Variety (March 1921)

le LEXJlTrMATE Friday. March II, 1921 ?v OUT OF TOWN REVIEWS r<C ^ WHIRL OF THE TOWN Washington, D. C March 9. The program stated Sunday night this latest production of the Shu- berts was a "Huge, gigantic, whizz- bang in two acta and 26 scenes." **tn reality It w& mure of a *huge, gigantic mass" of material, some old—very bid—some new, but all handled well and indicating that sooner or later It will be a good •how. Sunday night it wasn't. It la composed of "stuff" that has got to be put over with a "bang." The opening night, without a dress rehearsal (the theatre being given over to Galli Curci in the afternoon, when the rehearsal was scheduled), the necessary pep was not there. But, then, again the cast nor the producers cannot be blamed for that. , . There Is an Imposing list of prin- cipals. Here it was that the program added to the general confusion, heads nor tails could not be made of it, hence there were many bits that are deserving of praise that most so unnoticed. * The 25 scenes were there all right, and the way the piece to put to- "•svther ft to nothing more than a vaudeville bill. Some of the acta have the makings of good comedy scenes; others weren't funny at all. The final bit, a burlesque prize fight between Jimmy Hussey and Jack Strouse, with Georgie Price as announcer, was funny, cleverly han- dled from all angles. The fight proper was a gcream and the an- nouncing of Qeorgie good material and just right. > There was one outstanding feat- ure that caused a riot—men actu- ally stood up and yelled—namely. Mae West when she shimmied. Miss West simply shook that house from Its seats, as well as shaking herself from her neck to her toes and then back again. This one scene will attract the t. b. m. If nothing else does if it Is not stopped by some "blue law" advocate. The scene leading up to this de- picts the trial of Shimmy Mae, who killed the shimmy In the west. There is a lot of burlesque of police methods, etc. Jimmy Hussey, hav- ing been fired from the police force, aeta up a jail, courtroom and sta- tion house all of his own (scene from "Tattle Tales). The scene goes into syncopation, which was first done in Cohan's Revue. It was fairly funny, but it fulfilled Its pur- pose In working everything un to Just the right pitch for Mae West and her shimmy. The piece ooens In a club, the fel- lows—Jack Strouse. Eddie Hickey. Lew Edwards. Albert Wiser Paul O'Neil. Clarence Norstrom and Clar- ence Harvey—gathered there. They sing and finally, when Invited to go to the theatre of Nordstrom, all dis- cover they have previous dates, it all ending up with two elderly men —Harvey and Nordstrom—going out to see the World of the Town. This Is followed by an old-tlmey bit. "Any Old Night on Broad wav." There is the dip. the dope-fiend, the woman pickpocket, the old lady who It ■ was thought still retained the old-fashioned Ideas but who was a "mighty fast worker.** Next is pre- sented "Shimmy Valentine." Not so very good; In fact, there wasn't a musical number that one remem- bered after leaving the theatre. "Crnndfather's Club" follows next In order, then the scene "Cafe de I'sris," where we are Introduced to .Anna Codell, with her foreign ac- rent and her superb appearance, roupled with a full realization of hurlesque comedy values, the first real laughing fest takes place Aided by Clarence Harvev. who l»lays the old roue splendidly, this delightfully clever artist gave a rouKh'old burlesque In a way that made all like It and laugh every minute. Then comes Hussey. In a class by himself. He got a big reception, has new material, which Isn't much and although making good in every sense of the word he seemed to be enjoying a little Joke that he wouldn't let the rest In on. laughing throughout his work. He ought to dispense with that. Other travesties follow In quick sequence. One or two spots Were extremely vulgar; for Instance, the o'd whispered question to the girl. However, Jnstead of the resultant slap "from*"the girl, this lime Mite goes with him. he giving out-front the wink. That will surely have to go. Miss Codell again has a scene that In spite of her Is the unfunnlest thing ever put on a stage. In thi<* same category Is a scene between Jimmy Hussev and Mae West. "The P.rldal Suite." the old gag of the numberous men callers when the youthful husband leaves. Awful! One could go on Indefinitely pick- ing out the good from the had which the Shuherts must do h»nu before the piece reaches Broadway. There are some remaining mem- bers of the cast deserving praise: for Instance; Marguerite Parrel I. who leads quite a lot of numbers snd who to blessed with one of the I e«st voices yet heard In a produe- r-■•» cf this type. Little Marcia ore leads th*> girls 1'1 f»ll tb« ir Ours cf tlio audience. She is pretty. } i pc'» un' 1 . rt>.nnV heaven', do' >• i \ii ; i>:e r■ ; • ; - \-.y l f t rd \\ \ musical comedy Ingenues. She put her numbers over excellently. Georgia Price does a number of Impersonations which brought him good returns. The dancing special- ties of Arthur and Rose Boylan were unique in conception and beautifully executed, as was one of ..the pre.ttte.st stage jjjct»u*e,s present- ed here in a long time—the mack and white hallet danced by Miss Ruth Hazelton and the ladies of the chorus. The music Is the work of Jean Schwartz, who should not be any too proud of It. The book and lyrics are by Harold Atterldge, whose memory is, it would seem, excellent, but who possesses original ideas as well. The program also states that additional lyrics were supplied by Al Bryan and additional music by Lew Pollock. The numbers were staged by Jack Mason. 'Nuf Bed! Sam Morris is deserving of kindly words on his direction of the scenes, and to the musical director, who is programed as Bixhom, should go the honors of the evening. The greatest burden of all rested on him. There to barely a moment without music, and-wRhout the so neeessary- dreefl rehearwil he held that orehea Ira.and —piny right to the mark, and without any undue rapping, on his music stand. > '' Tfce Shuberts (J. J. to entailed' with general supervision of the en- tire production) have given It a beautiful series of stage pictures and have costumed the girls most charmingly. The show has got to have a lot of work done on It. It Isn't hopeless by any means, and will doubtless be very successful. The full title is "The Whirl of the Town of 1921." Meakin. TOTO. Atlantic City, March 6. Looks like Leo Dltrlchstein has a pull with the censors. Toto, the title character of his new one, pre- sented here at the Woods, is the same suave, Insinuating favorite with the ladles he was In "The Con- cert" and "The Great Lover." Same delicately modulated Intonations of voice in his same subtle compli- ments; same audacity of attack where the girl interests him suf- ficiently; same wry cynicism that puzzles and fascinates the feminines he interests. Toto to a role made for the player because the player has made it for hlmselt The play Is now In its final stages of polish- ing before it is offered at the Bijou in New York. It is caviare enter- tainment. No piece in which the star has so far appeared has been so frankly Parisian. The play is listed as an adapta- tion by Achmed Abdullah from the French of Hennequin and Duques- nal. As a matter of fact, the transplanting has been done largely by Dltrlchstein himself. It is a dapper part, played dapperly, and notwithstanding that in it the star plays a beau of 48, possessor of a wife and a daughter poised for marriage, the manner of the beau's treatment is so boldly done that one accepts the lover of beauty—femi- nine beauty—for what he is, a sentimental rogue. Toto is a rounder. His real name is Count Antoine de Tillols. He is the idol of the cabarets of Paris and one of the best spent i rs at the resorts. Every mondaine and demi knows him. And while he toys with women, many toy" ■ ith him. A drama in Toto's early life pro- vokes his philandering. But this drama Isn't permitted to intrude it- self too sombrely—Just enough to supply currents for Toto's good humor, wit, philosophy. The man is essentially a lover of women, all women, pretty women. Like Lord Byron he would prefer, If possible, rather than the woman to 40 to have two at 20. And women come and go in Toto's life, each costing him something of his purse, but nothing that happens to him affects for a moment his stimulating bonliomie. Such a rounder Is Toto that his world of pleasure seekers elect him king of their realms of folly, a com- pliment to hip popularity. Among his conquests is the hand- some wife of a nominee for public office. We see this splendid crea- ture diffusing her sex charm la\ ishly at a supper given in Toto's honor, and wje | jjgfi..Tp.tc In lb* Qrst .stages of a irew enthrallment. The lady surrenders to the extent of agreeing to a rendezvous. A small matter of a hundred thousand francs helps this amour along. The round.r sur- renders this merrily when he knows It is to pay for campaigning ex- penses to get the husband out of the way on the day of the tryst Toto never keeps this date. His daughter, who spends half a year with her father and half with her mother--the couple being estranged — starts at this time for her mater- nal parent after a six months' sojourn with Toto. T:ie daughter, an idealist, feels the estrangement of her parenti keenly, .she hopes some day to bring them together. Her task isn't very easy, because the separation lias been of long standing twenty years -provoked by the wife'* insistence to live a religion! life Toto, nvonome by re- morse provoked by hie daughter's leave-taking, decides to follow her. Engaged to a young diplomatist, a friend of Toto's, the daughter has vowed she will never marry until she has brought her ' parents to- gether again. The foregoing sub- stance of the play is whipped across in the first act. In the next, at Toto's home, a place of prayers and penance, we see Toto tho prodigal return, be received coldly by his deserted spouse, plead extenuation, penitence, and eventually be for- given, not only by the wife, but by the feminine devotees of her church- ly circle. The charm of^he man, htojngra.- tiatmg gallantry, his winning con- cessions, and withal his smooth. unfailing good nature, attract all women to him. The daughter to rejoiced, the wife amazed. It is a miracle. The wickedest man in Paris has come back to spend the remainder of his life in sackcloth and ashes. The wife at last Is won over. And preparations for the daughter's marriage speed apace, with Toto aiding. An obstacle in- trudes. An aged guardian of the wife's estate has other plans. He would marry Toto's daughter and her liberal dowry to his penniless nephew. And with the marriage imminent and the aged guardian's need urgent, the second curtain falls. But not before we know that Toto's .penitence was a sham. It to only that fee loves hi* daughter and would see her happily married that he. has.returned. He figures that it would coat him but the toss of a month of his gay Parisian life to .bring this about. Then he could go back. And with the dosing of the second act we see him giving instructions for a hurry call for all his legion of fellow roysterers of Paris night haunts to assemble his return. But he does not go back. He is aflame to do so, for the latest ob- ject of his wooing, the wife of the political candidate, to growing rest- less. The third act opens with the daughter married one hour. Toto packs for Paris. A complication blocks him. The guardian influences the girl's sjother to appeal to her church for an annulment of the marriage on the ground that the marriage hasn't been consummated, a privilege In French law. The mother grasps at the opportunity, now that she to alive to her hus- band's feigned reform. The young diplomatist husband in the case is distraught. Toto seizes him. liter- ally, by the scruff of the neck, and fairly pushes him into the young wife's chamber. And* Toto wins, because before the church's annul- ment arrives the marriage has been consummated. Toto becomes penitent again in the final scenes, and wins his wife back a second time. The 'passion- ately loving spouse of the political nominee, haa run off meanwhile with her husband's secretary. Her only use for Toto was to get money to pay the expenses of her elope- ment with another beau. It's all good material, in the Dit- rlchsteln vein. Pruning of some of its salacity is imperative* before New York will take it. Equally, the sponsors need to exercise the great- est car e in their treatment of the religious element involved. As shown here, the mounting involves the exhibition of "certain pictures never displayed save in worship, whose Introduction on the stage in a pkjy of such "high" flavor, can only be regarded as sacrilege by the denominations represented. The cast to numerous, butjKhe parts In the main are all feeders. Frances Underwood as Toto's relig- ious wife and Jean Robertson the venal vampire. Others In the cast are Beach Coake, who plays the In- truding guardian snappily, and Edward See, who enacts the design- ing nephew smoothly. Lee Millar and M. A. Kelly are among others who Include Phoebe Foster, in the trying role of Toto's daughter. . The spirit of the comedy Is con- veyed by one of its lines: "In Paris chastity to a joke.'* WHEN WE ARE YOUNG Chicago, March 9. Y»"Z f Har P. er '- Henry Hull Annie I^url* Brown Alma Tell Nam ••••.. <;eorge Marion Jamison Harper .William Halfour ii T a « ne . r ° rac « R*als Halcyon Day Dorothy Day Leo Marlon r. jf t r> av i 8 On the same day, in Chicago, the Messrs. Shubert offered "When We Are Toung" and "Cognac," respec- tively at the La Salle and the Studebaker. The former has Alma Tell, the latter her sister, Olive Tell. There to much in common between the two, for Instance: Both are short-cast long-shots, both were staged by Edward Eisner, and both are hopeless failures. Both seem to have been snapped together on order, to combine cer- tain seemingly saleable elements and take the same chance that a man sees when he puts a dollar on one number at roulette, figuring he can't lose much and he can win 35 to 1 if he hits. These two look like simultaneous hazards on the single O and the double O, a picayune on one and a Jitney on the other. But the wheel turned 13 and the black, and Croupier Storehouse-keeper will get both; he will probably get both again, for both productions look as though they have seen se- ) ; . =F E elusion before. "When We Are Young" features Henry Hull, George Marlon and Alma Tell. Hull was a hit In "39 East/' which didn't make a great deal; Marlon was a hit in "Toby's Bow," which didn't make anything; Miss Tell has always been a classy lead, who looked well. So someone, must have figured that a piece writ- ten and staged around all that Hull had in his favor as the poor but noble rich boy In "39 East," plus Marlon's character chiseled out of "Toby's Bow," plus Miss Tell's vi- vacious graces, all inexpensively combined, might get the coin. May- be ft i\ tlJHt woiiW, /f 'it were-din-, creetly handled, deftly written, skilfully staged. This creaky clap- trap, shabby, Inconsistent, hollow, phoney, never had a*chanee.. The play, credited to the author- ship of Kate L. McLaurin, not known hereabouts, to a clumsy soldering of both plays above men- tioned. It has the boarding house atmosphere of "39 East," and Ma- rion's bossy old servant with the pure white heart of "Toby's Bow," with Mtos Tell an honest working goil wearing a $200 tailored suit and $25 silk hose. The hero to poor, but proud; he shovels snow rather than live offen his wealthy uncle or take the largesse of the poor land- lady who reveres his family name. When it is time to end the .play he gets a wire that hto aunt kioked d!f and left him enough money to end the play and beg all the questions. A cheesier example of correspond- ence, school play writing .has uot been seen tare since "The Danger- ous Age," except it be the compan- ion piece, "Coirnac:" Mtos Tell, like her stoter, is crudely miscast. Hull, a usually charming and manly Juve- nile, 1s bereft of any surrounding interest and any plausible circum- stances, and, like the rest of It fails to hit true. 9 Marion's character, of course, is fine; so would Eva Tan- guay's be if she interpolated her specialty, and it would have about as much to do with it. The piece hasn't a Chinaman's chance and shouldn't have. Lait. lug her that when they are famoua she, bang their sister, will shine in their reflected glory* Rosario doesj' not want to share in this way, but prefers to win her own fame as pic* tured in the novels of Luis Felipe de Cordoba, whose books she reads and admires. Her brothers leave her one even*. Ing with her grandmother and maid, who presently go to bed, leaving Rosario alone with a book of ro- mance. She tires of reading and falls asleep on her couch. She is awakened by a coming storm. The wind blows the hat of a man on her balcony and through the window she had, left open. The ovrner of the hat followed oy cflmbm'g 'over the balcony balustrade to recover his property. Due to the violence of the storm he is forced to remain there for a while. A delightful scene follows In which Rosario, after recovering from her fright, tells her visitor of her ad- miration for de Cordoba, whose book she has Just been reading, and the man, forgetting about his lost hat, promises to give her a letter of Introduction to her hero and to secure for her an engagement as his secretary. This offers the girl the opportunity to gain her independ- ence her romantic little head has been dreaming about, and at the same time be near the man whose books have fed her craving for ro- mance. How she later rejects hto offer to ' because secretary but accepted his •offer to ♦ b e ca me hto wife on condi- tion she be allowed to dictate the' way one of hto stories running as a serial in a current magazine shall end to delightfully told. The con- summation -to accomplished by the help of the charming qld grand- mother, wty> knows when to fall asleep, and an argumentative and etesdropping mafft to no less de- lightful. The rest of the cast are always In the picture and leave little to be desired except the snoothness that will come with a few more rehear- sals. O'Toolc. A ROMANTIC YOUNG LADY. Baltimore, March 9. Rosario. Mnrtha H*dman Uona Barbita Marl© Walnwrltcht Maria Pepa A <la BoshHl C atallna EI«i« Bartlett LS Mala«ufna Beatrice Bayard The Apparition Francis Byrne Don Juan de Medina Kdward Emery Enilllo Kenneth' Thompson Mario Hubbard Kirkpatrlck Pepe Harry Green Gulllermo -. Harry Dornion Monday at Ford's was shown for the first time In America a comedy, entitled "A Romantic Young Lady," by a Spanish author, G. Martin m Sierra, translated and adapted by English dramatists. Helen and H. Granville Barker, for the London stage, and finally, after Us success In England, brought to America by Charles Frohman Co. and {.reduced under the direction of David Belas- co. with Martha Hedman in the title role. As usual with most good plays they are not transportable from one country to another, and while "The Romantic Young Lady" in its orig- inal Spanish was a good play, in English, in spite of an excellent cast and translation, there are gaps. It is a light comedy of manners and characterizations, inconsequential in theme, and treated with a i entirely different style of handling than we are used to in our successes. It would be all right if the lines were clever, but there are long spaces where they are not, and where, as a result, the play is de- cidedly dull. It must undoubtedly be that good deal of "atmosphere" has been lost in the translation and in bringing the play so far from its true setting. ' ^ While the play is a play of Spain, so the program announces, and all the scenes show the wide balcony associated in most minds with Spanish dwellings, there is nothing very Spanish about it except the nanus and the "Carmen" music played by the orchestra. Only for the back drop the action might Just as well be taking place in London. AVith its quiet humor and refinement of lines it is not difficult to under- stand its success in London. Miss Hedman, with a quaint little accent, not at all Spanish, makes a beautiful but unusual Senorita Rosario with her light hair and eyes, quite a contrast with the usually accepted type of Spanish beauties with dark eyes and raven black hair. Her Rosario was a very charmingly romantic young lady, beautiful to look upon, pleasant to Hater, to. and satisfactory in her reading of the clever lines given her by the play- wrights. It would be unfair to pick out the shortcomings of the cast on their first performance, and while the audience the first night was not wildly enthusiastic, they seemed to enjoy the presentation and appar- ently w. re not greatly bothered by the crudities that are to be expected on first nights. The play naturally was fairly free of these, because of the play being arranged to fit the English stage in its London produc- tion, and the present producers have a finished pieoe to work with, and not a play that had to be newly adapted to the exigencies of actual requirements. The story is slight but sufficient for the most part. Rosario. the romantic young lady, is a ward of her three brothers, Kmilio, Mario, and I'epe, who are always telling v of their ambitions and remind- fr BROADWAY REVIEW } NICE PEOPLE. Hallie Livingston Tallulah Bank head Eileen Baxter -Jo net Katharine Cornell Trevor I^eeds «. .* Kdwin Heneley Theodora Gloucester...Franelne L*rr*noi Oliver Oomstock Guy MUha Scottle Wilbur Hugh Huntley Margaret Rainaford Merle Maddera Hubert Gloucester Frederick Perry Billy Wade Robert Ames Mr. Heyfer Frederick Maynan*" Marc Klaw opened the new Klavr theatre in West 45th street March 2- with "Nice People," a three-act comeTly drama, by Rachel Crothers. This Is Sam H. Harris' fifth Inde- pendent attraction to be offered this season, and it marks Francine Lar- rimore's elevation to full-fledged stardom. The Klaw opens not so long after its founder had predicted the day would come when Broadway would have 100 theatres. This marks the completion of No. 68. This 6&50.OOO playhouse Is admirable in its color scheme of dull gold, green, splashes of crimson and the lights softened by filters of orange colored silk. It seats exactly 820. and the view of the stage from every seat is unob- structed. The seating arrangement is commodious, both on the lower floor and the single balcpny It pos- sesses. There are six boxes In all built In the sloping fashion of tho New Amsterdam. As for "Nice People," it is doubt- ful if Mr. Harris has as substantial a drawing card as any of his three earlier productions—"Little Old New York, ""Welcome, Stranger," or "The Champion." The principal fault with Miss Crother's latest effort as a play is the weakness of most plays in whica the theme has* been too well devel- oped by the end of the first act. If, in this instance the theme has not spent itself entirely In the first act, It does not carry through be- yond the first scene of the second act. which has been sub-divided in three periods, nor does the third act offer anything cumulative In the continuation. The result Is one of severe padding, of telling the story over again in the second act and re- telling it in the third. One of the critics of a morning paper, in leaving after the second act, declared that he knew what the third act would be like, and did not find it necessary to remain. He was ricrhr, Miss Crother's play in its begin- t o ** Leading Makers of Stage Attire \ For Men and Women We costume completely mu-t osical and dramatic prodttC-jj ]>tions, moving pictures, acts.T °revues and operas. 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