtain. Youthful Dee Matthews and her ensign fiance, whom Waterlow had ensjaged in con- versation while the play was oil. visit him at his hotel and Dee is overwhelmed by the glamour of meeting her first celebrity/ A sub- sequent rendezvous at- a hotel bar, inadvertently witnessed by a gos- sippy family friend. Mrs. James, causes Dee's mother to invite Wa- terlow and Mis. James to dinner in order to stop the letter's tongue from wagging. The dinner parly is a painful af- fair that causes Dee to kick over the family traces and plan a Greenwich Village existence in New York ill order to fulfill romantic desires with Waterlow. Playwright, who is con- tentedly married and the father of two girls, thumbs down the arrange- ment, (despite; a personal urge to have the girl. Abel gives a consistent sincerity to the Waterlow role, alter overcoming eprly nervousness. Beatrice Pearson plays Dee with Considerable charm and understanding. Frieda fnescort lends dignity as Dec's upper crust mother and Lois Wilson puis veteran skill into, portraying a second-rate actress who goes in for her occa- sional amours. Jane Hoffman regis- ters as the gabby Mrs, James. Harry Irvine contributes a competent bit as. her stuffy husband. Jack Manning gets a lot out of a socially-conscious soldier bridle. In the absence of action, staging has emphasized conversational ex- changes, some of which require bol- stering. Sex is discussed quite frankly, at times amusingly.. Dialog has not yet reached the point where it can carry the heavy burden placed on it.. Production is of the first water from visual an^le. Sellings are ap- propriately colorful and decorous. Feminine apparel is swank. Boue. is not a good play, which adds un again as a matter of Miss Barry, niore's personal draw, ■ previou'slv proved more potent than Tier mate- rial. This Philip Barry opus over-sim- plifies the case of a large Irish-Amer. ican family that has gone to pot spir, itually without the leadership of the late parents and the elder sister vvlin .became a nun. When the latter re- turns for her first visit she finds all of them changed, in marital troubles and other muddles. Her mother's will gives the nun the choice of the house in Back Bay or the farm on the Merrimac river where the family spent many happy years. At first the brothers and sis- ters, led by their banker-adviser (Frank Conroyj, scheme to dump the country place and retain the city property, but the nun sells them oil the idea of attempting to recapture their former happiness on the farm. The transformation is pretty hard to take within such a short time. Unnaturally capsuled, too; are the domestic troubles of the nun's favor- ite sister (Mary Welch) and her law- professor husband (Craig Kelly ). the confused younger sister (Patricia Fargo), the radical son who has grown cold on his adventure in com- munism (Ty Perry) and the brother (Hugh Franklin), who married a convert (Elizabeth Dewing), The play rarely generates warmth, and the times it does are when Barry treats the human side of religion. There could be more of that. If the playbill didn't say So. it would be difficult to figure that the family de- picted is Irish-American. ;, Miss Barryniore takes over when- ever she is on. and much of the time when she is off. The nun's habit . focuses attention, of course, on her face and the celebrated voice, and regardless of the play's demerits she is as much a champ as ever.. The supporting players make themselves felt. Conrny does the banker-brother, a more superficial character than he normally plays. Miss Welch is a standout as the troubled married sister, and Kelly is slightly stilted opposite her. There are interesting performances by Miss Farao, Perry. Miss Dewing and Qlice Dunbar as a second nun. Arthur Hopkins' direction and Robert Edmond Jones' set are ortho- dox. Elem. UuoMfv. I! USUI-11 Tlii' Pnssing Mmmv Hartford. Nov. 10. isis. Sliulipii liroOiM'IWui ,,r ,,-,|],. n ls (U m-i-iii'.si. sons .willlfi llinvih- Sun K.i:ii.. IToM,v .Moil-is in, tj- I.i Kill, CI:, (ill Join I,. .Ill, I'll I'l M: Sir/i iuif c-.-ii .r. IVlmv 'lit.h <.-,v,-,i,,, B H. CI, • i-. .till,... Mo, V.ilPuliijf. inn : ilfiiitnv All.., Mil) .liili'in; .I lion Minis • lot l llil.s . Vlvlin Cms-. I.h l*.,'"i ,■ I,• *i, II.. • Lmi-iU r.'ii-).,-, i Wi'l'l, •■>. ■ ir.; *::.,:,, ,,. ' I'VUliltli., A,..ih..| |, f .'lnvi,' irl.-l., I.:.,!<:..., Miss JI, llnill,. sultlni:.. I: ,i in,. ii, I..tin lioWfii, N. V.. .Vot . ...UniUll, l-M-l, :■'•-- ' I'' liut.1.' .... K.liU. M...IS,- ... .Viiclnln Wi.lllli' ... .S.'iu.l,,, IIoIiiri .... I 'i ".li'i li I'ttiuT .I'',,,nli M. TllonV, ..,!.',.iiilinn li,,,,,,:, .....Am. SI,,.,-,„.-,,,,. !!' Till' .lovous SeilNOII (REVIVAU ' Bridgeport, Nov. 9. I'Mil ,'.l tl .iloni .-. KililH WillSn, .Moil on . "Are You With .ItV" is a carnival term and the libretto has to do with an insurance, comoan'/ statistician who joins a ucai'-Comiecticut carny. "The Rich Full Life." despite a crack directional job by Gilbert Miller, its producej;. may be okay with the distaff side bul is not indi- cated to be a stayer. Novelist Vina Delmar. whose "Bail Girl" proved fairly .successful years ago. has failed to repeat. Play tells a small-town. story of an average household. Author etches some at- tractive characters but does not bulk! up her drama, which finales (Continued on page 52> .vhiinii K i'liii ii.i,. HllKli li'i,, Hots. I'-.i, Ifnttii'i, t' .tofin l--i.il K.lill, ('!„ Sr. Alois .Ti IV IV l'„ .....I'Vniil; Con . KlWliliflli ,1.,'tv ..KilM'l Kiiliym nli.-,' Un,, '. . .1.1(1,', . K This one lasted only two weeks in its original Broadway stand dur- ing the .1934-1935 season, with Dor- othy GiSi, as lead, Now the play has Ethel Barryniore as the mother su- perior who comes home for a Christ" mas Veunioij with her- Back Bav. Bos- ton family, It is a. good part, but it j ! Back in 1912 the first -Passing Show" revue was presented by the Shuteris at the Winter Garden on Broadway. Latest and ltith edition of "Passing Show" has one thing in common with the famous first —Wil- lie Howard was starred in that diver- tissement as iii this one. Vet come- dian has appeared in practically all I "Passing Show" revues produced by the Shuberts. who are also putting on this one. \ Much surgery must be done for this show. Actually, it's just a' re- hash of bits from a series of old shows, taped together rather lightly- and poorly. Tunc lepartment is a notable weakness. . Show opening night (Friday i ran. over four hours and indicated an urgent need of every type of plasma known to show medicos. Revue in- dicates insufficient preparation. Sec- ond night ran an approximate three and a quarter hours, with some skits and musical numbers eliminated, Show's chief advantage is the com- bined array of top talent. Layout , noes on road instead of heading for j New York, with no intent-inns, of bringin'e it to that area until after the New Year., if then. : Howard is still able, to lay 'em in the aisles with his bawdy humor and mugging. It's no trouble lot him-to sell, even if it's old stuff. Augment- ing the humor are Sue Ryan and Bobby Morris. Latter is out of bur- lesque and/ quite at home with his material. Their uuffobnorv is solid and the stub-holders take to them. Both do-some dkoh voealling. . Providing some of the punchiest selling is the team of Masters and Rollins, eccentric dancers. Latter is a. tall, gangly gal whose mugging- torso twisting and limb-tossing pro- vides a ton of merriment and is a show-stopper at one point. Their (Continued on page 52)