Variety (January 1925)

84 VARIETY LEGITIMATE > ■ M-T •' "^^i "•' Wednesday, January 7, )825 NEW PLAYS PRODUCED OUTSIDE NEW YORK m lC-...« ir»..rA. mw%A m Iftlr^r movie for the remainder of the en- IrOUr Knaves ana a JOKCT terUJnment. Wallter Whlt*«We has probably never bad a better role with which to pleajM bis personal fane. In this play It is the little cherry, 'bloeaom princ«H and her handBome Japanese prince husband who are superior and triumphant as the heart-broken occidental lover weeps and staggers from the stage. In the following two acts, both short, the tense action is continued and the plot swiftly develops to an exclthiff conclusion. Whiteside is magnificent In portraying violent amotion underneath a mask of per- fect control. Much credit is also dtie Miss Shields, who gives a memorable performanc« In the role of the Princess. In spite of the fact that the first act is far below the level of the fol- lowing throe, "Sakura" Is a good play and an excellent vehicle for the star. The supporting cast is well chosen and the stage direction un- usually good. Although It cannot be stamped a popular hit. It Is un- doubtedly one of the best vehicles Walker Whiteside has ever had. Washington, Jan. 6. XJoDct Barnrmor* sfarred »nd Irene Kton- Wlok fMtared In a n«w pl«y pre««ito<l by A. H Wood*. WrlttPii by Loon Oordon and bttaad on » •tory by Oliver B««two<xI. Pre- •aated at tb« Belaaoo thaatre, Waahlncton, D. C, Jan. ». ,. . „ ^ A PJker (Bornle Kaplan)..Lionel Barrymore A Lew!h (Willie Bllay) *'*» Brooka ■ Two Wl»e Men from the Kaat— <Fi«d CunnlDfham) Bobart CummlnK* (OfOHW Howe) Hamr ■. McKae A Provider (The Walter). .Jamea C. Malaldy A ChoomtT (June KnlshO Irene Fenwick A OeoOemaB <T) (Alexander Montatnery) Praak Oonroy A Belp-MaU (Mrs. CunnlnSham).....^.. A Domb-bell S*4la Malta) Maacr Dare A Financier (Mr. Stronn)... .W. A. Norton The IsI^Uibla (Broderick).. Char lea Stattary Liooh Gordon has given Barrymore a great part; In fact. b« bas given the entire east great parts, but be Wasn't written a play that possesses that one great essential—suspense. Gordon has written the biggest part of the play in his prolog, and never for a moment do you fail to know Just what is ahead. At the tag of the Mcond act Gorden again tips off his biggest kick, the one that must bav« sold the ahdw to Woods, by making' Barrymore live the song, ^."They Wouldn't Believe Me." Opening In an attic, Barrymore, ft "the piker," and AlanJBrooka as "the ^ leech," Hgbt it out, verbally, but with healthy dialog, as would be expected from two such "blrdi^" over what Bemie (Barrymore) thought was but a ISO theft he had made In bank, but which in reality was a ffiO.OOO afCalr. Bernie was a guard or some- thing In the bcmk. and copper the envelope to get himself a sfiit with two pair of pants, so he could win the girl, Irene Fenwick. The "leech" would first make the '.' piker split, but catches himself and ';^ decides to bleed Bemie instead and ;< thus keep clean. -Tb^ is the ■• answer. We aU knew the poor "sap" \ was going to be played for a good /thing by every<me be came In con- .=; taot with. This including the girl, f her lover, and the flrst-idaas crooks , * tLdntm the balL When Bemle's roJl Is gona and he finds tha girl anB her lover together and she tells him . what she thinks of talm. poor Bemie j avan oftets 'o let her have the lover .< If slM'U otA/ stick. She refers to bim as a piker. BenUe tries to ^ prove bs is a nsgnlar, that be is the .' bank thief who got away with a > cold l&*,00<K she wouldn't believe him. and then Mr. Gordon, the au- thor, scores tip-off number two. We all knew no one woald e^r believe Bemie, not even the cops when he finally squeeled on himself, and that Is exactly what happened. The "dick" thought he was dippy and the piece ends with Bernie headed for the booby hatch and giving his last coin to the "leech" to get that suit with the two pairs of pants. Barnrmore was magnlflcent. He plays a Jew, he plays it great and though that bunch out front were heard to say "the poor sap," the player, nevertheless, got their sym- pathy, and when a man can do that it looks like the show would at least stand In New York for the Barrymore draw, which, if Judg'.nR from what was pulled out of this town on the opening night, is a ^/o^thwhlle draw. Miss Fenwick is In another of the "bleeding" roles, and great. It is Iiard to name the member of the supporting cast giving the outstand- ing performance. Whoever se- lected the cast made a good Job of ISABEL Buffalo, Jan. 6. Three-act comedy from the German "In«o- bun" of Kurt Ooeta adapted by Arthur Btchman and itaged by Frank Belcher. Presented by Charlee Kruhman under direc- tion of Ollbert Miller. SUrrinx Marcarel I^awrence with the roHowlnv Cait: Edna May Olhrer. Lyonel WatU. A. P. Kaye and Lenlle Howard. the Stranger. Not a very satisfac- tory oonelaslon for this country. Of course, emphasis Is laid upon the sexy sld« of the discussion. Borne of the dialog Is outspoken regarding the Intimacies of the marital rela- tions. The three acts ars played in one set. which Is tastefully designed and mounted. Five characters make np the ensemble, and each role is played with uniform care and distinction. The opening performance was prac- tically letter-perfect. There Is a butler part made up of not over a score of lines which is a comedy gem. As pUyed by A. P. Kaye it became towering. Bdna May Oliver as the spinster aunt contributed materially to the general effect Lyonel Watts and Leslie Howard played the hus- band and lover, with Howard slight- ly in the lead. For the road "Isabel" Is certain to be caviar to the general. For met- ropolitan oopsumptlon. however it should bs gogd for more than a re- spectable sho.wlng. as much by raa- son of its iDW-productlon cost and small cast as because of a smartness of Idea and radness of treatment. SEDUCTION Baltimore, Dec. 31. Frank Wlloox and De Witt Newtnv pre- sented "SeducUoa," a drama In three acta by De Witt Newiag. Direction of Buoby Berkeley; aaHiUnt. Edward Davtdaon. In- cldent«l maito aad dances arraniied by Mile. Lias PavOBOva. Art director. Rusaell C. Senior. Sta^^ at the Lyceum t»»eatre. NEW PLAYS PRESENTED WmflN WEEK ON BlAY «^ - .--w Mrs. Partridge Presents Comedy drama In tkree acta by Mary Kennedy and R«tli Hawthorne. MwAooed at the Belmont Jan. S by Untbrle MoCUmto; Blanche Bates starred. Kllen. Philip Partrldxe... Delight Partridge.. Stephen Applegats. Mataie Partridge... Katherlne Everltt.. Sydney A iin s t ead.. (Aarles Ledlow..., Clementine Miss Bamlltoa PStC esesseeeeeeeee* ,.C. ..Auguita HSTlland .Rdwv<l Emery, Jr. Sylvia Field ....Charles Waldroa Blanch* Bates Butb Gordon BUM Ca»ot BavUand Taa»pell nslas Ivans Vlrsr " William ■d ... msuie ivBBs ■UMaCMSTMet niwertbuistMi Bdwia H. l6m Baltimore, Monday evening. 2». 1S24. "Isabel" belongs to the sIqv, mo- tion picture school of conversational drama. It is one of those super- subtle sort of plays in which even the Simplest yea and nay are ac- companied by a whole gamut of gesture, inflection and nuance. "Tea for Three" inaugurated this vogue. In atmosphere, type and treatment "Isabel" resembles the former plfcce, a similarity height- ened by the presence of the capable and charming Miss Lawrence. Few of our younger school play-ladies possess her rare radiancy <i.nd gift of subtle expression. Without her and her school the conversational drama becomes an endless waste of words. Which is a polite way of saying that Miss Lawrence makes 'Isabel" deUghtfully acceptable. An- other reason is the distinctively continental angle from which the problem is attacked. That' light, racy, blase European pose toward the sex question of 'which "The Werewolf." recently In our midst, gave rather over-eloquent testi- mony. A third is a last act con- taining one of the fujniest intoxi- cation scenes since "Fair and Warmer," a scene between husband and lover beginn.ng with the two at loggerheads and ending with them sloppy in each other's arms. As written and played it is a gem. The play is another angle of the familiar triangle. The brunt of the entire action is borne by the three characters, husband, wife and lover. As played by Watts, Lawrence and Howard, respectively, the piece moves off smoothly even through the cojjaplicated conversational pas- sages. As usual in plays of thia genre, the dialog abounds In spar- kling epigrams, many of them almost over-brllUiint for the immediate context. The play is strictly for the Intelltgentaia and requires the closest of concentr}ition for full appreciation. Originally scheduled for Joint do and does it exceedingly well. Frank Conroy as the gentleman (T) lo^er of fhe girl was equally ef- fective, and that gues for the entire remaining cast. Priestly Morrison has made a good lob of the staging, the atmos- phere <n-eated Is remarkably good and his handling of situations on tha same plane. The play. If it could Just be reversed and not tell it all in advance, would *rank as a great piece of work, but It is Lio- nel Barrymore that attracts the In- terest. Barrymore •cores In his every move and his every line. New York will take this one for st least three mcmths Just for this 'jta* attribute alone. Meakin. It. Alan Brooks has the most to showing with Barrle's one act "Shall SAKURA Chicago, Dec. 29. Play in four acts by Joatln Th^ron, star- ring Walker Whiteside. Presented st the Playbooae, Chicago, Dec. 21. by arrange- ^nsat with W. B. Pennington, with the foj- iowlng oaat: Walker Whiteaide. Carl Voee, Pauline Jennings, Sydney Shield*, Harold Vosbargh, David Balbridge. IMward Har- ford. Brandon Bvaas, Oenevleve Bertolaccl, Carlos Cnrtl and Will D. Howard. "Sakura" Is a Japanese surprise package. The first act Is the wrap- ** ping, but like most wrappings, . it ;:> fneans little to the contents of the '' box. The first act merely serves to ' Introduce the characters and gives a small hint as to what Is coming. It Is wordy and slow. "Sakura" is a story which starts iVjsut like a lantern slide exhibU and ily Changs* to a Ihri We Join the Ladies." "Isabel" Is now strictly on Its own. As a full evening's entertainment It Is some- what scant, the flnal curtain, 'de- spite two protracted intermissions, falling at 10:35. Revision and the addition of a jtew ending which must be made to insure American acceptability, will probably add a needed 15 minutes. The story Is practically simple. Isabel, wife of a preoccupied young professor of biology, is bored and awaiting the opportunity for an in- discretion. Into the house comes a gay young playwright, and Isabel promptly sets out to captivate him The professor realizes the situation and seeks to arrange for a test of his wife by having the stranger make ardent love to her. Torn between his sense of honor and his love for Isa- bel, the Lothario accepts and de- clines alternately. There follows a tumult of conflicting purposes, and cross-purposes. " In addition, 'hus- band and lover, discussing the situa- tion over the flowing bowl, become so mellow they are unable to distin- guish thplr respective rights and po- sitions. The lover refers to the lady as his "adored Isabel" and the hus- band apologises at each of his refer- ences to his "beloved wife." Finally the perplexed gentlemen refer the question first to Isabel, then to the spinster aum and finally to the but- ler, all of whom can offer no solu- tion. The end leaves the matter In the air, it being suggested that the wife will continue to live with her vand carry on bar affair with •This advertised "play of primi- tive passions" proved to be much wordy dialog concerning sex and sheiks on the sands of Saliara. Datlnr, no doubt, from the after armiatlc<f> era, when B. M. Hull was crowding H. B. Wright pretty closely for the best seller, the play Is being done here By its author- impresario with the hope of appeal- ing to the town's apparently in- satiable appetite for the sexy sen- sational. Nine-tenths of the evening is given over to the prolix and per- plexing telling of a not very plausible story. Sir Reginald's daughter, Skllth, is one of thos» wedded virgins who deserts her husband. Lord* Brie, on the steps of the altar because he is the villain of the play. She flees to the great opeq spaces of the desert, where men are sheiks. For reasons ^of plot she seeks refuge In the tent of Abd Bl. A. K. has only one eye, but Bdlth completely Alls It, for she Is none other than Allyn King dolled up In riding habit. Bl decides then and there that Bde shall pay off his long standing grudge against &lr Reggie. He stalls a bit, however, while a half dozen cutles In equatorial eve- ning dress do a dance that should keep the box office busy. This also gives the author time to bring up sheik No. 2, who has been looking all over North Africa for Lord Eric. (The dastardly peer took his little sister camel riding one night In Khartoum.) This sheik has two eyes, but again Allyn easily fills them both, so he dashes off with her to another oasla Comes now the big scene from the second act of every Cosmo Hamilton play; but Just when the sheik has exposed Miss King as she was never exposed by Mr. Ziegfeld he realizes thaL he can't go through with it. More—she recognizes that under his Stein grease paibt he Is none other than Lieutenant Umpty Dash- Dash of her father's outfit, and being also the hero, she kisses bim fervently for the curtain. Not Broadway stuff, but as a provincial pop price vehicle It af- fords an opportunity for some sen- sational sex publicity and should be good at the present stand for the better part of a month at least "The casting is satisfactory. Miss King lends her blonde beauty to the heroine, while Frank Wilcox Is manly as the two-eyed sheik. There are dances by and with Mile. Pavo- nova. The settings are colorful and the direction good, "T." At last "Women's Wear* gats a break. Not orly li that breakfast food for the cloak and suiters men- tioned several times In the flrst act, but a copy of that extraordinary trade dally is shown-i-somathlng to do with a story—^nly of interest to the trade of course. Also "Vanity Fair" gets a men- tion. Ruth Hawthorne was for- merly with that publication. Now she Is In the Saks publicity depart- ment She and Mary Kennedy wrote "Mrs. Partridge Presents " Miss Kennedy last appeared "In the Next Room" ahd off the stage she Is the wife of Deems Taylor, musical sharp for the "Morning World." "Mrs. Partridge Prekents-i—" starts off like a- winner. The first act Is as bright as a new dollar and it radiates plenty of chuckles. Then the play grows dramatic and loses Its gvlp. The fun of the first act fades out. The authors selected a family theme, not especially new. The main story tells of th ambition of a mother attempting to mold the lives of her two c'.ildren. Her hus- band had died after they had been married six years, which period was not a happy one. It seems she had been taken to live in the aged home of an old proud family and the re- lations had proven .a* leaden weight. Away -from that Mrs. Partridge established a gown shop In the smart SO's. New York. She planned artistic careers for daughter and son. The latter she desired to be an artist, while the stage was se- lected for the girl. The mother's Idea was to give the youngsters a foundation whereby they could have freedom, without being tied down to humdrum existence. In the end she finds the boy hankering for a trip to Spain, there to start engineering CHINA ROSE Boston, Jan. 6. An Oriental operetta In 'two aeu and three acenes, produced by John Cort; flrst performanoe Chrlstma* Eve at the IIollls Street thaatre, Boston: libretto by Harry L. Cbrt and Oeorge B. Stoddard: score by A. Baldwin Sk>an; aUged by R. U. Burn- aide. Bang Bang, the SoMler.Mr. Alfred Kappeler O Ml, the Oovemess Miss Viola Gillette Fll Wun, the irupper.,..MIaa MIU Uanley Wu Ue Oeo. B. Mack Pa Pa Wu. the Ruler. Mr. Robinson Newbold Sing Bins, tlie Bandit's Aide Mr. Msurlce Holland Cha Ming, <bs Bandlt.Mr, J. Harofd Murray Ko See, the China Row. ..MIm Kern Ro«era HI, the Rnvoy Mr. Kred Nice T>o, the Other Mr. Cbas. DeHaven Sis Ta. the Dowager Mias Lillian Lee The .healthy interest which has been shown In this me'dlocre oper- etta during its fortnight in Boston would seem to Indicate that It may be another forerunner of a come- back In popularity of the old-school standard favorites. Cort Is already starting to exploit his male choriis based on the way the Shuberts i>ut over the same Idea In "The Student Prince." The production has ap- parently reached its normal stride, and Is scheduled to go into New York next week, carrying a work- ins cboruji of 24 girls and 11 men. "China Rose" shapes up as a deliberate effort to turn out a high- grade Oriental operetta along con- ventional Une*^. The plot is mere'y the story of the potentate's daughter who must marry a prince of certain qualifications by birth. She is in love With the voice of a bandit chieftain she has never seen. An- other potentate is in need of an im- klssed princess to wed bis son. Ul- timately the bandit captures the princess, kisses her to their mutual satisfaction and then releases her to continue her Journey to wed the un- known prince. The bandit Is the prince, and all ends happily. Such is the plot Musically. "Chtna Rose" stands well, the theme .strain bearing the same name as the show, and the only jazz number Is a reminiscent bit enUtled "Chinese Bogle Man." The big duet Is a beautiful number, "Just a Kiss." These three numbers are the outstanding whistlers to date, but the uniformly high aver- age of the entire score coupled with the sweetness of the simple story, is what Is really bringing the local draw. A full pit is being carried, including harp and bassoon. The show Is wofuliy lame on comedy, and at the end of its week there was not an outstanding com- edy role being developed. DeHaven and Nice, dance team from vaude- ville, are sadly handicapped in Chi- nese makeup, and their best bits do not register. Oeorge B. Mack has not found his stride and Mitl Man- ley, In a role of a Chinese flapper who has found a book on American slang, has a part that looks like a hit in the script. Her personal han- dling is excellent The elusive laugh is what "China Rose" needs. Vocally, the cast stands up ad- mirably. J. Harold Murray and Fern Rogers having the big duet and most of the singing burden. The chorus can sing, but the men must be built up to stand exploitation. Nlta Marfan is alternating on mat- inees for Fern Rogers in the Prin- cess role and Is being given much publicity as a "find" by Sloan and Cort. Scenlcally and in costumes "China Rose" Is beautlfylly done, but is not lavish. The production is as clean as a whistle and Is sweet without being sticky. This, combined with the fact that Its simple story and the Ollbert and Sullivan method of handling seem to have a revival appeal and possibly account for Its creditable draw here where It opened cold." It looks a little tender for New York right aow, however. Likken, on a bridge Job. wbils th« girl nm« off and is married -on the eve of hsf appearance In a Broadway show. It Is a story of the futility of IMtrent attempting to shape the livi of children to pursuits. and idew. opposed by the Offspring. But th«' play begins as a gay sort of affale, Perhaps the reason lies in tha authoresses' more successful writ* ing of comedy <fr the selection o( Ruth Gordon to interpret the prln« clpal comedy role. So well did Mlsg Gordon play Katie that she liftsA honors awi^y from Blanche Battc' JCatle Is a neat trick but quite ln« slpld, a chatterbox about everything and anything, the kind, known as beautiful but dumb. Her father wag probably a wise bird, satfhg If the top of Katie's head was off, feathers would blow out. ' The flrst nlghten laughed to* about the preparations for Delight's (Mrs. Partridge's daughter) debut on the stage. In vaudeville. First it was to be In a large Brooklyn theatre. B, S. Moss'. Then the agent called up to say the sketch would open at Waehawken Instead, with explicit directions about taking the 42d street car, the ferry and the ca:f on the other side that goes td Union Hill. Delight's act was to open the bllL She was fired out of that Job, So her mother bought in on a new comedy to be produced. That was all for the kid, yet she ran off with her young man. The role of Mrs. Partridge is ad« mlrably suited to Miss Bates. She looks every inch the mother and shs got the most''out 9f the lighter por- tions of the play. Somehow ths sincerity of her ambitions about the children was not Iprtpresslve, prob« ably the matter of the writing. Sylvia Field played the daughter. Perhaps the stage Is no lure for all ^irls, but It seem^ one like this would Jump at the chance. Augusta Havlland as the Irish maid gave the best performance among the minor roles. Bdward Bmery; Jr., proved a clever youngster as the non-artistic son. BlUot Cabot as the suitor drew attention pre- viously for his "stew" Impression and It looked for a time at the start as though he was going to do his stuff. "Mrs. Partridge Presents " i$ well cast in the main and It Is smartly produced. Had the pace ot the opening session been main- tained, the play's chances would have been strengthened. Indira-' tions are for light appeal and siml« lar business. Neither does the play look any too fancy for a film scenario. Ibee. CARNIVAL Drama In three sets by Ferenc MoInafS . •roduoed at tk» Cort theatre Dec. » br Charles Prohmaa, lac: Blale Fergussa •Urred: translated by Melville Raker: «• rected by Frank Relctaer; settings by Lee Slmonson. Nicbolaa Komady .'UTom Nesbttt Edmund Nicholas Jfoy CamUla, wife of Sandor Orossy Elsie PergnsOfS Rudolf SUnley LoKU A Cavalry OapUla Franklyn POK Matyaa Oes I.eo U. CarroU Sandor Orossy Berton Churchill tilsska. Sister of Matyas Oes Anna Orey Police Commlaaalre Nicholas Jtf Police Secretary Henry BloomfleiB Secret Service Man Richard Bowler A Girl Margaret Hutching First Coat Room Wonkn. Mlgnon O'Doberty Second Coat Room Woman Edith Harding Browa Third Coat Room Woman Mildred Wall Lackey Kenneth Lawton Doorman Baall Hanbury The Cort was brilliantly set for a Molnar premier Monday of last week. Perhaps "Carnival" would repeat the trick of "The Swan" last season which looked weak out of town only to be bailed by Broadway as a i^t>arkllng success. But the trick did come out that way this time. The audience was smarter than either the play or the players. Yet, the same factors were used beyond the footlights—Molnar, guided by the Frohman office, which used Melville Baker's translation, and all contributed In the fashioning of "The Swan." "Carnival," not the same play as presented for a brief two weeks at the 44th Street with Godfrey Tearle several years ago. possesses none of the wit and satire of either "The Swan" or "Lllllom." It Is over- burdened with chatter until the last act. The heroine runs true to form, somewhat like the princess in "The Swan," but there seems to be little sympathy for the characters at any period of the play. The story is dated and costumed in the 1890'8 at Budapest, the occa- sion being a state ball, which Is an annual event. Attending are Ca- milla, wife of Sandor Oroszy who, save for the several winter months, has Jealously guarded his beautiful wife on his hinterland estate. Ca- milla Is much sought after by fop- plRh society men. Only one of the admiring group has ever attracted Camilla's attention. It Is Nicholas Komady, an aspirant for the bar. also an artist and writer. Camilla finds the famous sea green (ContlQued on page 2i^