Variety (May 1922)

Friday, May LEGITIMATE GO EASY, MABEL Atlantic Cily. May S. •'A F*arce with Music" is urobably th« best sub-title for "Cio Easy, Mabel," Charles Gcprge's new play which had its premiere at the Globe Monday. The grcatCHt single inci- dent Is the return to the American leeitimate stage of Ethel Levey, the international star, who plays the Stenographer in typical Ethel Levey fltvle The story deals with the unhappy -Ircumstances of the Sparks after their marriage, which their friends ..thought an ideal one. Estelle Win- wood as the discontented wife who has loHl Interest in her husband, and William Deming, the husband, whose affections for his wife are not as they should be, are led into a pjot by their best friends in hope that tlie lost love may be revived by Jealousy. Tessie Clairs. the intimate friend of the wife, suggests Ted would re- sent a flirtation and that he would *lake a new interest in friend wife. ■"But Estelle was a bit shy for f.'ar that it wasn't safe until Tessie 'mentioned the name of her fiance. George MacDonald. whom she trusted beyond doubt and was sure NEWS OF THE DAILIES the stairs "by a ghostly presence " The third act is laid in the haunted house," which. It is dovel- opcd, has been secretly rented by the fewami. Hore for the first time it is shown that he is a charlatan. The hero and uncle come doing amateur detective work, and the "ghostlv presence" on the stair la discovered ^,^ "• It^»*ris denies CJrant to be an electric apparatus The ^"tchell will appear in a plav »-n- Swaml is finallv overcome through I ^'*'*'*^ 'Footsteps" under his man- the efforts of his servants, who do- ^'^e*''"^"*- Max Marcin has accepted for pro- duction a new comedy bv Aaron Hoffman entitled "Oive and Take," to be produced in the Fall. probate on the grounds that insuflfl- cient evidence was submitted to prove that Mrs. Henrietta M. Ten Eyok had used undue influence upon him when he drew up Iho doeumtint. Mrs. Ten Eyck, a friend, secured one-quarter of the estate and his individual estate of $25,000. serts, his master and protects the girl. There are enough thrills in this act to make up for the lack in the first, and th presence of two "ghosts" elicit the shrieks afore- mentioned. A silly rustic comedy relief was the act's main flaw. Since its opening "Haunted" has been changed quite a bit, it Is un- derstood, and the part of an old mammy has been radically cut. It Is said that in the hands of Lucille I^ Verne this iK'Jrt dominated at first showing. Although lu^r name was on the program, she has left the cast, and the role is taken by Norene Pollock, who was only fair, despite some fat laugh-making lines. It Is a direct pattern on the V'okes role in "The Bat." More questionablo comedy with an apparently effeminate reporter In that he was perfectly safe. George j the first and lecond acts was also has noticed the difference in the Sparks since their "Carriage. After much questioning he and Ted agree to a plan very similar tt the plans made by Estelle and Tessie. except that a stenographer was to be hired by Ted. supposedly to type a new play but actually to vamp him. Miss Levey as the stenographer didn't confine her vamping to Ted alone, for as lie story goes on. his father-in-law. Edward Drenton, falls for her. as does Bruce Drenton. out of place. IJeatrice Hendrikson as the heroine was charming and capable, but she completely stepped out of her part on several occasions, notably In the first act. when she gave indication of a great love for the youn? man which her lines did not call for. The work of Effingham Pinto a.s the Swami's servant was outstanding and Bernard Delaney was a more than usual'y unaffected and personable hero. However, as now seen, Edeson. gorgeously the son. The situations arc much I dressed aa the Swami. ru'es the complicated and humorous. Miss Levey, carrying the heaviest lines, with Miss Winwood. pleased the opening nighters muchly, as did James Marlowe, who played Mabel ' Sparks* father. Eileen Van Blene as Te.ssie. and Arthur Ayleswo^th. her fiance. descrve*mentlon for their roles. Mr. Aylesworth was espe- cially comical during the many nervous moments. Others in the cast include Russell Mack, who pleases with a mellow \oice and a specialt.v dance number, and Mar- garet Dumont as Mrs. Edward Drenton, who has the only serious part. The chorus, though small, can be numbered among the best hero in * many moons. Every girl is un- • usually pretty and can sing and ^ dance. J "Go Easy. Mabel.'* and "Oh. t * Papa." seem to be the outstanding musical numbers. They make one " tap one's feet and want to whistle. "A farce with music" explains it all and will make its strongest appeal to married folks. Scheucr. HAUNTED Philadelphia, May 3. It is understood the author, Will- 1am Hurlburt. does not wish "Haunted" to be styled a mystery -^lay. The fact remains that, as re- vealed here Monday, * Haunted" be- longs distinctly to the "Bat" school, and was so commented on by most of the dailies after its opening at we Walnut. The reason for Mr. JlUrlburt's feeling on the matter is not explained, especially since he •eems to have set himself to the t««k of patterning after more fa- ttous examples of the "Who Is Guilty" school. "Haunted," in three acts, is late in jetting started, but having done so, becomes a cracking good yarn, with •reepa enough to make two women ■hriek out at the opening night per- lormance, and that ought to please . the author of this kind of a play gore than fame down the ages. Mr. Hurlburt is unusually lucky in hav- ing a cast of extraordinary merit. In tlmost every . art there Is a veteran Of personality and ability, and they read life and vigor and thrills into lines often banal. The setting of "Haunted" Is Greenwich. Conn, (says the pro- gram), and concerns Elsa Carroll, a young girl much impressed by the arguments and beliefs of an East Indian Swami, Some Jewels dl.sap- Pjar and the Swami locates them thy means of a crystal) in the pos- session of Elsa's sweetheart, who protests hia^ Innocence and deter- mines to unma.sk the Swami. whom ne believes to be a fraud. There is * "^«tery connected with the death or Elsa's father, said to have been a suicide, but believed bv some to nave been murdered. To test the Hwami they nuk him for details of jne fathers death, and he describes jne murder in faithful detail. It later turns out that he is the mur play. On the opening night he took a nasty fall funintentional), which made his final overthrow more thrilling than usual. Mis.? Spong was uncertain of some of her dialog, but did generally well, and l''uUer McUish was letter-perfect In a role that everybody thought would turn out to be the villain's part. The staging was only adequate, though there was an excellent "ghostly" lighting of the last act. The first-night audience seemed to think "Haunted" in all respects ade- quate. The original (and better) title. "On the Stair." may b? restored before the show goes to new York. "Swnmi" would be another excellent name. Waters. SUE DEAR Atlantic City. May 3. At the Apollo Monday a musical comedy, "Sue, Dear," opened for a week's run It is cut from the pattern of the Princess theatre productions—a trace of plot, a few real voices, a chorus small enough for each one to be represented with a name on the program and a line or two In the play, and the entire thing, writ- ten by Bide Dudley, goes through without a single reference to a bed. "Sue, Dear," is a jeweler's clerk who arrives at the home of Minerva West to deliver some pearls, just In time to Impersonate a guest for whom Minerva was to give a dance that evening but who telegraphed she couldn't come. Minerva's match- making aunt, Mrs. Summer, has already arranged that her woman- hating brother shall fall in love with the visitor and he proceeds to follow the program. That the girl Is not the heiress from St. Louis makes it difficult for a time, but Sue produces a family tree that satisfies even Mrs. Summer. Olga Steck as Sue has a voice remarkable for Its sweetness and strength. She sings several tuneful numbers. Clare Stratton and Brad- ford Kirkbride both did their share in the tinging, and Alice Oavanaugh as Zoo the maid was piquant. The best songs of th- evening were "Lovers* Lane with You" and "Loravne." Scheucr. Surrogate James A. Foley dis- missed the objections of Mrs. David Bispham last week against allowing the will of the late b aritone going to tography. was a real novelty an<l brought plenty of laughs, especially with Brendel's retarded motion as he swung on the third strike. Miss Bert sang one or two new songs and some old once, such as "When You and I Were Young. Maggie." Naturally, since everybody in the cast was local (and a lot of them had the appearance of amateurs), many of the gags and songs had purely Philadelphia application. For example. Jean Cozzart. who sang some good songs and some which were not so good, scored her biggest hit with "A Tough Dame From Manayunk," Val Adiey and his jazz band ( ." nine got repeated encores on selec- tions whiclj^were hardly more iha.i passable and certainly could not be mentioned in the same breath with Ted Lewis and the Santley organi- zation. Some of the other tclent v/ero young and tried hard, but thoy Just didn't get across. The whole ef- fect was that .«K>mebdy planned up a nice, well balanced bill and thoJi took anybody who came along. The result is a lot of misfits. The S'liuberts have added a num- ber of straight acts on the bill to fill out this "Made In Phillv" revue show. Wat CIS. Clara Chester, who claimed to bo an actress, was arrested In New York last Friday charged with shop- lifting. She was held in $1,000 bail to await Grand Jury action. The drama library of the late Wil- liam Winter brought $5,200 at public auction last week. Mme. Loui.se Berathas resigned from the Metropolitan Opera Co.. she having refused to sing German operas. She returned to France last week. "Her Temporary Husband.'' with Talluluh Bankhead, opens May 9 in Stamford. Carle Carlton has started casting his new musical ple.e, 'Paradise Al- ley." David Belasco will produce "The Merchant of Venice' next season, with David Warfield as "Shylock." Mary Young has commissioned Sylvia Cushman to write a play. Miss Cushman is the assistant dra- matic editor of the Boston "Tele- gram." BRONX EXPRESS ProducpJ liy the roburna at th*» Antfir Cieatrp April 2rt. Adapted by Owen D-n i i from the Tiddiah comedy by Oanlp D mow from n tr.inalatiivi by Hamuel Coldin;. S'Hflred by rr»d Stanhope. rrlnrtpala; «'t»«rl»»a Coburn. Bertha r'rciali- ton Hope Sutherland, Sidney Sutkowii".. .T:tmr8 H. T^ewla. Jo«. Sterling. Jamex ft. Watera. Thomaa Witliama. Mra. Co'iurn. .Tolin O. Hertin. Willie Fiah. Nevin n.irk. Tr„i„« rr k .u •# K^'nyon niahop. (\ Nick f?lark. IJM an Helen Tombcs, the Wife Of Spencer. iMrU Taylor. Madff* Suriera. I)'»r- Andrew Tombcs. was fOUnd In a r.'J'-'^^'i?.*"-,r'"'J'?*^'J^''?^^'** ,."• ''•*V,'^" semi-conscious condition in her ::.!'„",""i.„i'o7,."JJh'i"V.'^^'u^„?.°:»?^,.!-;V„ •■»°!". '",.* ""T ^'"■" hote' Monday i>ean. Helen Tiiden. Vivian Hewitt, iidr \ night after the couple had quar- Kivern. Henry Koberts. (Marfn'te Walker. re?ed Just previously In a cabaret. Mowapl Claney Kay Barnea. Bodll Ros na When fOUnd A bottle Of iodine was Louise Ducey. late of "The Wild Cat." appeared this week before Sunogate John P. Cohalan to con- test the will of her late husband, which left all of his estate to his sister. The Duceys had been sepa- rated, with the sister claiming the breach was caused by Mrs. Ducey going upon the stage. Julia ICelety has started action against Nan (Jray, f.a Janitress of an uptown house in New York, to .secure the return of $:X5 which. It is alleged, she was forced to give up in order to secure her trunk when leaving the premises. The acthw is to be brought up in the Fourth District Court. Margaret C. Sullivan, Helen Batea MADE IN PHILLY Philadelphia. May 3. Although the Philadelphia papers were kind, the general consensus was that "Made in Philly," the sec- ond edition of a revue presented by Frank Orth, was pretty crude stuff, enlivened with one or two sparkling specialties presented by some real artists. It Is at the Chestnut Street Opera house (Shuberts). The revue looked particularly sad when "smashing ensemble" and "grand finale" numbers were at- tempted. The chorus was neither large enough nor good looking enough to make much of an im- pression, and some of the staging resembled amateur performances In «erer,"who"ha;"as.sum;d^OrienTal H^>mebody's b.arn A back drop ,ep K^r^ *"d returned to the town to get nold of the fortune which was left to Klsa. ♦ou^^'^' ^^^^* *^^ *•** nothing but talky- ««'k. and is only redeemed hv the excellent playing of Robert Fde.son J" the Swami. P'uller Melli.sh as J^'sa's uncle and Hilda Spong as the •ady who lost the Jewels and thus 8"«rted all the trouble. The only action that is accomplished here is «ne fastening of apparent guilt on me lif-ro. 'n the seeond act the Swami is put Jp the test and the ghastly details of ;"** »^iurder (on the staircase) are •Old. ending with the sudden nppeir- anee and piercing shriek of the girl, wno says she has just been to the ""!'^<^/vhere the murder was com- "•'"eu and had been pushed down resenting the Delaware River bridge, now in the making here, attempted something really elaborate,--as did others showing imaginative scenes of the coming .' qui-e«'nlennlal The most that can be said is that they were no worse than the Pan- ama Canal nightmare George White used in thi.o year's "Scandals." As long .as El Brendel and Flo Bert were on the ."tnge nobody eould complain of the tempo or (|ual- ity of tho e(\tert;nnment. even fliotmh niu.h of their stuff has been used by them in two former appear- ances here 4his y^ar. Brendel i« at his best in the skit in wliirh he il- lustrates bv actions "C.'isey at the Bat." which Miss Bert recite-. The slow-up features, ttased (*n the re- cent developfneuts in picture pho-' With {f world of Jewish character actors to pick from, Charles Coburn. ambitious gentile, stars himself as a Bronx button-maker of the ghetto Jew type, and Mrs. Coburn in an Oriental bit. As his wife in the play he has cast Bertha Creighton, who is as far from a Jewess a% Coburn is a Jew, at least on the stage. This is the main unfortunate blowhole in an interesting and rather attractive venture. For David Ilungerstoltz, the luck- less victim of conditions and Bronx- itls, nature would have cast a pip- ing little Hebe with a whining wheeze. • Coburn is more than six feet In height, a robust giant, who was perfect for Old Bill in "The Better 'Ole." He couldn't get sym- pathy in a role from heaven, and, miscast In a characterization alien to his personality as well as his peculiar talents, he is lost—and the play, probably, with him. It will take a lot of money to keep "The Bronx Express" alive on the best little rent-eating corner of the Main Drag, where the Coburns have to guarantee a minimum of $4,000 weekly to the house. The guaran- tee is easy, because if they can't give the house more than that they can't live with this hippodrome, for it has two scores of principals and must employ an army of stage hands. Owen Davis, as an author, shares some of the malapropos selections of Coburn as a star. liroadway has Aaron Hoffman, Jules Eckert Good- man, and even a few Christians who have specialized at writing Yiddish stuff, such as Hugh Herbert and Harry Breen. Herbert would have been ideal to write It as well as play it. Davis knows construction, but "The Bronx Express" had that; what it needs is that Potash-Perl- mutter sort of wham, woof, wow downtown cloaks-mit-sults comedy. There arc many laughs, but there could be twice as many more. The plot is carried out in whim- sical and partly allegorical treat- ment. Hungerstoltz, an old-fash- ioned, downtrodden Hebrew work- ingman, sees his only daughter run off because he doesn't understand that she is a second-generation American. He looks for her all night in vain, and falls asleep In tlic subway on the way to his sweatshop next morning, and has a dream. All thf>familiar figures In the sub- way ads come to life. He runs through a wild .series of adventures with them, part dream, part hys- teria about his daughter and his property, and comes out of it a bet- ter man. a progressive and a sue- eess. The plot Is there, all right. And the method in spots is extreme- ly effective, espeeially a fragment of a subway rid« in a fragment of a .sulnvay car. But, on the whole, It fails to rinj? that sur'-llre bell that Yiddish eom- edies have clanged forth In the p.ist. and will have to struggle ag.iinst the overhead, the heat and the cf»tT»- petition with only a so-so success. iMit. at her side, with a note which read '1 leave all to my mother." She was taken to Bellcvue, where she said she had taken the poison by mistake. Charles M. Powell, of Camden, N. J., confessed Saturday in Phila- delphia he murdered John Brunen. owner of the Mighty Don's Shows Carnival, who was shot in his home in Riverside, N. J., March lu. Powell accused Harry C. Mohr, a brother-in-law of the* slain man. of having hired him to do the killing. Mohr lias been arrested and taken to the county jnll In Mt. Holly. N. J., where he withstood several hours' gruelling by county detect- ives, but refused to make any other statements other than he was inno- cent. The site of the Knickerbocker. Washington, D. C. the collaps. of which caused the death of nearly 200 pepolo last January, was sold at auction last week to Harry M. Crandall, who was a part owner of the theatre. Crandall intends to erect a new theatre on the site re- gardless of the protests of many Washington residents, who desired that a memorial be erected there for the victims. Mary Garden and Sidney Black- mer are to appear in "Pelleas and Melisande," the Maeterlinck play, under the management of Charles L. Wagner next season. CRITICISMS Th« Bronx Express Comedy in three act» from the Yiddish of Ossip Dymow, adapted by Owen Davis, at the Astor theatre, April 26. "'Bronx Express' Is the result of a head-on collision between a 'Pot- ash and Perlmutter' comedy and The Poor Little Rich Girl.' "—Times. "Its success before the audiences of the Yiddish Art theatre Is easier to underst.'ind than its success be- fore any other public might be."— Herald. Partners Again (Comedy in three acts by Mon- tague (Mass and .Jules Eckert Good- man, at the Selwyn theatre, May 1.) "Line for line, this fourth I»otasli- Perlmutter opus is the funniest of them all. 'Partners Again,' let It be reeorded, is a huge hit."—Times. " "Partners Again' is the least fun- ny of tlie Potash and Perlmutter eomblnations, but It will neverthe- less make plenty of friends, and automobile fans, of course, will be immensely amused."—American. "Jf you ask only laughter in the theatre, there is nothing much to be said about the new play by Monta- Kue Glass and .lules Eckert Good- man, You will receive full meas- ure."—WorM. \\'illiam A, Brady is to produee m August a musical version of I'rank Craven's "Too Many Cooks," Harry TIerney and Joe McCarthy are to write the music and I ics. BROADWAY STOBT (Continued from page 11) possible, that going for the leadlnfj money getters. The latter are re- ported selling out at the box otflces, however. 'Kikl.' at the BeJasco, outfoots everything on the list, with Make It Snappy" at the Garde.i leading or tied with the musical hits. "The Cat and the Canary" is the mystery play leader at the Na- tional.' It is drawing an average of nearly $16,000 weekly, but varies in gross as much as $1,700. 'The Bat." Broadway's run leader, is still mak* ing a little money and Its manage" ment is aiming for continuance through the summer. It has not yet tapped cut rates, figured to ride the show two months. "The Charlatan,'* latest mystery play arrival, started fairly at the Times Square, but T» not conceded in the running for biff gross. "Partners Again." the new Potash and Perlmutter show which bowed In at the Selwyn Monday. Is the latest contender for leadership among the non-musicals. The sec- ond night was a complete sell out. That gives the dramas four distinct successes, "Captain Applejack" counting with the best, while tho musical field has an equal number— "Make It Snappy." "Good Mornlnff Dearie," "Music Box Revue" and "Chauve-Sourls" (the latter moves to the Century roof June 8). The balance of the list is marked with a wide gap In the business gait. The French Players, opening at the Belmont last week, attracted attention and are staying another week. May 15 the house will set "Kempy," a new comedy. Aside from "Partners Again/* the only premiere this week was "What the Public Wants," an Arnold Bennett play produced by the Theatre Guild at the Garrlck. A difference of opinion Indicates a short stay for it. "Creditors" reached the Greenwich Village, but will stop Saturday, the house taki;ig a revival of "Bllletted** on a co-operative basis next week. Last week "Smilln* Through" as a picture and in play form were opposed attractions in Brooklyn. The film drew blir busliiMs at the Strand, snd the Majestic, next door, was able to turn in a profitable week at the scale, the gross being a bit over $9,000. Stir Over ''Partners Again" Buy Selwyn & Co. had a clash with the brokers oyer their new produc- tion, "Partners Again." which came Into the Selwyn Monday. Tuesday piere was a scramble on the part of the agents that had refused to "buy." to get seats, but then the management was not willing to part with reals on the same basis. Orjglnally the Selwyns wanted th© agents to take seats outright for 12 weeks. Two, McBrlde and the Tyson Co., were agreeable to meet the managerial demands but the others felt that too much was being asked of them to take over seats for the period the managers wanted to sell for. "Wednesday the two agencies were the only ones han- dling seats for the attraction out- side of the theatre, although the others were trying hard to patch niatters up with the Selwyn olllce. With the addition of "Partners Again" and "The Bronx Express" fo the buy list the total attracfior» that the brokers held were 14. They are: "The Bronx Expres.s'* (Astor), "Kiki" (Belasco), 'Dover Road" (Bijou),- "Perfect Fool" (Cohan), "The Hindu" (Comedy), "Capt. Applejack" (Cort), "Good Morning Dearie" (Globe), "The Goldflsh" (Maxino Eliott). ' Mu.dc Box Revue" (Music Box), "Cat and the Canary" (National), "The Hairy Ape" (Plymouth), "Lawful Lar- ceny" (Republic), "Partners Again" (Selwyn) and "Make It Snappy" (Winter Garden). The rut rate list, however, prac- tically held Its own with "27 of the current attractions listed, with the demand strong during the early part of the week. The shows offered were: "The Bronx Express" (Astor), "Truth About Blayds" (Booth)» "Marjolalne" (Broadhurst), "Tan- gerine" (Casino), "Rose of Stam- boul" (Century), "Blue Kitten" (Carroll). "Demi-Virgin" (Kllinge), "The Czarina" (IJmplre). "The Nest" (48th Street), "The Blushing Bride- (44th Street), "The Night Call" a-'razee). "Creditors' (Green- wich Village). "Six Cylinder Love'* (Harris), "The Rubicon" (Hudson), 'The Shadow' (Klaw), "Bulldog Drummond" (Knickerboeker), "To the Ladies' (Liberty), "Thank You' (Longacre), "The French Doll" (Lyceum). "For Goodness Sake" (Lyric), "The Goldfish" (Eliott). "Montmartre" (Bayea), "t'p the Lad- der' (Playhouse), "The Hairy Ape* (I'lymouth), "The Hotel Mouse" (Shubert), "Shuffle Along* (C3rd Street), and "The CMiarlulan" (Times S'l ),