Variety (December 1923)

18 VARIETY LEGITIMATE j't^'f '■-*-_•■ ^:f^-. ;.-'■ --*r-'.'.'••♦rffwv./ Thursday, December 6,1923 bo hoped thai she will overlook •"Cymbellnc." the only other classic as d'jl! as "PtlleRB aixj MeHxHiKie." I.ait. talkincTparrot Aunt Tru.nit Ituhy ll.iUlcr Mtlllff (VuU<1ci K^lhlFin Arthur Alt..rt Bcuil.ltr Jiick riurry ttuKfT WiiJtfr Conn..My JTc'AX Harlow OvwaliJ Yorke Here Is one that makes the nnll- nary flop look like a ma»teri)iece. AlmoFt every offering In a. Hroad- way theatre has something In its favor, even thouKh lt« errors may outweigh that and be fatal and vil-il. But here is one without a redeem- ing or defendable ingredient. "The Talking Parrot" is the worst written, the worst acted, the wor.st ■taged and the worst produced mess Been In seaeons, utterly helpless, hopeless and useless. The "inside" on It Is th.it the Brennan Interests, which took over the Fraxee theatre with the pre- miere of "The Talking I'arrot." had it up their sleeves to spring in their own house to start It off with a bang. They had seen It at the Tri- angle, a Sheridan square basement tr>'Out house, and for some un- fathomable reason had taken it to their bosoms. "Out of the Seven Seas." a fair mek), w«« abruptly given the Forty-second street air. and "Gudrun Productions" opened "The Talking Parrot." The house was two-thirds filled, all paper. It wasn't an untrained frudience consisting of miscellaneoud strangers. They started one little dud of applause when the first cuj- taln went up on a second-hand in- terior, the lone set, and dropped back In their free seats to be shown. What followed was as distressing and em'barraaslng a period as this veteran reporter has ever «pent in a playhouse. The full cast was disclosed within a few minutes—five—also strangers. Huddled all together, talking away at the incoherent, wandering, wit- less and spineless poppycock writ- ten with amateurish touch and left gangrling about with no ostensible scheme of construction, the unfor- tunate Ave read the puerile lines as directed, undoubtedly. Knowing ones turned to one an- other In the seats with querying raised eyebrows. Were they being kidded, or was this some subtle satire that was eluding them? Surely it wasn't Just what it was handed 0^1 to be; oh, no, there would be a surprise twlet In a mo- ment and it would (urn out to be clever professionals characterizing en amateur rehearsal for a church festival. The acts and the hours wore on. A few impatient skeptics began to walk out. One or two expressed themselves audibly. Well — they wx>uld miss something, fof the pur- pose hadn't yet been disclosed. When the last curtain dropped, the survivors picked th>m«clve8 up. They had been taken In. No tag had come to explain or alibi it. And It may never be fully exposed. There was no story. A prudish stamp collector, married to a former Knglish music hall singer, living In Greenwich Village though a marti- net for propriety, has two bachelor friends for no reason, goes away in search of a previous stamp, is re- ported drowned. Each bachelor en- gages himself to the "widow," though neither wants her. We know the hu."»band Isn't drowned— how could he be spared when the cast musters only five? He comes back as a ghost, later In the llosh. Then '.he wife cuts loose .and says she's going to England. Voila. It's etilier than that, because it takes more than two hours to tell it. The acting was atrocious, the dl- rectlDn was blundering. The whole thing wa.<t Ju8l a regrett.iblc and Inexplicable mistake. If "The Talk- ing P.irrot' pliys the week out, the xnysiery will be even thicker. I.alt. witted lad to whom the charactere of the world are us the characters in a fairy tale. Ho sees the prince and the princess (the lovers), the ogre (the aristocratic mamma), the knave (the finger-shaking villain) .ind himself as the poor boy. This is the stroke of fantasy and his frank labeling of these characters in the dialog was a pleasant novelty. The diminatic twist Is given the story by the use of the halfwit's mother, who was married to the villain years before tmt who was left by him to care for the boy. Be- fore she married the villain, tlje aristocratic mamma had taken her real sweetheart from her, so that her life throughout was unpleasant. A question of the boy's birth brings out a strong situation and the parallel situation of her son turning down the rich girl to marry the poor girl Is brought Into con- flict with the unhappy marriage oX the boy's father tr the aristocratic woman and Its subsequent unhappl- ness. If only the hokum hadn't been smeared on so thick at the finish Mr. Nugent is too mature for tAe halfwit. Nevertheless, he plays it cleverly and gets many laughs through some of the fat lines which he has reserved. But It is daughter Ruth who really cops the honors. This little girl Is one of the few on the stage who can play a young part and bring freshness and warmth to it. Her exuberance in some scenes is not the studied lightness of a hardbolled and painted ingenue—It ajiproxlmates the real thing. Opposite her Is Kenneth McKenna giving a passably good Interpretation of the rich boy. It seems that all stage juveniles are alike—they must wear Kngllsh-cut clothing no matter whether playitig In a western piece or In a drawing- room comedy—and they must smoke snappy straight stem Tilpes. In ad- dition to this they all seem to have the same frightfully insincere methods. They may be nice looking boys, but there Is no variation In the type. The other members of the cast overacted plteously. "Dumb-bell" has an excellent *>aslc idea which could have been developed better but which Is mod- erately amusing and thoroughly clean as It stands. The cast Is short, seven people, and the piece Is played in a single Inferior which Is satis- factory. But despite Its good Idea, the piece needS recasting and first act revision. FOREIGN REVIEWS LES BALLETS SUEDOIS (THE SWEDISH BALLET) RichArd Herndon pr«MnU th* Swedlah Ballet, current for tnla we«k only at the Century. New York, 'with k trana-contin- ent&l tour to follow. DlnHstton of Rolf De Mare, bnl^<) "direct from the Theatre dei Champa Klyaeea. Parle." Bintira choreoK- raphy and dkrection by Jean Dor)In; or- chestra conducted by Vladimir Ooli»chmann. Principal danccra include Jean Borltn, Et>on Strandln, Kaj Smith. Qreta Kachr. M. H. I^ts, Tolvo Nlakanen, IBdIth Bonadorff, Anna Wlckatrom, Rup*»rt Doone. Poul Kl- torp, Oreta Lundberg, Elaa Schwarck, Gdel nans, SLftne Malmberc. Ktaebeth KJaerv- gaard, Blva Tllnmkvlat. Klara KJallblad. ETric Wlb«r. Kva Helleenea, SlRne tictid, Donald Offden Stewart, Bert Norton. OUR LIZ • London, Nov. 28. Excellent fare was provided and splendidly received when "Our Llx," kind of musical comedy-revue, was presented to an Alhambra au- dience. It Is a touring company. Sir Oswald Stoll occasionally Inter- sperses bis vaudeville policy with an obscure provincial organization. The theme, though far from orig- inal, is carried out In an attractive way. The Hon. Geoffrey Mannering, scion of a noble house, just returned from Canada, arrives unexpectedly, to find revelry In the kitchen. In which he good-naturedly Joins. His people come on the scene and up- braid him, reminding him of their wish for htm to marry some one of high birth. He refuses to marry except for love and In pique says be will marry the first girl he sees, which happens to be Liz, the kltch- •nqnald. ...^Her people are visited by his, and In their effort to be extra nospitable offer them winkles for tea and com- mit various faux pns. The poor girl Is so upset she refuses him although really )n love with him. A lather aggressive good-natured brother wins a small fortune In a competition and takes them all abroad, where Liz assumes an American accent through being mis- taken .for an American family ex- pected at the hotel. The Hon. Geoffrey meets her jgain, doesn't recognize her, but Is puzzled, and again falls in love with her. The Imposture Is discovered and they are on the verge of^ being turned out when Geoffrey recognizes Lie, claims her, and the brother, happening to break the bank at the casino, restores their depleted bank account. So reconciliation follows all round. The title role Is taken by Renee Reel, a dainty little dancer who possesses, besides a strong vein of low comedy, a touch of pathos and a keen sense of character. All the low cockney parts are splendidly played, and a good deal of humor Is got out of the contrasts between the two fanillies. Jack Barty as the big, blustering brother is particularly amusing; also Herbert Darnley as Lizzie's father. Violet Vaughan an Suzette, a deml-mondaine, plays the violin delightfully, and the young hero of Leslie Hatton leaves little to be de- Hred. If the American tone of Miss Reel Is too real (this Is not a pun!) tor b* natural In an Ignorant kitchen- maid, it can be forgiven, as she mimics so charmingly, and alto- gether the entire show went with a swing. roles nicely handled, constituting a clever piece. The program commences with "L'Homme du Jour," one-a/^t com- edy by Pierre Montrel, already pre- sented. It Is a satire on feminine curiosity. Kendrew. DIE WELT OHNE SCHLEIEB ("Ths World Without a Vsil") Berlin, ilov. 28. . In the "Komische Oper" James Klein set out to make a revue which would surpass that of his competitor Haller, next door at the Admlrals- palast, and it certainly looks as though he had done so. For the first few nights, at least, a well- dressed and well-fed public was In attendance, and It looks almost as though he might get back the money he put Into the production—quite a feat these days In Germany. This revue In 20 pictures Is an evident Imitation of the American "Follies," and while Mr. Haller, in "Druber und Drunter," got about as far as the year 1912, Mr. Klein has taken quite a Inap forward and really about reached the 'standard of 1915. It Is a tremendous relief that Klein has made no effort to Inject any plot Into the entertainment. It is merely a series of pictures. He has engaged, moreover, an excellent trio of comedians—Paul Wester- meler, Siegfried Behrisch and Ar- nold Kieck—ana It is only unfortu- nate, as Is practically always the case, that he has not engaged any- body to write them something hu- morous to be funny about. Particularly effective is the chan- delier with living decorations, and also the curtain with female bas relief. The crystal ballet, the lace fan, and the living Chinese porcelain figures are also tasteful. The po- litical sketches were not quite so successful. The music is said to be from a number of the best known ' com- posers of Germany and foreign countries, but, unfortunately, Mr. Klein's anthologist does not seemito have been as well known as the people from whom he selected. However, the music Is seldom an- noying, and least of all when sung by the charming Madge Leasing, the wife of the well-known London and New York manager, George McClel- lan. The revue will probably be able to continue the whole winter. Traak. nerly treating her, rccognlzea him and, when h* attempts to mesmerize her, alleging her infirmity Is • pre- tention on tier pai^, she throws a bowl of vitriol Into the professor's eyes. * The one-act judicial comedy of Levy Oulraann, a noted ICicai at- iorney, entitled "Paysanncrles Judi- ciaries" Is an amusing exposure of legal procedure In a French country town. "Pulsqu'll faut I'Etre," one-act farce by Jean Dlvrac, revived, is not an edifying subject. And the same can be said of "L'AmI des Deux," vaudeville by Henri Caen, wherein Is a husband who keep* his eyes closed to the flirtations of his wife with his employer. In tltls manner the fellow keeps his Job, while losing his honor, and the lady earns an allowance for a rainy day. All these trifles are well played by an excellent company headed by Mme. Maxa (originally listed for the Grand Guignol troupe in New York). The present bill Is up to the usual standard, without particular nov- elty, but doomed to be replaced before the month Is out. Krndretc. DOLLY DUMB-BELL OomiHjy In thr. c .nl» by J. C. anj BIlinK JJucwit. produced for mat!n»p season at the Belnnont thratre by Richard O. Hf^mdon. J. <•. .Vugpnt marred and Ruth Nucent Ma HutchrnRun Jea«le Orummftte Homro J, (\ NupT'-nl AsRlr Ruth NuK'nt Ted Stone Kenneth MvKinna Mrs. Slono Ethel Winthrop Ann Worlhlnir tlliylye Wtliton iutiit John Daly .Murphy "Dumb-bell" is goo<l entertain- ment largely because J. C. Nugent and his daughter Tluth are in it. hut it doesn't nif'.'tsure up to Nu- gcnlB "Kempy." It i.tn't an out-and-out comedy. as one would expect; rather it hovers d^ingeroiisiy close to being so much or a hybrid that whatever good is in it—ami there is a lot- will never get its due. Mr. Nugent has written some of the most In- geniou.x fantasy ween in yeiirH, lint In connection with this funtasy he has sciri n: to put in a lew of the old stundliys of the Victorian drama—a nngcr-sh^ikinB villnln. an arlstooratio ni.Tnim.i who wioids a lorgnette as a kitchen ni lid would * stirring spoon, tlie ricli youiiir girl and the proud son wlm ivlll not marry for money. And to help I lie rich son out of his marrviiif; ililli- Ciilty. the poor but virtuous iinmiiy girl Is put in thr pl.iy—and the li;il( girl Is the most attractive thing in It—thanks lo Hutii-fClTUen:. Tile eldir .N'iik< nt p^^y.s a hrilf- Pretty tiresome stuff, this Swedish ballet. Over two and a half hours of different varieties of ballet terp- slchore is too consistent a diet for any playgoer, and even the obvlsusly ecstasies over it. An Intimate ballet of this sort would scintillate to better advantage in a smaller capacity house. Much of It is lost in a huge amphitheatre like the Century. The ballet proper Is divided Into four sections or numbers. The first Is a "Skating Rink" affair. The printed program" Interpretation translates the choreography. Other- wise It would remain a secret to most of the audience. The second episode, "The Newly- weds on the Eiffel Tower," Is a com- bination of nonsense and satire and a passively diverting number. "Man and His Desire," following. Is pro- gramed a "plastic poem by Paul Claude]." It may'be, but the poetry Inclined one to drowsiness. "The Foolish Virgins" was the fourth and la.Ht number. If the average theatregoer desires and demands entertainment In the shows he or she attends this will not satisfy. On the same theory, there are probably enough inhab- itants in this city to give the Swed- ish ballet a fair box-offlce break for a single week, as witness the "Chauve Souris" and Moscow Art ventures. Abel. FREDERICK WARSE HEIR Frederick B. Wnrde Is named heir and executor of the estate of iiis wife, Annie Kdmonson Warde. whose will was admitted to probate this week In Brooklyn. The bequest is fixed at J2,000 real and $1,200 personal properly. Mrs. WurJe was at one time a proitilnent iicires.s, playing in com- pany with her husband and other stars. She died Nov. 16 of henrt disease. Instead of sm.'ill town dates. W,'i>;<'iihjils At Kemper are going to send 'iS'h. M.-it" Into the big cities for repents. They ))|an on three to four-veck stands, with ll.."!© fop. This is-thr ftmrth season on the road for the show. LE COUPLE ("Ths Idsal Pair") Paris, Nov. 28. The Theatre Michel, directed by Thebor and Brigond, has changed its style a wee bit by presenting the three-act piece "Le Couple," by Denys Amiel, co-author of the "Sourlant Madame Boudftt." This Incursion Into the realms of psycho- logical love comedy was nicely re- ceived, without being a decided suc- cess for the little houso, albeit we are accustomed to risky farce at the MlcheL Henri Ledriant Is a fash- ionable novelist and lives content- edly with his preitty wife, Claude. They are so happy together that the corrupted society which they are obliged to frequent disdainfully dubs them "Le Couple" (otherwise "The ideal pair). Their high mo- rality and mutual fidelity Is consid- ered little less than a public scan- dal by the smart set In which they move. Henri Is modern. Just the same, and understands his precari- ous situation; so he deoldfvs to mi- grate to the Rlvleni with his wife before a calamity occurs, realizing that he Is not Iron-clad against temptations any more than other normal individuals. They consequently accept hospi- tality on the. estate of Henri's friend, l*rovoet, and his wife, .Suzanne. They have Jumped from the fry- ing pan into the (Ire. In the course of events, being thrown together diaily, Henri becomes Ruz.iniie's lover, wMIe Provost pursues Claude by his amorous attentions. When the latter ascertains her husband has an Intrigue with her friend Suzanne, she is exasperated, and to appease her wounded pride 5'lelds to Provost's pleadings, then denouncing herself to Henri and proclaiming her revenge is complete. The literary man, still adoring his lawful spouse. Is in despair and frets at their drift. He pines, and when Claude sees the ravages grief Is causing to her husband's health she adroitly convinces him she was only bragging of an unaccomplished re- venge and Hiat she has never been unfaithful to her marriagn vows. They quit the Provosts and reeume ^Ihelr happy life of an ideal couple. ' This comedy Is amply well played by Harry Baur (Henri), Henry Roger (Provost), Eve Francis (Claude), Madeline Linval '24 MANHATTAN FOLLIES London, Nov. 28. Fred Duprez Is presenting himself In the "1924 Manhattan Fol- lies," on tour this week. It Is a touring revue In 19 scenes, book by Joe Hayman, several production numbers by Joseph Santley, lyrics apd music by William Hargreaves, dances staged by James Lester, pro- duced by Joe Hayman under the sup^vtsion of Duprez. Tlie show has only been out a few weeks and is still In the making, but gives every evidence of being developed Into a first-rate organiza- tion of its kind. It Is understood there will be some changes In the cast, particularly In the female per- sonnel, which Is somewhat weak, Duprez Is, of course, the star, and the principal adverse criticism of the show Is that It Isn't quite fast enough. The work of Duprez sur- passes anything he has ever done In England, and when he leaves the stage the entertainment slows up, due to the absence of speedy play- ers. His principal support Is Jack Williams, a splendid low comedian who is neither a singer nor a dan- cer but an excellent character man. In two of the skits he plays female roles and brings to those roles Just the requisite femininity without re- course to vulgarity or oftenslveness. Agnes Croxton, prima donna, lacks weight and occasionally sings off key, and a male quartet are of the conventional "barber shop" va- riety, which Is as sure-fire as In America. The production Is ade- quate for a touring company and is In good taste. A restaurant scene Is very funny, as far al It goes, but not enough Is made of It. The show is booked solid for the remainder of the current season, which takes one more desirable headliner out of vaudeville for that length of time, nt len*t. Joto. Berlin. Nov. 28. This new operetta, with music by Hugo Hirsch and the book by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach, is distin- guished by one of the most amusing librettos of the season and should distinctly be of Interest to America. The music Is less original, but still a few, of the tunes could be used, and If well doctored up it should get over nicely. Dolly Is a young baroness whose parents have been divorced In her early youth and who has, therefore, never known her father, us she has been entirely with her mother: As she comes to be 18 years old she has a desire to know her father and runs away from her parental homo to visit her father in his castle. But in the meantime the father has rent- ed his castle to Frank Norman, a young German-American. Dolly ap- pears and mistakes Norman for her father and he does not disturb the Illusion because he has taken a great fancy to her. At the end of the sec- ond act the real father appears and everything comes out, but, of course, Dolly 18 easily reconciled, and In the third act the two are set for the altar. Comedy is furnished by the part of Count Arlbert the 30th, who has lost his throne, but has not been deserted by his royal ballet, which appears In full force with him. The leading part Is well taken by Hilda Worner, and she is ably sec- onded by Qustel Werner as tho young American. Hans Junkerraann is amusing as Arlbert. The produc- tion in general Is well above the average and should have a good run. GRAND GUIGNOL Paris, Nov. 23. M. Choisy, director of this little home of horrors, has offered his habitues another bill. His main at- traction is the two-act drama of Andre de I.ordc, "Un Drame a In Salpetrierc." We are Introduced to somn of the pillents In Ihe famous Paris hos- pital, Salpetriere. for hysterical and weak-minded patients under ob- servation by the medical profession. One poor creature has been badly operated on by a careless surgeon, with disastrous results. Conversa- tion attout various cases gives the necessary atmosphere and the sickly feeling leads up to a ppoiier ap- preciation of the play. There are many, apparently, who enjoy the (Su- theme of ghastly operations 'zanne). There are several other The woman meets the doctor for- COFEAU'S VTEUZ COLOMBHK London, NoV, 28. Jacques Copeau reopened th« Theatre du Vieux Colombier re- cently with a novelty In the form of a four-act piece by Pierre Boat, entitled "L'Imbeclle." Th« work Is a bit misty with four roles, and the puzzle for the audience was to designate the biggest fool of ths quartet. A simple girl and a young puppy are much in love; they finish by getting married after the husband who gives the title to the comedy has proved himself a perfect asa. The couple confide their grler- ances to a mutual friend, who al- most gets Into hot water in his en- defivor to keep the others cool, whereby he should be the title roI«. Jacques Copeau reappears before his public In this latter part and was warmly received, with Remain Bouquet, Mmea. Lina Nora and Renee Oarcla. The bin Includes a French ver- sion of Carlo Goldonl's "La Locan- dlera" ("The Daughter of the Inn") by Mme. Darsenne, with Copeau as the knight, Albert Savry, Q. Vltra, Francois Vibcrt and Valentine Tes- tier In the title role. This French adaptation Is faithful to the author, but Its appearance at the Vieux Colombier (which deserves every en- couragement) comes a trifle too soon after the presentation of the same work here last month by the Russian troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre. JTi^ndretc^ MARRIED LOVE London, Nov. 28. Dr. Mnrie Rtopes won notoriety if not fame by writing a book en- titled "Married Love"; she then wrote a picture-play with the same title, but Ihe authorities would have none of It. Her latest Idea is to spread her principles via the legit- imate stage, and she hns made a start in this direction with "Our Ostriches," produced at the Court, Nov. 14. Previously she had tried to get another ptfty past the Lord CTham- beriain with the title "M.irrled Love" but he, like the London County Council In the matter of the film, looked ask.Tnce at It. So she wrote the present one, which did get past. It Is merely birth control prop- aganda and has little v.ilue except to her followers. As a, play It Is crude and ahiateurish in construc- tion, practically a lecture in the mouth of a single char.tcter, and the authoress has taken good care thai (Continued on page 4()