Variety (October 1921)

IjUPPIp^ y^ ^V^iVJ*-—-y-'-p^^^'"Tr-r*Tip'Vw^'i:-^"M»'- -J^- ^m^^^ "■*' - ■ !■' 7"=^" -» 7^-_,;T-;ri 18 LEGITIM A TE Friday, October 7, 1921 > "THE FAN" STARTS OFF WELL WITH FIRST NOH-EQDin FLAYERS Opened Monday at Punch and Judy Theatre—^Wal- lace Munro Issued Own Contract — Company Pleases First Night Audience. THE FAN Tresentcd by Wallace Munro; adapted by Pitts Duffield from the French by Robert de Flers and O. A. de Caillavct; staged by Edgar Mc- TiefcYe" Ro«^le Matheu IMerre (a butler) J. J»«kwn Dunn Marc d'Arnot Edward H. Wever Qeriuaine ds Landeve. ««^« Bva Laonard-Boyne Jacqupa de Landeve .... Harold Baalon BJancho Bcitier Beatrice MUlar Garln-Mlclaux (ot the Inatltote), Prank SylTeater Madame Oviedo .... Manaret Dumont Monsieur Ovled^ Horace Jamea l^»ncolB TrevouK I«n Maolaren aiacUe • Vaudr«y Hilda Bpona Hlchel (a fandanne) J. A- Oaborne This opening wat of especial inter- est to the profesaion because Wallace Munro had organixed a non-Equity company and dared preaent it in New York. It is not a FideHty troupe. Some of the members atill carry A. B. A. cards. Miss Spong, the aUr, re- signed from the Bquity. Monro re- fused to issve A. E. A. contracts. He offered his own. He offered parts and salaries and terma, irrespective of af- filiations. He, himself, has none, be- ing unattached to any producers or managers' body. The result,.strange as it may seem to sympathisers of Equity ideals, is a corking cast. None of the players had horns. They behaved about as most companies of white, American, uzfierienced and gifted professional players might be expected to. If Equity thinks the public will notice any difference, the enthusiasm of the first-nighters ^t the Punch and Judy disputed any such illusion. Mias Spong was charming. Ian Mac- Laren. her leading man, registered masculine power and a melancholy ro- mantic vein that was reminiscent of James K. Hackett in his richest' days. E*a Leonard-Boyne provea an m- Kcuue-lead of talent, tact and natural graces plus the refinements of excel- lent dramatic training. Harold Hea- ton, as a beau without affectations, was metropolitan, modern and con- vincing. Frank Sylvester, as an old profeasor, drew applause at several turns through the fine shadings of a character role which he might easily have made aacdiarine odious and un- real. The other players supported these excellent artists admirably. Miss Spong essays a young widow role, not entirely consistent in con- . struction, but always legitimate enough. "The Fan" is really a farce. Its plot has to do with a matured coquette who uses her fan and her attractive faculties to set to rights the love affairs of everyone else, «mbroil- ^ Ing her own, but finally rounding it to ia happy conduaion. There is much ■ action and the laufhs are sophisti- ' cated, sound and loud. The star sus- tains the spirit of her character even wh^n it calls on her to do rather in- credible things. She easily dominates the performance with an outstanding personality. There are to be matinees Friday and Saturdays. With the schedule of eight performances, "The Fan** can draw about $6,000 a week into the limited playhouse. This should profit- ably support the enterprise. One set- ting is used and there are 10 princi- pals employed in addition to the star. If New York cnjoyB French farce that isn't too blue, but which still of- fers a pinch of Parisian salt, "The Fan" should prosper. MasLaren should show matinee strength—he's such a lovable, grouchy, offectionalc brute. Lait. THANK YOU ITaniiah Ilolcn Judnon AllMM MlodKMt DJcklo Woolinan Joe Wlllelts Albort Uydo David Lee • • •-. Harry Davenport Andy BeardHlry' Frank Mct'onnack Mr*. Jonp!i Ali< u .Tohnnon Gladys Jonrs Franrrs .Simpson Monte Jones ... Th<'odorc Wistman. Jr. Diane ICdlth Kins Kenneth Jan\le5on Donald ro.st-r <Torn»'llUB Jainifpon Frank Monroe Leonard IllKKinl>otliatn . Charl's 0,(.(idil(h Abner Norton . . . Dr. Andrew Cobb .Tudffe Il.iBbrouck Hiram Swctt . . . . Jlorfon JoneH . . . . Alfred WalroU)* . 0**Sf»^ • « ort,'<" Schiller William I'ost Herbert Saun'hTH FrerliTJck Mitlcilf, . . Alfro«! Ka ppol'i , . . (Jinir^^o Hpclvin . . . D»"<lie I'alriM r Thank yoti, CushinR. .Tohii Winohrll Smith, Tom (Jolden et al. for n most delightful cvoning in the thputre; thank you for a lot of lauRhs and thank you for several real heart throbH. Also it looks as though audi- enocs are going to thank you in the naiue moasuro for a grea; many niKLt.s at the I^ongacre with putronago, as they did Monday night. '•The Wheel" may have stopped at OO for the Smith-GoMen author- producer combination, but thef^ is every indication that in 'Thank Yon" they have a worthy auccessor to their former whirlwind successes, "Turn to the Right" and "Lightnin"'. If it weren't for the fear of appearing too optimistic one would want to predict that "Thank You" would remain in New York as long aa 'Tightnin*" did, but it is certainly safe to say that it ia going to b« here when Oct. 3, 1922, shows on the ^calendar. That is say- ing a whole lot of any show that comes to the Main Stem this season. In 'Thank Yoo*' the authors, Win- chell Smith and Tom Gushing, have dipped into the rural for the scene of their play. Mr. Smith has always been successful in the past with the rural stuff and it looks aa this time he has not penaed the exception. Gonnecflcnt ia the locale where the three acts are laid In the stodY of the rectory of SL Marks* Ghordi at Denham. The arrwneht of the play is whether or not a mhiister of the gospel can direct the destinies of hia Kriah with hia preachments on the hbath if daring the balance of the week he has to be begging from the members of his church in order to keep the wolf away from hia door and food on hia table. That is the battle that the Rev. David Lee, at $800 a year, had with his hard-shelled Yank parishioners. His bit was $800 and donations—fruit, vegetablea and fmita with an occa- aional chicken, or turkey« That at least waa his status uiitil his niece arrived from Paris. She was the daughter of his late brother. Her arrival naturally caused a stir in Denham, for she brought a couple of gowns with her, and the tablnes of the town immediately started to sharpen their daws and let their tongues wag at both ends. But even though she is an ingenue she is hep to the fact that Uncle David's flock do not take Jdndly to her and think that she ia too mudi of an extrava- gance for them to bear. But upcle aaya that she is the only ray of light that has come into hia gloomy life and won't let her go out to make her own Hving. She stays, forbids uncle from accepting farther donations, and keeps house for him. The Jamieson familjr has been one that has had its root in Denham, but the majority qI the branches of the tree were too wise to remain there and with one exception they have left and prospered. The exception finally passed on and Kenneth Jamie- son, son of Cornelius Jamieson the millionaire, comes on to arrange the funeral details. All that he wants ia that the details be arranged as quickly as possible and the affair over with. One flash.at the rector's niece and he changes his mind and starts to raise tobacco on the de- ceased aunt's farm. Mrs. Jones, wife of the head ves- tryman of St. Marks, thinks that Kenny would be a wonderful match for her daughter and naturally feels badly when he prefers the I*arisian niece. • Mr-. Jones is«the one that starts the general trouble. She hands a scandal story to the paper in a neigh- boring town and * informs Kenny's dad by letter that "a girl from Paris" is trying to snare his son. The story leads to a meeting of the ves- try board which decides to rut the preacher's salary so he'll resign, and the letter brings the boy's dad. The latter is the good angel that finally rights everything. He makes the ves- try apologize to the rector and his nicer, gives his son the right to con tinue courting the girl, and fixes things in a financial way so that tho miniBtor won't have to worry re- garding salary and in the last act in- sists that the girl accept his boy. The authors have drawn a number of New England characters deftly and the piece has just a suggestion of a draggy spot here and there that will undoubtedly be rectified in a short time. In the matter of cast they have Kclccted well. There are 18 charac- ters and they are all played for every (Miner of value that there are in the iiiMs. Harry Davenport as the rec- tor scored tremrndously, while Edith KiiiK u.y the niece, a most difficult »•«»!('. manafEo<l to finish the evening in 11 blaze of histrionic as well as sartorial glory. She started rather badly and in her first two scenes was very nervous, but once she overcame this she hod no difficulty in imprcss- ing with an exceedingly sweet per- sonality. Every one of the players is en- titled to a line on the performances that they are giving. Those in carry- ing the straight story arc Helen Jud- Bon, Dickie Woolman, Albert Hyde, Alice Johnson, Francis Simpson, Theodore Westman, Jr., and Donald Foster. The latter piays the juvenile lead with convincing effect while the westman boy is a great kiddie. V'-" Johnson manages mighty well with the heavy character role as the dis- turbance creator. But among the comedy players is where the real shining lighta are. First of these is Frank McCormack, who has another of those roles as he did in "Come On Charlie." He is a rural sissy who doesn't know what it's all about, but he is a corking housekeeper. He will be a wow to cvcrv audience that sees 'Thank You." George Schiller as the secre- tary of the vestry presents another comedy character that scores and Alfred KappeKer as the head vestry- man, is a hypocritical churchgoer to perfection. He plants his character Etrfectly with his opening fepeech. eslie Pahner as Origgs, a butler, in the final act waa just that in perfec- William Post as a country doctor and Herbert Saunders, the judge, were likewise characters to the life, while Frederick Malcolm and Charles Goodrich presented two true rube types. Frank Monroe aa the dad of the jnvenile did not make his appearuxiit untU the second act and then showed for a short time in the final act, but he dominated the scenes, in which he preaent. Fred. THE LOVE LETTER Michael Townaend Ahem Jullen Henry White Head ^Valter Kdffar Norton Buvene Bernard Will W«at Counteaa Irma ]iIar}orle Qateaon Miriam Chariot, engaged to Bucene. Carolyn Thomson Madame Ctuirlot. Miriam'a mother. Katharine Stewart Rl^h»rd Kolnar Fred Aataire AUAe Moray Adela Aataire Pfflllp Delmar .. John Charlea Thoinaa Waiter Hlllott Roth Buay Boy Roger I)avla Marie. Miriam's maid .... Alice Brady Glna Irma Irving Zena Dorothy Irving Betty Parker Jane Carmll Ambaaaa>)r Toiu Fltapatrlck BEWARE OF DOGS Nick . Gustavo RoUand Mrs. WllUaxna .... Ura. Chaa. O. Craig 0««rge Oltrar William Hodge Florence Arnold Ann Davla Mr. Applaton George W. Barbler Henry Shaw Loighton Stark Mrs. Appleton Bdlth Shayne Mr. Jennlnga Jo*"» Webater Camtlle DuBarx-y Julia Bruna John Wlnford Philip Dttn"hlng liCe Shnbert brought thia play to the Broadhnrst Oct 3 with William Hodge aa author and star. In the latter capadty, or perhaps in both, Mr. Hodge made a speech in which he expressed the hope the abundant applause was sincere. If it were not, he ventured, the members of the audience were good actore. There was need of them at the Broadhurst. Outside of the star, none in the cast seemed to have had Broadway training, even Mrs. Charles G. Craig mishandling a colored im- personation in hopeless fashion. «Bd- ward Eisner is listed as director. Perhaps that explains the misman- agement in direction and the mis- casting. I^iated by his friends as among the ablest when it comes to writing plays and devising situations, so far as memory serves Mr. Eisner always falls short as a director. The Hodge support certainly is unbeliev- able. As Nickf Gustave Rolland stood out from the general, but his per- formance suffered from the difficulty of hearing him and of understanding what you heard. As an author I^Ir. Hodge has fitted the star perfectly. The situations arc neatly devised to keep him plausibly before you all but tivc minutes of the total two hour.«t. And what a lifetime he lives through in those two hours. Until the end of the second act he is the well known and thoroughly misunderstood Bill we have learned to know so well. Then the clouds begin to lift. As the curtain falls the star haa his leading lady safely encircled within his arms, he is re- vealed to his fellow players as the noble fellow we have long known him to be and he has forgiven in "Mau From Home" style the wicked who reviled him. Thus it is as it should be and the show should pick up the provender in Chicago and the rest of the hinterland. Whether it does or not, it will re- main as good a monument as any other to the fearful waste of talent American showmen and the American public impose on one another. To blame Mr. Hodge is to get into a class with Kenneth Mac<>owan and sigh in sophomoric whispers for the mil- lenium. Mr. Hodge is not to blame. Tongue in cheek he has gauged his public and measured success by the American yardstick money, and quite rightly. The man he is is apparent from the fact that year after year he has waded through this sea of .senlimentalily and bosh and still es- caped Uie sticky niaiinerismH many actors and actresses have acquired in the process. Meanwhile, the play shows him aa the keeper of a boarding house for dogs with a sick sister upstairs. Mis- understandings aris^ from a wealthy man using his place as a rendezvous for an illicit love affair, but in the end Mr. Hodge (here known as George Oliver) straightens all tJiis oi.t, get9 forgiven by liis girl and pardons his thieving servants. The usual hokum relief was provided by a sheriff who got soused in the last act after making a great deal of noise in the first two. As the leading lady Ann Davis wa« incredibly stiff and unpractieed, while Julio Itnms played fi vamp hysterically and with a voice that seemed half left in the fly wings, but if this seems valueless on Broad- way, it is not in the sticks. Mr. Hodge knows that. He has sojourned there enough and found it profitable. Leed, No matter what might have been contained in Franz Molnar's *Tbe Wolf," which, according to the pro- gram has suggested the book of "The Love Jitter," the chief interest lies in the extravagant manner in which Charles Dillingham has presented this ultra-modern music play, which opened at the Globe Theatre Tuesday and served to introduce John Charles Thomas as a Dillingham star, 'n . , .^ is an element of novelty in the story, in spite of the fact that it bad a la- borous beginning. Striking for com- edy effects in revealing the nanaiivc might have been supplanted by a more direct telling of the premise which consumed nearly all of the first act and introduced various interesting characters before the "star" waa giv- en an entrance. These, however, are about the only defects in an otherwise enjoyable transplanting of another continental work. The story is really trivial in its,en- tirety but deserves commendation for the manner in which it is treated. It subtly travesties the conventional for- mulae of comic opera and musical comedy of by-gone days and ventures a guess that this very contrary mood of Molnar's was at least fifty per cent, of the fun Mr. Dillingham had in selecting 'The Wolf" as a basis for William J^eBaron's work on the book of 'The Love Letter." In its present version the action begins in a continental restaurant in- troducing Eugene Bernard (Will West) and Miriam Chariot (Carolyn Thomson), his fiancee, accompanied hy the latter's mother (Katherine Stew- art). The prospective bride is insane- ly jealous of every man who shows even a bowing acquaintance with his fiancee and is particularly incensed at her side glan««'s at Philip T><^l!nar (John Charles Thomas) the latest ar- rival in the restaurant. They have a mild scene which culminates in the departure of the mother, the fiance and the prospective groom, leaving Mr. Thomas alone on the staj^e for his first song. Act second begins in the boudoir of Miriam Chariot and after a short visit from her fiance who demands to know what relations had existed between her and Delmar she finally reads to him the last let- ter she received from her quondam admirer and in which Delmar declares that, in spite of his having been packed off as an undesirable suitor, he will some day return, either as a diplomat, a soldier, an artist or a beg- gar and. no matter In what capacity, he would always love her and had gone forth and out into the world to make his name and fortune. Eugene leaves in high dudgeon and Miriam sings "First Love," after which a "fade out*' effect leaves her asleep on a chaise longe and the scene changes to a fantastic setting wherein her dream is enacted. Here Delmar appears to her. first as a soldier and they are surprised in a clandestine love scene by Eugene and the Countess Irma '<Marjorie Gate son) in whose palatial aboile the party is given. The Countess and Eu- gene have nlso been former sweet- hearts but Eugene has not confided this fact to bin fiance. I^ter Delmar appears as a diplomat, and again as a singer, revealing to Miriam in each guise th<i face of the mnn she loves though clothed in different style. Her love is still true at the end of the act when he appears again but this time as a servant and of course one is led to expect that the usual misal- liance is about to occur. But here is where the adroit Molnar has joined his subtle travesty with the philoso- phy of hearts—the girl meets her lover only as a real man—one who has accomplished none of the things he set out to do and after an ami- cable arrangement with her fiance who. through the influence of the Countess will receive some sort of government concession, decides to marry the man of her dreams, sans fame as a diplomat, soldier, artist or beggar, Mr. Thomas is probably quite the most romantic figure of our musical stage today. A voice of such liquid quality is rarely heard outside of the Metropolitan forces and with it he possesses that rare quality—a per.son- ality so likeable that one might eas- ily understand why any girl, would forego a fortune with a middle aged bachelor for the romance of such a youth, Mr, Thomas' career in tlie theatre has been quite legitimate. He first come to notice sonie years ago as a loading man in a summer opera company in Newark N. J., and. if memory serves us, was discovered by the late Edward Temple, through whose recommendation Thomas was pat under contract by the Messn^ Shubcrt. Since then he has created ioms" it was obvious that stardom would be his heritage and judgiQ][ fi<M.. the manner in which he has been pcescnted and received there is little doubt but what Mr. Dillingham has acted wisely in adding the Thomas name to his list of notable theatrical headliners. Another striking notable person- ality in the cast of 'The Love Let- ter is that of Marjorie Gateson, also a recruit from the Shubert forces. Migg Gateson, in the role of the Countess Irma. registers every line and number allotted to her with such distinction and authority. She is especially de- lightful in the rendition of her songs by reaaon of the clear enunciation with which she eulightcuH her au- dience as to the lyrics. The same cannot be said of Carolyn Thom- son wiiu lacks the personality and l^race one might expect from a lead- ing w<fhian. Even this might be for- given for a pleasing voice, but un- fortunately Miss Thomson's voice shows to good advantage only in her meKzo voce tones and these were mightily enhanced by the delicate string accompaniments of the splendid orchestrations for her numbers. Much life was injected into the per- ^ formance by Fred and Adele Astoire, * two delightful dancers with engaging personalities. They scored in every spot allotted to them and the panto- mime work of both was thoroughly enjoyable in their "Upside Down" number which called forth the lion's ahare of the encores. Will West did aa much as possible with thc> comedy of the piece but that is not saying much since Mr. Le Baroti has (lone more for 'The Ijove Letter' by writ- ing some excellent lyrics than he has accomplished with his attempts at funny lines. The situations are prob- ably lacking for uproarlng comedy scenes but that is hardly a good ex- cuse for the librettist to drag in a coterie of hackneyed jokes which have long ago been dilscarded by small time Tandeville acts. ^ The outstanding musiml hit was scor0d by Thomas in the second act when he sang "d^iKonetta.** This compoaition is the only one which campares favorably with anything Jacob! had contributed to the score of **Apple Blossoms." and Inclines one, to feel sorry that Kreisler had not contributed also to the score of 'The Love Letter." Mr. Thomas* fir.«<t song was'hardly worthy, "I'll re- turn to You'* being rather nonde- script in character. "My Heart Beats for Tou," which Mr. Thomas sings in the last act will probably find its way to the mechanical records as the most popular of his numbers in this Rcore. Miss Gateson's numbers included "Scandal Town" (with Mr. West) and "Map. Man. Man," both of which scored very well with an en- thusiastic and friendly audience. There is littie doubt but what 'The Love Letter" can be rated as a suc- cess. Given a gorgeous pro<luction of ultra-modern scenic environmnt with a most imaginative and fanciful set- ting for the "Dream" scene, a cast of pretty nearlv 100 per cent, players and the typical Dillingham chorus of smart looking girls who, however, are not overburdened with singing or dancing ability. "The Love Ijctter" looks like nn entertainment which will please both New York and the hinter- land for many months to come. Jolo. BLOSSOM TIME Mlttl Olga Cook DAllabruna Zo«> Barnelt Prital Dorothy Whltmore Kltal Frnncrs Halllday Mra. Kranx Ethel Brandon Orrta Binini*' Nl< li«!» Baron Franz .^^hob«•r.... Howard MarHU FranE Schubert Bf»rtram renrork Krani William Danfortli VogI Hoy Cropper Kup«lweiBt r Paul K«'r Von Sch^ind Ragene Martin<t Binder Lucius ^Irlr. Brkniann Perry A.«ikn"'> Count Sharntoff Yvan Sorvats Hansy Irving Mel^ Novotny Robert Paton Glbbi* Rose Mildred Kay Mra. Coberg Krba Rob'>."»on Walter IloWard A. li-rman Dancer Murlresa Doitoh Four Questn Gnthuni City Four A musical score of suri)assing beauty and a production that com- bines elaborateness with the best of taste arc* two factors that should con- tribute largely toward establishing "Blossom Time" as a success. Additionally is a story which holds Franz Schubert, the composer, as the centre of interest, and which ha."< a decidedly human appeal. Offset tins these assets there is a vein of "com- edy-relief" running throughout the show, which is more than dull-it ^^ deadly. Elimination of this so-called comedy, or if possible, rewriting it so that it will hold some semblance at least of what will pass for humor represents a sizeable task for any author. If it can be accomplished it v^ill place "Blossom Time" head and shoulders over any of the numerous Viennese operettas thai have pre- ceded it over here. The .Shuberts produced the piece. which had its metropolitan premier at the Ambassador Sept. 21». Tli*' first night show ran parti<ulinly smooth* It had had a preliminmy road season. Those concerned i'J remaking the show from the oripina "" Willner and German include A, M. Willner an many noteworthy roles in. Broadway H. Reichert, who adapted the bof'K; musical productions, always scoring Dorothy Donnelly, who edite<l th** bona fide successes by reason of his adaptation, wrote die lyrics, and re unusual vocal attainmenfp. i constructed it for the English-speak- Since his success in "App^e Bios-1 ing stage, and Sigmuud Romberg.