Variety (October 1924)

^T'T,T:st:L>'^,' Wodneaday, OctotMr 15. 1924 LEGITIMATE VARIETT NEW PLAYS PRODUCED '*'•. v'^s K<> •;- WmoM WEEK ON BlAY ft ^THE I^ARMER'S WIFE Mr BdMi FbiUpotu. at th* Oomtif ibwa ■tmmd. Ihieo •a pr»p(l*tor of ___».^ »_.. ....Walter Bdwtft ▲imailau D«aek 'A-• .•■¥'^ *i'^T* nbm Tapper Ocllla lUdclrKe Bltilil BwMtbuid CharlM Coburn iMn SwMtUa« RoMtllnd FaUar aSTji SaMfdoii....... Jama* Jallj VKraS>lSwiiUaB«. yiotot Wytlia KkthvdOoakar... iJWi?ffit Lootaa WlBdaatt BUiel MorrMoo SMM Malaa Roth VIHu ■arak Smar4oiM ^fM*^ ?."Si^ vS^r «BMi«^..>. iCVlMwtai PhUtM Tallaat Dunarktl*.;.> ...raela Rippn Dr. Bandla..'>.>.•. LAwranoa Starnar HmiT Coa&r ■tlanna OinMot Mr. OriiWB H. R. Hoffman Karr Haarn .Barbm Allan Tba Ror. SeptUnna Tudor....l<aonax4 Carer Tha Hon. Mm. Tudor Sblrlay Qale jfoiaa Oarmalno Morencey •tea Matara..«... .R. R. Rorman. OMtftrer Barwaod. Bntat Coaii. Praderiok Chilton ;A plar of imolent wpMlngr called •^Th« Country WU*," presented oc- «MloiuUljr In London by the Phoenix Society for apeci*! pertormaocea^ It'a a rather naushty atory, and any first* Blfhter at the Comedy who expected that kind of play ml(ht have been diaappolnted. ^Tha Farmw's Wife" aa given woa %rittao by BMen Pblllpotta. and ran Mtta auoceaalwlly at the Royai Court ulMtra, Lcpdon. laat aeaaon. PhllU yotta la a aerlous writer of booka aad things, the play, however, being a comedy of ruatic Bngliah life dated back half a century. The title la hardly expressive of It "The Farmer'a Wife" U enUrely rural, but the atory haa to da with propoaato. oC marriage rather than events after the knot la tied. The fashion and Ideal of thesa aimpte Britiah rubea afford e«n«iderable amuaement. That la particularly true of the first «et. whioh divulges moat of the Uu^iS2_ "The FarmeHa Wits" la a oomedy M types. It la sat In Devon, w)iich explains the eoOentrtoltiea of prohun- elation. Oeorge ia called "Oarge" by •veryona Part of the oast was brought over for the Amerleaa prea- #Btatlofi. which aooouaU for the unt- ftrmlty oC )tha dialects. Ur. and Mrs. C. D. Coburn. however, have aaqulrsd tha D«ivoa dialect aa truly as tha otbera. Mr. Oobum enacts Bhmuel Sweet- land, a widowsr of M, who has de- «Ms« It Is best that he Uke to his koma a aaeoad* wtta. Hia departed wUa, TIbby, was a ivleadid woman. Rar last words aa sartji were: "See that the mastar^ underpants be i>ut t» Vbm lira,' and says the old boy: "aie died with those beauUful words (M her Ups." lira. Cobom ^ys At^mtaita I>eneh. bousakeopar In tha Sweet^ land home and the i^man he finally ahboass as the lucky bride. That, bowaya i. comes after he propoaes to four a^er women plaoeA on a list as tha moat ellglbls by MlSta. They aU turn down Samuel and all suffer a change of heart at tha finish, when It is too kite, aad Mlnta U lad ia aa the winner. Tha discussions between Samuel land MlnU as the possiblUties of the list provide most of tha latigbs. ▲boat one ha furmlsea: "What'a iMr agat Fifty I reckon. - Her back view aint more than SO." Minta com- menting* "Tea, but you live with the front view. About another he says, TI like pillowy women, provided thev 1>e pillowy in the proper plaoeS," with Mlnta adding: "A woman who U Billowy at to Is a featherbed U years later." There are two marriageable daugh- lers In tha Sweetland pome—Sibley and PetroneL The latter thinks Richard la courting her, but the Cuth Is slyly in love with her sister. Ing cunning in his love making, he explains. On the other hand, Oeorge Smerdon, another swain, is over hia head in love with Petronel. She won't have him, but later la per- suaded by his legacy of £5,000. Aa ha telle it, 'Tve been in a proper up- roar about you for alx months." "Oarge" la cleverly portrayed by James Jolly. He declares he won't give up wooing Petronel, but will continue, bulldog fashion;' in fact, almoet has hia teeth Into her. Violet Blythe makes an excellent English girl, her Petronel atanding out as one of the best perfomancea. Rosalind Fuller is Sibley, and sweet as the sister. Doubtless among the playera Im- ported, in addition to Miss Blythe and' Jolly, are Walter Edwin and Barbara Allen, The latter ia de- ascribed as being "full blown and over," one of the candidates who re- jected the fajuner and changed her mind. ^^ £)^!<i's Curdles Ash. the Sweetland outJRr servant, is a close-second to J Ooburn's portrait of the marrying ' farmar. Ash has a grouch against matrimony and all women in general. Hia philosophy Is that women are fit only to hegot boys and, if not, then girls. He is an old dufter with an eye to the tavern In hip spare time. Twitted about that, he decl.ires: "Beer drinking don't do 'alt the 'arm .as matrimony. If I was the gpverji- ' aaent I'd give the drunkards a rest and go after the othsrs." Mrs. dor burn supplies a. faithful picture of the dependabla, eapabla Aramlnta, aifd Leslie Barrls adds his bit aa one of the country beaui. "Tha rarmor'a Wife" ia apotted in the aame Comedy that held "Bunty Pulla the Stringa," a Scotch type comedy, which ran with much auc- oesa a decade ago. The house is handlcapiMki by subway construction, but that will not seriously affect business If the imported rural piece lands. On merit it should draw fair patronage, with a moderate engaga- ment indicated. That is baaed on the belief ita ludicroua typea are more amualng to London than Nevr York. Ibee. THE RED FALCON Oeorn Broadhunt prodnctlon, written by Un. Trimbla Bradley and tha ptodooer. Bta«ed br Mca. Rradlay. Plar in three aota apllofr aad prolos. MeKar Morrla featvred. Opanad dot. 7 at tba Broadhurat, New Tork. PBRSONS or PROUXI Tha Mother Superior Thala Lawton Slater Maria Zaffla Tilbury Slater rranoeaoa...' Ilka Chaae Tha Oarlaner..............Andrew Moloney Tha Norlce « PhrlUa Blake Tha Red Falooa .....McKay MoirlB Aa Ofllcar .iBtamey Kalkborat Another C>aoer...i. MarahaU Bale PBRSONS or THB PLAT 'Onldo, a aerrant... Aadrav Moloney Tha Biabop...., ......Walter RInithain Conteaaa relteia .Tbala Lawton COBta Dl PeimllSA.. AllMrt Brunlaa .Clartna OrlonI ..<... .Carlotta Monterey Adrlaae , MoKay Morria CapitaBa Beraarda MMitiaaaU Kaaneth Hunter Orifonatte • Dodaon Mitchell A MlUd.. ..lUpiChaaa A Mook. paa.p. Baaleo Thla play of ttta Xttti eaatury, laid la Sicily, Is an interesting dramatic presentation, if nothlM elss. It Is replata with color and not a little aotlon, axoAllently cast and tastefully mounted. It starts off with a sip In the pro- log, whars the brigand. The R«d Falcon (McKay Monrls) sacks and Ipots a Small convent and prepares to take further kpoO from amoiq| the nuns. ' Ha is attracted by a pretty novices, whan he reccfnises the Mother Superior (Thais tawton) as a former leva The whimsioal bri>- gand bargains with the Mother, Sn- pwlor to leav« tha novica unmolested If she wlU giva herself to hint. The play proper. M ye|n later, finds tha lUegitlmate son at the Mother Sui>erior ana the Bed Fateen an ordataisd priest and vary popular In his town. Hia mother who, for obvious reasons, oonoealad Iter ma- ternal claim on tha youth, eontiSntlng herself Instead wltn acting as hU guardian. Is tha sister of tna Conta dl Peralta, tha poifw ot tha town. Tha latter has made eonditioas dlO- eult for the poor towannen who tlU lUs soli and man his granaries and yet have little for their daily bread. The threatening rabble needs but a leader to assert Itself. Meantime the soul oC the young priaat haa been the atorm of an In- ternal struggle between ita better and baser self. The quaUtles of his brigand-father finally assert .them- selves in aa altemaUon of Jekyll- and-Hyde moods that afford Mr. Morris excellent opportunities. As the mysterious leadei; of the mob he fights against his own kin, when his other personality »aaerta Itself. The epilog finds the young priest, his better self haetag conquered the interaal devil, taking up W"*" •«rvlce in a monastery as a monk, bidding tareweU to his ntother, the kin^ bishop, the count whom he had ab- solved and the girt whom he rejected because of hia clerical calling. Morrl^ doea aome fine work con- sistently. Miss lawton as the mother -is worthy, with the rest of the cast consistently adequate. It's a beautiful presentation, but hardly like to laat for a run because of the lack of that certain something that makes for mass appeaL A»al. at the oheek of the braaen lad who r a s a es his eratwbUe employer, is openly "fresh" to the mother of the girl, calling her ■sweetheart" in any- tying but an affectionate tana, and takes the girl's novelist-father al- most literally by the forelock aad effecta aa emancipation of the writer'a hack-writing exlatence, which la eompulaory to get a Jump ahead of tbe aherlff. For the nov- elist, despite the prolificacy of his many detective tlirUlers. is not ex- actly living In genteel poverty aa much as In dunu^ luxury, chlefiy through his family ohiigatlona be- catise of an ambltloiu wife and a pampered daughter. Mra Dawn la demonstrating t^- Plerce Dawn, her husband. In the drawing room of their town house that she is economising by saving a $3.60 manicure's blU; this, to the ac- companiment of a butler and a maid. Jerry Hayward, having looaed himaelf from a |SS a week job. un- dertakes to conquer fortune and at the same time spread hia rollicking philosophy. The manner In which he acquires two almost-new Rolls- Royces at $6,004 each and sells them at a 100 percent profit Is almost too good for realism. As Is much of the re~t of the Implausible play. That Is the chief drawback of the production, this lack of the realistic, of the actual, of the contemporary since the characters are purported to be of the day. From the very start fault finding Is apparent. First, It's In the cast- ing. Elisabeth Rlsdon as Mrs. Dawn is too comely and youthful a mother compared to Katharine WJlson aa Phyllis, the daughter. In truth, the daughter Imparted a more mature air than did her mother-character. Secondly, despite his fiy nifties and general good-nature, Donald Foster was too "fresh" for the hero. In truth, Mildred Clarke, In a slangy fiapper part (and.accordingly "fat" for tha player), displayed more de- corum. The sens* of tha theatrical was predomtaant in the main. Most of it didn't ring true, There was too evident a pausias> for "the laugh", after each sura-flre nifty. This be-, cams pftrticulaJriy evident with two or three of tha subtle ones, which required several seconds to pene- trate. For laugh returns, thay came fast and often in the flat aot and In the first scene of the aeeoad stanss The second scene, of the eeoond- act and the last Inning lat down aetioe- ably. IVa a apotty play, averagely caat, and unlikely for any great atay an- Bcoadway. AkaL COCK O' THE ROOST The Draroatlsta* Theatre, Inc., preaenta- tlon of the three-act comedy by Rldm John- eon Younf, dlrectBd by Jamea Forbee. Opened Oct. IS at the Liberty, New York. Phyllla Dawa.. Katharine Wllaon Mn. Dawn Bllaabeth RIadon Pierce Dawn t...Harry Davenport Kltson Allen Lee Jerry Hayward Donald Foater Mildred Asnea Roalyn Henry Barron Purnol Pratt cure Clarke SylvUi Field Paul S(erlln«< Deamond OalUsher Ban Clarke Edward Donnelly Mra. Clarke Tracy L'Engle The Rev. Charlea Andenon..Lionel Bevane by the eaptain and she to spend her honeymoon "In Hia Arms." Margaret Lawrence as Eilse Is one sweet woman. Miss Lawrence easily makes her .audience forget she is past the age of a marriageable girl, because she does not pUy the part aa a fiapper nor doea the action call for that. Edna May Oliver aa Ellae'a mother is the mlatreaa of the pUy'a humor- oua lines, and she got them across ever so well. When her perturbed husband, played by Grant Stewart, was fiabbergasted at the calling off of-the marriage, with the house full of guests, she led him out. saying: "We'U give them plenty to eat and some Scotch, and when they go home they won't know whether there has been a wedding or not." Oeoffrey Kerr plays the artist, a role that calls for a touch of severity. It is said the character was first offered to Clifton Webb, who did so well aa the •saucy young thing in "Meet the Wife." It would have been a similarity of roles and con- clusion, so far aa Webb is concerned. The delightful Effle Shannon spar- kled as the mother of Ernest. She cared more for Kllse's happiness, and aided her romance with "the Dutch- man." It^ jifemed the othei' parts, too, were In capable hands. ■In His Arms" is qualified for pic- tures, and that source should fur* nlsh enough money to place the ahow on the right side of the ledger even if It should miss a run. How- ever, the play ought to have a pull with the women, and It qualifies for several months of fair grosses. THE SAINT IN His ARMS loe Caztwtisht Uly CartwXht MM. Joba aktmUn... ■tiSb Clanadaa ■raast nurialsh....w.. Joka Clanadaa.. Mm. Attki ' •t«m vaa ■adr H thrae aatt br Lraa StaiUns, Prodeoai by Sam RTBarrta at the roUea raante....; Mary Peny taaita Otia SUaaar , ..rnuet cabet iaMia gealMNl ..■daa May OUyar Marflarat .Lawnaae . O aoS i e r Kart .....Oraat stawaii JUBe Shaaaaa Drama by Btark TAanf al the Oreenwlob In three acta. Produced at the Oreenwlok Vlllaae th««tre by tba Provlnaatawn Players. Directed br Mr. Touas. RIahard Bolealaweky and Rob- ert MawSd ioaaa. SattUisa by Mr. Jeaea. Valdaa i ••'•Jj^.'^IS.r Paeba •.i-9**'i?" *'"• MarletU Helen rrMmaa Dedaux C. Henry Gordon Tip TbompaoB Loula (>aavant Parta Pigeons Marta Ouepenakaya Old Doctor Stanley Hewlett Daucbtera Noraa Wiley. Marian Moorehouae Suitors JaSM* Malahaa. John Taylor The variety show scene is brightly staged and a most colorful relief after the drab solemnity of the first act. In this a lon^ religious pro- cession (repeated in the third act), made up of a large number of supers who evidently walk around two or three times In different formationa, is exceedingly Impressive. The spe- cial music written by Macklln Mar- row Is fascinatingly discordant and weird as played by the musicians la the parade. If anything In the play Is to attract public attention be- sides the work of Mme. Ouspens- kaya. It will be the staging of this procession. Undoubtedly students of the higher drama will see much to "The Saint" not apparent to a trade re- viewer. Anyone, howevec, can rec- ognize It as a skilful example of better class playwrlting failing be- cause of lack of sure-fire audience stuff to qualify as a Broadway can- didate. In the Village, nevertheless, ti should draw enough admirers of that sort of thing to Insure a mod- erate' run. TEE WmSTLES £00X Puturletle play In three aeta and eaveB acenes by Bdmund Wllaom Produced Oct. • by the Provlnoetown Pleyhouae al their aame theatre. Dirooted by Staaiey Howlett. with aattiQfi Dy Claea Throekaiortoa. ■'." • • ■ ■ .Maqr Blair Mlee Strretneld..... Mary Morria Aana.... .;; Wllma Haaderaon Couein Serena..;...... Judith Lowry Mri StreetBeld , Bdsar Stehll w if*""" < J^tP* Currier McQee..... .Pwry Ivlna Simon DeEacy... .,...■: J. Htllantlna 2S** ' >..Allan Naala Ted Waiter Abel ■?*<>'•"••• .....Romaya Bealemin PIret Pollbeman AneaNaale Second Pollcemaa n«d Mnler MaudT... Nttrsa,.........^•«..,... ....DerotiMa Nolaa .......I^My Sbrere This Is the second production of the Dramatists' Theatre, Inc. It is a three-act comedy by Klda Johnson Young. For her premise- Mrs. Young has taken In "Cock o' the Hoost," a cen- tral philosophy dealing with the conquest of that fear which springs from one's inner self, and has se- lected a flIpp.Tnt. officious and oft- times impudent young man as the central character. The bravado of the youth dominates the action and Intrigues chiedy l)ecau3e of its cock- suredness, although the auditor out front at times gasps in amazement Lynn Starling, an actor arho has devoted his spare time to playwrlt- ing. landed among the royalty re- ceivers last season with "Meet ^e Wife," a faree that raa the season on Broadway. He takos a second bow with a play as hrlghtl^^ UUed, la His Arms, which, howavar. Is a straight oomedy, not sa Infeotlously laughable as his fhros work. But the new shpw gets better as it goes along, which glvas it an edgO over tha average attraction. ' ' "In His Arms" Is a love story, to- mantle enough to carry interest to the finale despite tha obrlon eon^ elusion. The author, ho na sa l, baa screened the transparency of his plot by writing in a diverting last aot. in which there bubbles a marriage re- hearsaL And Sam H. Harris se- lected several fine players who pro- vide pleasant going. It Is the second successive attraction by the manager to be directed by Quthrle McClintic, whose debut with Harris was with "Lazybones." McClintic is known as a stager mho interprets rather than changes lines. In building up so light a play he did well, but might have devoted more attention to the first act, which seemed to ease off steadily as the curtain approached. The love at first sight plot is quite similar to other comedies. Bllse Clarendon Is engaged to Ernest Fairlelgh. an artist, not of the bohe- mlan type, but one rather prudish. She has had one love affair and really expects no flaming romance with Ernest A week before the wedding at a reception she meets Tom van Ruysen, who was bom In America but brought up In Holland. Tom captures two dances that were* set aside for Ernest and sits out an- other pair with Ellse. He calls the next afternoon and carries her off In his Rolls for dinner and a ride in the country. Returned, he declares his love, and they are caught by the irate father and fiance kissing good- bye. However, when she tells Ernest she does not love him. he answers that he'll take his chances on that after marriage. So she decides to go through the wedding. Then a show of temper at the researsal, the appearance of Tom and the realiza- tion her haj)plnes8 must be with him. There is only an hour before the boat sails for Holland, they to be married Although "Tha Saint" doea not meet ths deaoaads of eommercial Broadway, it will comasand a cer- taih reapOot from thoas whO Uke a liberal amount of capltal-lettsred Art with their theatre. SUrk Young haa written a scholarly, aesthetic play, but one wl^lout the reqiilslte vigor or warmth for pomtlar succeea Mr. Toung, at present critic of the "Times" aad formerly in the same capaoitj^oB one ot the radical week- .lies, is raoognlsad as a leader ot th* highbrow cult of th* drama. In "The Salnf he has tried obviously for simplicity, but even in subor- dinating his naturally complex style to his deslra for unstudied expres- sion he has not succeeded in bring- ing his play down to the ibteltsc- tual levels of th* avarag* Ueatre- goer. The second aot manages to be eonsUtently gripping, due chiefly to the one outstanding Individual per- formaao* of th* evening. But .the first and third acts have lapses of deadly dullness and inaction, em- phasised even more strongly by act- ing in general that is inteUtgent but never inspired ok- particularly stir- ring. Fortunately, tha staging has beaa aecompIlsb*d with consider- ably more of th* fire and taste usually found la Provlneatown aro- duotlons. and tha sattings of Robsrt Bdmond Jonas ara agala an artistic delight. For hie tham* Mr. Toung has se- lected the sthiggl* between the spiritual and physioal sides e^ a godly man. The "saint" is a young Jesuit student ia a seminary near th* Mexloaa bwdsr la Texaa He is *ntl«*d frosB OM sohoal by th* Ium of Marietta, a faaelnating but tawdry performer m a aslghborlng vartoty show. The aeeond aot flnds Vajdes, the hero, reigning oomedlaa In the large tent show ta which he has gone with Marietta. She, howaver, has begun to tlr* of hU spiritual love for her and sh* partlculatiy abhors the Charlie C!haplla Imitation he ia forced to perform. The situation when Valdea. still In his comic make-up, learns ah* baa l*ft him for the brutal but ptayaloally attractive icnife thrower la naturally an effec- tive one, but how much Mr. Toung owes to "He Who Oeta Slapped." "Deburan" and even "Pagliaccl"! In the last aot Valdea returns to the seminary, but after rather too much philosophical discussion, de- cides that he is not now fit for the service of Ood and takes the weary road that, leads away from the school. In seleetUlg this role as his first strictly serious effort, Leo Car- rlllo picked a Tartar. His emotional ^tmaxea somehow do not ring true. Helen Freeman as the girl is better, but her per- formance too is uneven and ragged at times. The thesplan laurels went in a huge wreath to Mfrle Ouspenskaya, late of the Moscow Art Company, and appearing for only a few mo- ments in the second act as the dis- carded mistress of the knife thrower. Shrivelled, , Intentionally ugly and handlca-pped by an obviously lim- ited control of English and a marked accent, this foreign actress gave a magnificent performance that brought her individual "bravos" at the end of the act. The remainder Of the caat Is hardly more than fair. In their first production of the new season the Provlnoetown Play^use group have put on a play that, for Its Incoherent and mysterious .ex- pressionism, is about th* lobster's gum ahoes in stupid entertainment In other 'words, "Th* (^rime in th* Whistler Room" Is terribia That goes not along for th* standards «t Broadway, but for th* standards of tha village. At iU Saturday matine* pcrformanc* th* thiy litUe pUyhous* ia MacDougal street was all but de- serted, and those who were la didn't know what it was all about Th* story opens wltlr th* Street- field family In thalf Httag room, krgttlng wh*th*r a sm^ laMs should if in front of th* .WUstlsr on th* wall or before tha OrepiSfOa. A girl, BlU. whom they ar* raising, I* prea- ent and worried over har sweatl*^ Simon DeLapey, who Is to beoom* a father, though he doeaat know It She falls asleep and dream* of S«r fate. Then come* the impir*SBi*n- ism. Then a scene in a irooda of tha dead. Siman romps on la a wolf akin, aaytag that th* padc la after Mm and that ha caat al*«p. Behbid th* lirooda a Jkaa band is playing. Next ia a aohpolroom aeena, with the girl before a fauge blackboard working out equation*. On* waa t* th* effect that X aquared plua AX equaled B cubed, and a faceless in- structor told the girl that the value of X didn't matter. Maybe that was fatalism expressed In a roundabout way. Than back to the sitting room. The girl's father walked in, to do a maglo performance, sucb as h* u*ed4o do In the honkey-tonks to rals* th* prlo* of ham and. Hvery- thing h* irles flops. Aa a maglcUa Frank Van Hoven looka Uk* Keller compared to hlnv The next acene ^fm bealde th* a*a. ai|d th* mding of tb* dream. Fihal aoene again the aittlng room. Finale eama Just la tlm*. Moat ot th* audieac* was snldtsdng, Edmund Wilson, dramatlo crltle on "The New RapubUc" and a mem- ber of that cult which Is trying to uplift the theatre, authored th* pleo*. If h* had call*d. In Sammy Bbipmaa to Insert a f*w punch Una*: Tommy Orayt ta writ* the gags; Paul White- man to handle the Jaas band stuff and Van Hoven to play the magician he might have put over a Broadway comedy suocesa Settings, howsTM-, very tasteful and tmpresalva (orMlt Cleoa Throckmorton), but the stags direc- tion is at times bad. Nona of th* caat did anything that ktokad Ilk* acting. "Th* Crime hi th* Whlatler Room" is Just that, whether on th* Speed- way, subway or in Whistler's sitting room. tilth. Comedians Locate At Savoy, San Diego San Diego, Oct 14. The Savoy, which has been dark all summer, was opened thte week with Murphy's Copiedlans. The first offering has drawn good houses and the new aggregation promise* to catch on without much trOubl*. The company includes Horao* Murphy, Joseph Bell and VtolM Neltz In the principal roles and car- ries Sol Bernstein's orchestra. Per- formances are given nightly, with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Plays are changed Bundaya ^^mi^ ■Mi^,