Variety (Oct 1927)

Wednesday, October 5, 1927 LEGITIMATE VARIETY PLAYS ON BROADWAY THE LETTER Melodrama In three act. by W. Somerset n7.irham preeented by Messmore Kendall I?fhV Morosco Sept. 36; Kalherlne Cornell rtarreV by Outhrle MeCUMIe. . —it. Proable Katharine Cornel! •lfiK!^::::::SJ!?K6 $%?r* L ?o?c::::::::::::.... .*n.» £?„P h1 g e nc James. Vincent A SIM" Sergeant of Police B. Landon Mr. TWSS Mary fcottlSeton rh-nr HI " am K,n STSmMH Woman I*iy Choog doe J.,vce Ev * I^eonard-Koyne FRtmS Dose ana Malay Servant.: K. »WnX I»w Muna. Ho Pol Kee, 1,0 Bins. ^"m Hee. Ton* See. W. Somerset Maugham, whose ahort story provided the meat for the smashing dramatic "Rain," has again looked teward the East for the atmosphere for his "The Letter," acened in the home on a plantation in the Malay Peninsula and at Singapore. It is a London success with Gladvs Cooper in the lead. With the colorful Katherine Cornell starred at the Morosco, "The Let- ter" is off to a standee start. "Whether it will achieve a season's run Is a matter of opposed opinion. The English dramatist has writ- ten skillfully, but there was an im- pression that it was strung out, probably because there Is so little shading of humor. It is as shows go well within the time limit. The strength of the final act figures much In Its favor. •The Letter" tells no pretty tale. It is better drama. It starts with the eternal triangle, quickly smashed when Mrs. Leslie Crosbie kills her lover. She had been in- censed at the man because he sought to shake her. She had be- come desperate upon learning the man had taken to himself a Chi- nese mistress who was living within his house. One of Maugham's shafts shown through the speech of her attorney when he commented that Leslie should have been married to Rob- ert Crosbie for 10 years, during most of which time she was the mistress of another man without the husband even suspecting any- thing was awry in his household. Robert Is made to appear not quite intelligent, but his deep love for Leslie is explanation of his blind- Bess. After the shooting the brown men rush from their quarters. The hus- band 1 who had gone to Singapore for the night is sent for, also Howard Joyce, his close friend and counsel- lor. Leslie's story Is that she shot Jeff Hammond because in fhe ab- sence of her husband he had at- tempted to rape her. It looks like a sure acquittal, but on the eve of the trial Joyce learns of a letter of unmistakable mean- ing gent Hammond by Leslie on (he very day of the murder. She had denied being in communication with him for months and then only in a casual way. But a copy of the let- ter when shown the woman brings forth the ndmlssion and the sus- picion of the attorney is borne out. Leslie is saved because the letter Is kept out of the hands of the prosecutor at a price of $10,000, which sum saps the husband's en- tire resources. The truth comes to the husband w-hen he demands the letter. In that scene Miss Cornell throws her whole force. She tells Robert the sordid story, how Hammond had tried to get rid of her and of her discovery of the Chinese woman. After the Impassioned recital the husband breaks down, but declares that withal he still loves her. To Joyce, the lawyer, she says "he will stay with Robert and try to make amends, but that she cannot l"Vo hjm the way he wants. Joyce pictures that as retribution, but Leslie says retribution lies within herself because she loved the dead man with all her heart and soul. That Is the firflsh of the play. In 'he English version there was a flashback with the dialog and action 1-ading up to the shooting. It seemed the present version is suffl- • ient. since not too subtle or mysti- fying. However, at last Saturday's matinee, many in the house crowd- ed with women did not know If Les- lie was supposed to do the shooting or whether the shots were fired by another person. The reason for that was that the pistol used by Miss I f.rneli tailed to fire. She is sup- Posed to stand over the prostrate a ? d r,urn P bullets jnto his body until the gun la empty. Because of "in bone, there was but a succession •t clicks, until the stage manager fired several shots off stage. It T'i'etty nearly spoiled the perform- ance because the opening episode Is •II Important. There are several real Chines.. ?P~ J-l Ps in bits, but the outstand- ing role of that type was capitally Played by James Vincent, as Ong i™ Sp nP. chief clerk for Attorney Joyce. Ong Is supposed to be a graduate of the University of Hong *"ng. and a brilliant thinker. Vin- cent" suave Oriental could not be ""nled. Both „„ to dialpf , t ai „, fake-up the characterization was expert. Not for an instant was he out of cliura.w r and impressed as an admirable actor. Allan Jeayes, one of the English players, did a good job of Joyce, the attorney. In ihe second act he per- formed more like a district attorney in wringing the truth from Leslie, but that was according to the writ- ing. J. W. Austin was tile husband. Others unimportant. The play's locale calls for the men wearing duck and pongee suits, but the trousers worn by two were sloppy, quite unsuited to stage use. Miss Cornell has had better roles than that of Leslie of "The Let- ter." But her Immense feminine draw will rather be enlarged. Her presence as the star of the Maugham play means much more to the box office thsn the play Itself. "The Letter" Is sure of success, but as to longevity, that is prob- lematic, lbee. Sidewalks of New York Mueical comedy fa two act?, presented by Charles IkJliiiKhain, with Itay Dooley .tarred, at Ihe Knickerbocker Oct. 3. Book, lyrlca and must.- by fcldoie IxiwhnK and .tame, llanley. Is«nie. directed by Karl Lindsay. Hook stated by Edgar MacOre- *or. t3.K, top. Auruet Hrewstrr Frank Kin.ilon Dorothy Brewster Linda Mi*. Bra water Winifred Harris Hon, Pen lval Short Curl Francis Perkin. T. r. Thomas sergeant l>a!ey Plske O'Hara Mr.. O'Brien Elizabeth Murray- Mickey O'Brien IUck Ke-ne Whitey Chus. Gale lazy Alex t^alm Monk .lister Hope Fingers Oeo. Byrne Murray Henry Dowllng Gertie Ray Dooley I*arker Cecil Owen The tiovernor Harry Short Willie William Ahearn Buckley Sam Morton Abe Cohen Cbas. Dale Moe Zimmermann Joe Smith Policeman Emlle Cote Three old T.mere Jim Thornton, Josephine Sabvl, Barney Fagan Ruby Ruby Keeler Gladys Gladys Ahem Carrie Carolyn Notte Dolly W'oodey Lee Wllaon Organ Grinder Edward Maurelli Dancing Girls-Gene West, Phyllis Reyn- olds, Elva Pomfret. Adeline Foley. Peggy Timmons, Tjouiae Stark, Wanda Woods, Sybil Bursk, Virginia Webb. Ixirralne Webb. Jeanne Edwapls, Helen MacDnn- ald. Kathryn Hereford. Dolly Gilbert. Virginia t^ark. Betty Wright.' Marjorie Gilbert. Pearl Bradley, Anna May Rex, Woodey Lee Wilson, Evelyn Farrell. Dancing Boy...Bob Maxwell, George Mur- ray. Billy O Rorke. Jack Gargln. Ward Tallman. Georgie Rnnd, Dick Bennett Hal Hennessey. Walter Carson, Francis >. Slnnott, Melvln Halpern, George Rand, Don Lee. Charles Davis' Harlem Red-Hots. .Charles Davis. Billy H.;.i.,,i John Alexander. Pete Kurenf. Irving Beaman, Joe Wilson Bobby Shields. Edward Shanault. New York Bluecoatx Octet..Fred Wllaon Hall Clevis. Stanley McClelland. Emlle Cole. Ross Wright. Paul A. Weber Ed- ward Marshall, Vance Elliott. Last fall Eddie Dowllng spotted his Honeymoon Lane" at the same Knickerbocker for one of the most consistent musical draws of the entire season. And he has done it again, this time with "Sidewalks of New York," with his wife rightfully starred before a first night of celebs Monday evening. The idea of the show and the writing of the liook is Dowlings Teamed with him again is James Hanley, composer of the scores of ' Honeymoon Lane" and "Side- walks." The pair collaborated on the lyrics. The original title. "East Side, West Side," was discarded be- cause of a picture of that name. Last week the chief executives of the state and city w.ere split be- tween the premieres of "The Merry Malones" and "Manhattan Mary Monday night both Governor Smith and Mayor Walker were out front Both are applauded and mentioned in the show more than once. The governor himself is a character in the book, very well impersonated as to appearance by Harry Short, and he was introduced to the stage throng as "our next ITesident." That, of course, brought a shout of approval from the. audience. The hero is advised to run for Mayor because he is so popular, but he repnes, "Not so long as Jimmy Walker is our mayor." Howling expressed tiis admiration for the Governor in "Honeymoon Lane," and doubles In Spades in "Sidewalks of New York." The first act seemed stretched out too long with its six scenes, but It was brought to a rousing finale Miss Dooley was a hit tearful in responding to a curtain call, and said she was sorry Eddie had to be ploying Boston on that night. Dowllng is a star graduate vaudeville to the legitimate. In h.r. new show he has assembled some of the old timers, and they went into action in a reception scene that ended act one. There was James Thornton, who made some pithy re- marks and whose old-time songs , wer. sung. Then was Sam Morton hooting to the meinriy of one of Thornton's melodies. There was Barney Pagan, most elderly of all stage dancers. There was Jose- phine Babe] (r<por(s of her engage- ment to Morton jun bunk). Miss Babel was coyly introduced, Fiske O'Hara warbling something with his arm mound her, Then he said It was Mis« Babel who made "Hot SHOWS IK REHEARSAL The A i r" <G e n e (Florenz "Take Buck). "The Show Boat" Ziegfeld). "The Mulberry Bush" (Dil- lingham & Woods). "The Belt" (New Play- wrights Theatre). "Ink" (Charles L. Wagner). "Del mar's Revels" (Delmar & Bacrwltz). "Send No Money" (William Street). "Heaven and Hell, Inc." (Earl Crawford). "Anne" (Sanford Stanton). «Thi Desperado" (A. H. Woods). "Tropical Love" (Harry L. Cort). Time in the Old Town Tonight." Josephine tore into it with such vim that the house was taken unaware and went off its collective nut. Miss Dooley worked the hardest and pleased the most. As a kid from the orphanage, she was fresh and rambunctious. Sho crawled over and got all mixed up with Mickey (Richard Keane), "her fel- ler." She ran away from the or- phanage when Mickey was adopted after showing promise as an em- bryo architect, took to herself an abandoned Infant (a real baby, said to be in her family), was accused of stealing a brooch, went to work n a laundry still minding the kid and finally went to the arms of her sweetheart. Mickey won a prize for designing new tenements with playgrounds on the tops. Mickey explains all of Gertie's (Miss Dooley) little mis- deeds and tells about her conceiv- ing the roof playgrounds in a i dream. "Playhouse in the Sky" is valuable number in the score. In a laundry scene Miss Dooley displayed dramatics and did so well that you would almost believe It. Husband Eddie has given her plenty to do in "Sidewalks," but they loved It all from her. "Sidewalks" has everything for popularity, Including the scale at $3.35 top. There is a goodly meas- ure of laughter, several good tunes, plenty of excellent dancing, dash of pathos, bunch of young, active and pretty girls. Inserted, of course, are the old-timers, who aren't thrust forth too much. They are logically introduced in the recep- tion scene, the governor as one of the guests and his fondness for the old tunes being mentioned. There is another name, Elizabeth Murray, and not rated among the old-timers. She led "Headln" for Harlem," where "the blues are all done brown" and It was a stand out song. Joe Smith and Charles Dale, headline additions from vaude, counted in much of the comedy. They were supposed to own sight- seeing buses, running to Coney Island, and Miss Murray's was a bus sitter. They Introduced bits from their vaudeville acts, all sure- fire. There was a flirtation bit from burlesque, but made doubly funny by them. And by the way Miss Sabel dashed back Into burlesque not so long ago for a couple of sea- sons and made good with a bang. There was a recruit from the night clubs. Ruby Keeler, once a favorite at Tex Guinan's. How that girl can hoof, particularly the buck and wing stuff. Kuby made good all by herself. Near the close she led the girls in a modified buck and it scored solidly, forcing one of the few encores permitted. The ensemble dancing was excel- lent, and Is the best that Earl Lind- say has shown in musical comedy. He has been so successful staging the night club shows and vaude acts that he didn't have the time for the legit. On the strength of his wares in "Sidewalks," he should be In demand. Much of the chorus work is of the buck and black bot- tom variety, but all effective. The best Individual dance score went to Linda. She is In by.a mile and figures to remain in the musi- cal comedy and revue field for sea- sons to come. Her gracefulness and ease In high kicking make her work beautiful. Few girls around now who can par her. Linda is also a buck and winger, but that depart- ment was wisely left to Miss Keeler. Not to esca|>e from mention, there was William Ahem, whose hocking was as exceptional as tho other styles exhibited. The song hit of the show Is "Wherever You Are," used by Miss Dooley and Keene for reprises here and there. The other numbers men- tioned shape up well, however. O'Hara sang alone and with an octet. He was given a big hand at entrance and worked nicely throughout. In the first act there was « sun and dance line-up of 24 blueconts, led by O'Hara. Included were the eight Harlem Red-Hot*. They danced In groups of sight alternate- ly and later the colored men hoofed It to big returns. With Ed«Mc on tour with "Honey- moon Lane," and Kay on Broadway M sl.tr foi the first time and seem- ingly set until warm Heather, it lo. ks like a great season for the Dowlings and Do..leys. Ihet. The House of Women Ar:hur Hopkins present* Louis Rrom- nel.t's drama, ixal Ion of his own novel. "The Green Bay Tree," etarrmr Name O N. it ami Elsie Ferguson. Staged b> Mr. Ib.pkins. PrOdUCtlOO designed by Rob- ert Bdmond Jones. At Maxine Klllott's the.nrc Oct.*; H til top. H.ittle To.liver Roberta Bellinger Allla Shune Nance O'Neil Irene Shane Helen Freeman Henry BaSCOn Walter Abel Lily Shane Bulla Ferguson Arthur Morven Curtis Cookaey With "Burlesque" turning in a fortune a week. Mr. Hopkins may Indulge his dilettante passion for producing "worthy" things—like this one. it is certain that he never ac- cepted It and poured Into It all the wealth of Investment, soul and sin- cerity with the single-purposed aim for money. Not that he has here a financial failure. There is always room in New York for a serious play or two. and the more so when so superbly done. But little largesse—not even lagnlappe — will Mr. Hopkins here glean, worth considering, to pile be- side the heap of gold that will tum- ble in his lap from "Burlesque," an out-and-out money show. The book, which is rather faith- fully followed by the author and immensely amplified by the pro- ducer, was a bit of a go in Itself. There must be some appeal therein not directly appreciable by the hit- and-run Broadway observer. It touches on many themes of life, some of them not thrilling. It Is played, as written, in the musty period of the 90's. It never hurries. It tells its several tales, often Into the gritted teeth of theatrical law, many- times passing up seemingly great chances for big scenes to play the scenes it regards big, usually mere dialog on Introspective argumenta- tion. The theatrical strength lies, In the finished Instance, more In the players than In the play. With Nance O'Neil delivering one of her pluperfect performances, Elsie Fer- guson dizzying in charm and fre- quently Intensely effective In acting, the thing takes on a significance at all times, even when the subject- matter is worrisome. It is ghastly to think what this three-acter would have been In less graceful and able hands. The title Is derived from the pa- latial old household of tho eccentric widow Shane, whose husband was a seducer, a brute, yet a power and a figure. His shadow—In truth, his ghost (frequently mentioned but not revealed)—hangs over ft all like something phantasmagoric. Of his two daughters, one is a ladylike llght-o'-love and the other Is a dour and sour, acidulated virgin with a religious fanaticism that Is shrill, irritating and only too dastardly true. The pretty girl, "ruined" by the Governor, refuses to marry him, goes to Paris to have her illegiti- mate son, returns, meets a former clergyman who Is now a strike lead- er, and whom the earnest sister worships as a deml-god. He Is a man; he falls for the lovely crea- ture; there arc scenes and ravings and curses and harsh words such as may have l>een uttered In the 90's. but not then on stages. The close is Miss O'Neil's death scene, an artistic, moving and mas- terly moment, exceeded only by the story of her life in the first act, one of the longest speeches ever written as a monolog in a drama, and su- perbly read. Throuchout, Miss O'Neil seemed almost a Bernhardt In her moods and shades, her char- acterizations, her vocal modulations and her unctuous deportment. Miss Ferguson, save for aocc- slonal over-affectations of enuncia- tion, with the aid of her God-given voice and her well-known delsarte of poise and feminine eloquence, made herself as essential to a prop- er and convincing result as her older and far more powerful associate. At some turns Miss Ferguson scintil- lated, especially In her second scene in Act 1, when she spitted her an- gry lover on the shafts of her charm, her wit and her nonchalance. Curtis f'ooksey was terrific In the one chance he had for fervor, and was quite fine In the lighter one in which he first fell in love. Miss Freeman, with a bitter, monotoned and nasty role, played It for veracity rather than for glory, and thus scored as a matter of artistic fact. As a querulous spinster Roberta Bellinger was excellent, and as the Governor. Walter Abel gave an old- fashioned, straightaway and stac- cato show. The settings, trimmings, cos- tumes, all admirably in the charac- ter and the period, are a credit to Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Jones. With this extraordinarily sterling performance, the strength of the Iwiok, the following of the stars and the prt-stige of the producer, "The. House of Women" must be reck- oned with. It will scarcely be for long a box-office sensation, like many of Its frivolous neighbors, but should settle down to n steady pat- ronage of the Intelligentsia and the surviving supporters of serious- plays. iMit. GARDEN OF EDEN An h Pclwyn i>r.'i*'n(H(ion of three-art 6.rr« (labeled "ennwdy),] by Avery Hop- froa ihe Oernutfi "i-tic.niii of iiu«tr>i|.ti Mi riiiiui r .»n.i liudolph Oe-*lrrrrtch«T. m*rv4 by Edwin 11. Knopf. I■ n*.uc n dnltrtwd t>> Joneptl Mull> n. In thrw »rt J . .Ui>'«. »> • lit". Opened s-pt. 77 at tho Svl* wyn, NeW York, Three London <iirl»f— Ailotr li.irbu.ni Tiarondej» DlftJM June I,ra.le CTiv Dtiny June Southgale Itojw Al!*t»n Skipwortli Re«*rd, a waiter Staph-ton Kent Toni laonrun M i in Hopktna A Call Hoy Daniel Wolf Duruml Harlan HritrKS M.i.Ume Him!>ky 4*amll1a Dulberg Henri UlAMfn* C. Stafford Dirkens fount De Mauban Oordon Aah Huron I-ai ■ : A. U. Andrews fount De I.'Ksterel T. Wi*ney Percyval Hifhiiitl I-nmont Douglaafl Montgomery Matt re .I'Hotel Alfred A. Heaee Prof. lto».«lo Iftnarlo Martlnettl Aunt MaUtde Dorfe Rankin Uncle Herbert Ivan P. simpeou Prim e Miguel d«» Santa Korea. Rush Whytal Servant of the I*rince Walter Ueer A program note has it that tho first performance of "Tho Garden of R(len" was given In Berlin in January, 1125, and its rep as the "Abk's Irish Hose'* of continental farce Iiicludea extended (mayhaps still current) runs in almost every Buropean capital. Including Ixmdon, where it is still nn the hoards. That only proves the superior theatrical tastes of the American, despite the Selwyns' advertising- of "seat 8 weeks In advance." And, of course, also, it is just as possible that ob- tuse and obstinate entrepreneurs like tho Selwyns can, by pooling their own house and attraction, double-cross this otherwise ogling critic of the box score. "The Garden of Eden" Is silly and impossible. So Is most farce, suc- cessful and otherwise, but the Sel- wyn offering carries it a bit too for, or is it Mr, Hopwood's or Mr. Knopf's fault? Here are the ingredients: The Palais dc Paris is a rather bawdy cabaret, but our heroine Is virtuous and above all that. The wardrobe mistress, an impoverished baroness, for three weeks each year resumes her sainted memories as an aristo- crat, and visits the Riviera, lavish- ing her hoarded savings of a labori- ous year for Just this grand splash. Circumstances revolving about a too forward gent force Tonl (that's the heroine) to accompany the Bar- oness into this world of luxury. Toni Is quite a hit with the Equity "bit" actors taking off as princes, counts, barons, or what have you? She meets a real young blue blood. The marriage ceremony for the second act finds Tonl confessing her past to the desirable Richard. Ha proves weak under the circum- stances, and for a curtain Tonl disclaims the family lace, the family Jewels and even the family wedding dress she has been outfitted with for the occasion. And so Tonl la disclosed In nothing but her unmen- tionables before an astonished and astounded group of wedding guests In the ultra-ultra Hotel Eden at Monte Carlo. That's the extent of the "dirt.* excepting for some frank talk In the first act in the girls* dressing room at the Paris cabaret. The last act has Tonl besieged with offers for the stage, signed stories, proposals, etc., as a result of the notoriety. She accepts an A. K. prince Instead. He Is past 75 and guarantees to kick off any min- ute, so it's a break for Tonl, even though the boy she pines for doesn't show up. That kills the "happy ending" pos- sibility or any box-offlce possibility to It all. "The Garden of Eden" Is Inept, Ineffectual and Inane. That may qualify it for the box office, but even that is doubtful. Abeh MURRAY HILL Wiubrrts present by Leslie Howard. •eUlnKS by Kullow a, ti.30 top. Van Mrs. <'ae» May Tweeflle Bll.al.elh Tw.e.lle. .leunce Appleway.. Amelia .T..„ Wortliington Wrtsley three-art. one-aet rare* .llrected by the author, Wayne; at BIJou, Sept. Harry lallford Alice May Tuck Florence Edney Oaby Pay John Brewer Uanevleve Tobin Ulen Andera Lealle Howard JVk'h- Howard Is (he young Enjc- llsh actor beat remembered for hav- ing booberized the haughty and mighty Joanne Eagela on the pre- miere night of "Her Cardboard lx>ver." A demonstration, posalbly synthetic and maybe only sympa- thetic, let Howard steal the main applause from his star after It was bruited about in the flrxt Intermis- sion tbut she had cruely stood kgalnst his being billed. He also went after the perform- ance and for a while It looked aa though he would cop that, also, but despite .-ill the fat In the situation. Miss Easels pulled steadily to the front—and i.fter the reviews and the first-night talk the piece remained strictly hers and ended that way. With such an opportunity now as to write, direct and play his own script. Huward need no longer squawk. The world Is his little red apple. True, the Shubcrts have no more featured him in the display type than ili.l Miss Eagels' manage- ment. I:nt he surely has the run of the play and the run of the stage to play il on. And, though he Is still an excellent comic, he comes forth with no palms of distinguished service as .1 performer, a playwright or a director. • Murray Hill Is a