Variety (May 1926)

-1 Wednesday, May 5, 1W* LEGITIMATE VARIETY 45 PLAYS ON BROADWAY UTTLE THEATRE TOURNAMENT Tne fourth annual National Little Theatre Tournament, conducted by Walter Hartwlg aa general manager and under the auaplcea of tho Man- hattan Little Theatre Club, Inc., got wider way Monday night at the Bayea. with three local groups starting on the first lap toward the David Belasco trophy as the goal. So longer an experiment, the Lit- tle Theatre tourney seems to be crowing In Interest. E. H. Sothern. who waa an extra attraction as speaker for the first night said the Increase of the little theatre's popularity la creating considerable forest in the ranks of professional actors. Just why this should be so, Mr. Sothern, who was thorough on the discussion, although a bit lengthy, professed not to know, ex- tenting that authorities have It that IBore than 1,000 Little Theatre groups are In existence In the United States today. "Variety," aa has been announced, Si the official theatrical journal for constructive criticism, and its Judg- ment will be accepted, for profes- sional purposes, above the judges. The latter, in turn, seemed to have taken the attitude that if a trade rper Is to serve In such capacity, lets them out, which is not so. For purposes of prize awards, as compared to little theatre stand- ards, the board of judges is most Boceatary and far better qualified than "Variety." This paper merely will endeavor In this and next week's composite reviews of the remainder of the week's entries to touch on topics as compared to professional standards and if possible contribute a mite of constructive suggestion. Of Monday night's trio of offer- burs, all hailing from Manhattan, the first took the evening's honors. The Cellar Players, in view of tho limited field for comparison with some 16 other groups yet to come, cannot be predicted as possibilities fOr final honors, aithough a rlcrht. tight dramatic offering was pre- sented by them. The Cellar Players The Hudron Guild, Manhattan, group, presenting Edward C. Smith's "Rele-isc." produced by Alena Rr'anver And A>lo Oatman Nathan. Sett Ins dealKtied by Henry Dreyfuaa and executed by A. A. Gain. Lefty James O'Brien Rabbit John Hayde The Kid Andrew McCarron Bvll O'Mallcy... Franft Carney Tarpey William Cowrie Thid. like the rest of tho bill, is dramatic. "Release" being of the tneller type. The first four charac- ters are gangsters, the) county Jail scene being their present abode pending the district attorney's pros- ecution. Tarpey is the turnkey. Played by William Gowrle it Has a weak characterization, but sufficed to do "straight" for the gangsters In conjuring up visions of "the chair" that awaited the murderers. This smacked too obviously of anti- capital punishment propaganda, but was neatly sandwiched into the action. Lefty, the actual murderer, Is yellow." and although played n Just hand by fate in a coln-dinping match to find one who would "go the route" to free tho other three, he welches. Bull finally gives him another chance, and again Lefty loses, but Insists on dragging his accomplices with him. Bull there- upon strangles the jelly-backed one and is willing to die. for now he has a Just cause. It's a very effective offering, pure- ly theatrical but for its propaganda, which is neither here nor there. The jetting was distinctive, as was to be expected from Henry Dreyfuss, *ho is otherwise production man- ager at the Mark-Strand. New York. James OUrlen us Lefty and Frank Carney as Bull were particularly impressive. Thalian Players *'E ay f£,.' njrn . th,> Hron * Y. M. H. A. in Hie Chl.dten, • playlet by liufua Learel, •tused by William W. Schorr. ff* Samuel Rolan.l if, 0 Emanuel Herllnc- Wally Langtord Charles Bollinger Because of its theme, the Bronx Y. M. H. A. group's offering is rather local. The disregard for their dead male parent by his es- tranged three children is tho bur- den of the sketch. It is rather long- winded and tritely written. A novel twist would have been in having Langford. the Gentile the- atrical manager who is the why- fore of Clara turning from her peo- ple, entered in the guise of the rabbi character and pre ach on honoring the dead, instead of the other (un- programmed) ecclesiastical charac- ter who spieled his stuff very much to the Thomasheisky. The setting was a black boxed draped affair, striking, with the twin candclebra and the other light effects imparting the desired ef- fect. The players actually did more than passingly well, considering the talky "sides" alloted each. The Vagabond Players Martin Flavin * i l:i>let. aU^ed by Wil- liam A. Rotljtj h.l.l. set in an unnharte 1 Island In the South Soaa. MacGregor Robert Lance Gnmp John BreKtlckcr Capt. Prince Wm. a. Roths< hil.i Coolie Frederick UomlH Coolie >»athan Gulp Rather a colorful production, set on a South Sea Island with a treas- ure hunt as the motif. The brag- ging Scot MacGregor and Grlmp, his lieutenant, are out to foil Capt. Prince, whom they suspect. Their hunt la successful and the hidden treasure of Spanish doubloons de- cides them to remain behind and await an expected vessel in three weeks, rather than risk a return on Prince's vessel. MacGregor, brag- ging about his "brains" (the title) has everything cued nicely untii discovering that the keg of water they took off with them is of the ocean's salt and not aqua pura. The moral seemingly being that what glory being a Midas on a bar- ren island with a fatal end await- ing tomorrow. Here, too, a post-climax might havo been appended in having Capt. Prince who u id n't act like the das- tardly character he was painted, re- turn with succor to prove himself. Regard leas of plot content, the playing here was distinctive. Rob- ert Lance as the dialect Scot and John Bresticker in a "limey" role naturally had the opportunities with William A. Rothschild, who also staged, as the naval olflccr holding up his end. Abel. The Importance of Being Earnest Actors' Theatre presents a revival of Oncar Wilde led by Dudley Digices; at the Comedy May 8. I,ane (J* raid H.nnet Algernon MoiuileiT K«»l.iald uwen John WorihlnK \ ernon Kteo.e Ludy liracknell Luei.e Wat hod Mins Falriax llaroldlno Humphreys Cecily Cardcw latrl lu Collinge Miss Priam Catherine- Proctor Mi-rriman WalliB Kohertu Uev. Chusuble Dudley Digues Oscar Wilde wrote this scintillant farce in lie was then the moat lionized literary man in the world, on the crest of his fore-doomed career. He was the most conspic- uous snob, fop and aesthete in Lon- don. To him nothing was sacred. He was a brilliant und merciless cynic. For a phrase he made a nobleman a clown; for a paragraph he crucified a reputation; for a brochure he booberi-rd his country, his flag, his college, his soul. A year later he was writing "The Callad of Reading Gaol '—a shaven, broken, humiliated convict, spat PLAYERS IN THE LEGITIMATE JOHN BYAM "MY Q| R L" La Salle. Chicago Management LYLB ANDREWS LEON ERROL in "LOUIE THE 14TH" ILLINOIS, CHICAGC MAX HOFFMANN, Jr. -CAPT. JINK8"—Shubert, Boston JOHN QUINLAN it Add™*: 14S W«t Wk St.. Hew Y«* «'<•>«•** EDNA COVEY With Leon Errol in "LOUIE THE 14TH" ILLINOIS. CHICAGO BERNARD GRANVILLE COMEDIAN "CASTIK* IN TIIK AIR" CO. Olympic. Chicago " FLORENCE MOORE "Greenwich Village Follies" 8HUBERT. NEW YORK "MERRY MERRY" WITH MARIE SAXON This Week, Plymouth, Boston upon and kicked about; hla name was only the cue for a dirty Joke nd an unmentionable Jibe. Hut he had written TI : Impor- tance of being Earnest" while he still laughed at the world upon which he reigned to glance down, when he mill held us a secret the weird psychopathic twists of his being. He wrote it, therefore, not as the sufferer who rang the deep- est notes of philosophical ratiocina- tion in M De Profundts" later, or who was to leave an ocean of tears for the future generation who would read his humiliating heart-breaks in his "Ballad of Reading GaoL" And if ever there lived the apoth- eosis of smart, sneering, effete clev- erness, it was the Oscar Wilde of 1S05. Today his epigrams come forth like faeets of a steel-blue diamond— a cold, hard diamond, but still a diamond. Latter-day wits, paragraphcrs (and, were the art not obsoiete, one might make the recommendation to cpigrammers) will do well to sit through "The Importance of Being Earnest." Then» they will go forth and buy themselves pearl-handled revolvers; and if they have any consciences will turn them inwaru and use them. A hard-boiled little farce, this, strung on the thinnest lines of structure, for Wildes contempt foi everything was so comprehensive that he had no more reverence for accepted rules of writing than he had for accepted codes of morals. Characters—caricatures, of course, but devilishly shrewd caricatures— walk about upon the stage. Anu ihey speak. They speak in unre- served iy sparkling repartee. Wilde was not afraid of being thought a smart-Alec. He wasn't even afraid i>e wouldn't. He knew he was. And he was. What a diatribe against society, love, matrimony, sex, money; whai a satire on the romantic plots so popular in those musty days; what a laughing stock It makes of youth- ful Innocence and mature decency, it isn't openly immoral. But it is inherently unmoral. It is the throaty chuckle of the unbeliever, who doesn't care whether or not less jophisticated ones believe, but who openly derides them if they do—if ihey believe In the sanctity, the iruth, the sincerity of anything. The British Van Bibbers whom he chisels wiih his ruthless hammer and keen, line, Damascus-cut edged tool become the animated l-'ygmu- Uons and Gala teas of his caustic method of stoning thought. But with what amusing, irresist- ibly penetrating passages he endows them. These are not muttering, mumbling dissatisfied folks; these are grotesque mummers making a lampoon of what the credulous call holy. He makes a virgin fall in love with a man because of his first name; her mother finds a nameless girl charming because she has money; the love-sick males eat n.uliins and scramble for the salad while the affairs of their hearts are in the balance; the superannuated governess is a husband-hunter; the noblewoman is a society-fiend; the sub-deb girls of gentle breeding are cats and cheats and liars. And yet it Is a pretty picture- because it is reprehensible to be s irdonic, but it is proper to be good at it. What New York will do about this revival is quite in doubt. It was originally done here by Frohman some dozen years back, and was taken up by the high-brows, the ong-hairs and the-surviving Wilde- ites. The low tragedy (or high com- edy—surely it would have been comedy to Wilde had it happened to any one else) of the fallen star w;t.s rather fresh then. It is a semi- myth now, more symbolic than ac- tual. A new if small school of Wilde- devotees baa gradually developed . ince then. But tho "sensation" has died out. What the reflex will show is con- nect ural. At any time and under any con- ditions, this sacriligious, profane (without a single sacrilegious or proCano word, ns we know them .i long liroadway) farce is far too brilliant to ever become a broad general success. The simpletons cannot understand it; those who can, enjoy it, but they leave with a dreadful pain in the Inferiority com- plex. For Wilde makes one feel ho ( li< ap, so stripped of all use or rea- son In the world. That is not a box-office reaction. Smartly acted and directed in con- gruous spirit, this revival will still not attain a healthy run. Five or ;ix weks will prove ample, no doubt, to bring forth all of the 7.000,000 New Yorkers who crave this thrill In the theatre. On may "ilme. I.nil. BAD HABITS OF 1926 Intimate revue pro'lurM hy IivntK Stion-»o at the fJr*"*nwi'h Village: th*\'»T«' A f ■ jI :;<». MtiPio by Manning Hherwin. an<) l.srl'H by Arthur H«rzotr. Jr. Number* stnK^'l by Iial[>h H»-;o]f>r nnd dlalo* by P« rry Ivln*. Continueand setting* by !«>s*l»h Mullen. Cast rumpm^d of 17 ]>rn- j«l«\ rhorui and prlnchnH. In 28 «cen«« Job In putting on "The First Fifty Years," Henry Myers' play, in which Claro FJames and Tom Powers were the aole actors. His newest effort, which "they" say was promoted on a shoe string or less, at least shows him to be a fellow with nerve if things were really that tough. And although his little revue is tiresome at many times, it also has much good stuff. Included among the things with a commercial value is one song, "Would-Ja." which sounded like it had a real dance swing and would stand being played by a real orchestra—for, unfortu- nately, the musical accompaniment ia almost zero minus. The trouble with nearly all these littlo revues is that the casts can t do anything except the most ele- mental dancing. Singing always deplorable; diction in unison chorus numbers \vor?e than that and the ability to project a punch lacking. Thus, much good material goes ut- terly to waste. Especially off arc the men in "Bad Habits," mostly youngsters who probably don't havo to work for a living and who are, there- fore, lending their talents for small compensation to the cause of artis- tlc-revue making. The girls are shapely, pretty and given to a dis- play of their figures. Brassieres having been omitted, they manage to project quite a leeandjakish flavor into some of the chorus num- bers. When the nasty sketches are recalled, one wonders if it isn't just a Shubert revue in miniature. Particularly good Is a satire <ui a combination of "young Woodley" and "The Vortex," wnerein Noel Coward is burlesqued until he looks even sillier than in "The Vortex." A "Babes In Hollywood" sketch, with the infant prodigy aa the father of his secretary's child, also gets a laugh or so while a skit on the ridiculous amount of applause given all-star casta also seems to be of that material which might click on Broadway. Lots of the numbers are strictly blatto, aa they're handled now. One or two are good, particularly tho advice to commuters, which opens the last half and in which the out- of-towners are told what follows, so that if they feel like leaving now they can catch the train and still feel they haven't missed anything. But a lecture on bicycling Is no good as now done, and several sketches—particularly the ones labeled "Type-casting" and "Lady Godlva Go Bob Your Hair," Just good Ideas nil wet. Of the people, Kathryn and Har- riet Hamill, two nifty lookers of show girl build, looked nicest, al- though Florence Selwyn, with aw- fully amateurish material, created a distinct Impression. She speaks Kngllsh without over-stressing the accent, like Aline MnrMahon and a few others who might be mentioned as would-lK' practitioners of the Ger- trude Lawrence art. Ann Schmidt did ono nice dance in a pair of short and revealing tights, while Hume Deer, blonde, also played some sketch parts well. Thus "Bad Habits" Is pretty much a 60-50 show. With a real ca »t and a carload of restaglng, It might make the grade. Inasmuch is it opened after several postpone- ments and still isn't routined prop- erly this review may be a little too harsh. It seems but right to say that a week from now it should bo running in much better shape. Commercially, the "Would-Ja" aong ought to help a lot, depending, of course, on the play it can get on the orchestras around town. But Bad Habits" probably Isn't any- thing better than Just a Village show. With rent cheap and the cast costing little, 1. may be able to go for a while. But the uptown gait would be too last, and it does not rate with "Grand Street Follies" or "Garrlck Gaieties," obviously the revue* which inspired its production. Bilk. PLAYS OUT OF TOP Th« Irving Strouse who produced this is the same young nan who several years ago did a • editable KITTY'S KISSES Newark, N. J., May 1. Musical comedy In two rv.Ih and hcv«ti scenes. Hook by l'hlllp Ilorthoioinae and Otto JIarbach. I,yrlcn ataged by Ous Kalin. MuMc by Con Conrad. Dances by Bobby Connolly. 1'resented by William A. Brady at the Shubert, Newark, N. J., week April 26. Mm. liurke Jane Conor*.. Mr. Burke Frank lintel'. A Country Girl Georiruia Tllden Lulu Allecn Mcehan KlUy Brown Dorothy Dllley Robert Mason John BoIoh 'ihe Day Clerk William Wayne The Ten-phone <llrl Kuth Warren The Bel.boy Charles Wllllanu Tho Maid Elizabeth Murruy The Niuht Clerk Larry Mark Klrhar.l Dcnnison Mark Smith Mm. Dennlwm Frances Burke l'hlllp Dennison Churl™ Flnan Miss Wendel Mildred K^ats Although not so programed, this is a musie.'il version of "Little Miss IJrown," the Richard Barlholomae farce. "Kitty's Kisses," allowin;; for a very ragged first nl^ht, may make a good .summer show, but nothing more. It is said, however, that some new prineipals may go In tonight, and this should muke a world of difference. The familiar story 1h that Kitty Brown, on the way to meet h« r mother, is deprived of admittance to hotels in u strange eity wheo she has lout her money and baggage. Accordingly she gives the name of the wife of n man expected at a hotel, and consequently finds herself unexpectedly the breakfast cueist of a man with whom she hut* Inno- cently spent the night. Much that Is amuHing In the plot, but at times, particularly in the second art, the book drags inexplic- ably and more than once it In not at all apparent that the story known where it is going - if anywhere. In the light of all that ha.s been done with bedrooms since thJs farce first aroused the blushes of the timid early lUOO's it would seem thnt much more might smartly come nut of the second act situation. Of course, the book might be more or less scrapped, but as it Ih made very prominent it should Justify Itself. No outstanding personality and none can .sing, if John Holes is ex- cepted. Dorothy Dlilcy as Kitty is Winsome and well-suited. She can dance with Hi'- !>est. Another lively stepper is Mildred Keats, who is also not hurtful to the eyes. As the male lead Mr. iiolcs outlooks as well as nuttings the others, and has an encaging manner. Kuth Warren and W illiam Wayne furnishes mwh eomeu'y by their lively patter, ard their ero»ey<| iio iImiu i i i lt |* as laugh- able as (ii.c ha.s any right to expect. Murk Smith as Kitty's cjj-roomer is amu.-lng. Klizabeth Murray as the maid hardly sccrned s< t In th< part. ThA \% attractive mediums (only one blonde, rlevplt' gentlemen) are agile and appear with elpht male comrades in two ensembles that are superb. Otherwise the dancing re- veals no originality—not their fault. The "College Four" Is down for spe- cialHcF. but the littlu chance given for singing gets them nowhere. The lyrics, so far as they can be heard, /iound above the average hoa.mg, does not seem up to Con- ads usual standard. It is pleasing and appropriate, but not at all .trlk- ing. Kittys Kisses," which is Plugged, should become popular in^" f WhoIe ' the Bnaw to £ oK? Ia r 8 \ nnd yet ai, y on « »hould be ab!- to hi « g„od tl-ne watch- ln & Austin. SUCH A "BUSINESS -.u -Angeles, May 1. TonV n,. ld *»«■ Pl«>«ra at the Hollywood a d wm, Wr .-I l "2 by Abraham Oold- Uo,dtn Mary Dawn f?rVw:ti r ,dV,;; - Irving Jny Silver Mr*. H.lver Hchmldt Mnry Joyce .... HfVfs. .. . A'l.'ims.... Hcriifitein. . • Minna '••••••••••••a* Victor Rodman Kerry Madman .Wi:iar4 Jeiinrn Murloa King .James Worn ley !•:<! Kitch .Wlllard Jennan Such a Business," which received its first hearing before filled scats at the Hollywood Tent Theatre last Sunday. Is not as had as might be expected. With visions of another attempt to duplicate "Abie," this comedy turned out mors like a Montague f;iaHs rhapsody. "Love In tho cigar business" tells the story in a nutshell. It opens with Max Golden making his own cigars in a little iNew York shop, satisfied and contented. His daugh- ter, however, has a yen for an ar- tistic career and when an offer comes to sell 1,000,000 of his stogies a month, she hops the old man up to cxpund. A Mrs. Silver, with her son, Irvin g, horn In f„r a partner- whip so that the expansion can be made. The second act, a year later, shows the big factory running with a lot of business trouble coming for Golden and Silver. Strikes, detec- tives seeking booze and young Sil- ver's love for Miss Go!den all lend up to the climax with the old clgar- mnkcr ordering the lovers out of ills ofuVe f nr ^ood. Iv. erythl.-ig i s f ( .j, P( | ljp j n tJ)e third act ), y the girl stenographer, who has worked under a contract wh.-rehy she was not to speak and who turns out to be a prohibition ofllc r with the goods on the heavy, a ferret partner who has been using clirar boxes for gin bottle ovrr- eoat.M. W' Ham If. Strauss, one of the authors, played the featured part and pla.M-d it weil. There Is noth- ing "hokov" about tile niay with the- exception of some over or under acting Ijy Minna Kedman as tho elderly Jewish lady and some poetry on love fiuoted by thr? clerk. StrausH gave a decent, logical in- terpretation of a small-time cl^ar roller without dialect or monkey- business The other parts wero straight • nnugh, with Victor Hod- man deserving praise for Jumping Into the Irving Silver port In a day.