Variety (Sep 1928)

62 VARIETY LEGITIMATE Wednesday, September 26, 1928 Plays Out of Town HELLO YOURSELF I'hil.'uU'lpliia, fcsvul. 25. • OcorKC Chocs' niusli'Ul c.nnoily In ivvn .'u t.- wlll( IViiri'.-.H'sj I'enius.N Iviiniiiiis. Hook I'y l)('l;Ocin;' lyrlrs by l.<-u lloliiTi; f-i'.jic b.\ UU'Uiiril MyL'VK. Vi«-)k KU'ih'. li Ijy. Ol.irk(> allvcni.ili; ihiiuos rin-.in^;i;:l l,iy IMVO (iOiiM; divttiini-s- bv ('.hjirliL* .}A-tn:iir'\ Sc-lt.iiK-'' by P. DoOd Ackci'in.in. At iho Forrtist ihuiiiro. As (.•oUOBliUe as a. raccoon coat, George Glioos' now niusical appears to have all tUc. iriyreclicnts-oX a po- tential hit; : It is no.ithrr subtle, nor. artisiic, nor stj-lkingly orig«nal, bu: It Is fast, tuneful, and IHled Avith yo.un:!i;ster3 who work, their , heads, off, and excellently produced. Com- edy l.s of a typical campus var:ciy, which means that. It Is breezy, noi- too-profound,. rowdy, -but infectious and agrcea.lile. - • , in I'hiJadelphla and in many other road stands this one .will, have a surefire drawing aivd in Waring's Penn.sylyaniana. In New York* ■vyhere this, -burich is . no ' better kno>v)i than a half dozen others jazz orgahizalion.s, the show will have to stand on its merits. There is no reason why it shouldn't ■ be able to do so. Cast of ..principals discloses^ virtually no big musical comedy names. Choose has reci uited ^rom vaudeville, night clubs and, especi- ally, from, the pictyre houses. In a: couple of instances leads" could bq improved and should be if the show is to click the way it ought to. .But, fbr the :J-noat part, Chops .has done hiis woi-k well. . A number of youngstcra are al- riio.'^t sure to be hailed as. finds be-- fore the season is oyer. For example, there is ■ a husky, deep^ voiced girl ■ named Helen Goodhue, who ought tio be a sen.sation. She may ;not put her scmgs over the way Katie Smith did, but .she's a~botter-rounded per- fornicr, plays with ea.se and genial- ity, gets every ounce of fun out of her i\o\e, and docs a little stepp.ng, too. Her big number, '-'He Man," looks like a natural.. Then there's a boy named George Haggerty, play- ing an Under-islzcd student abused by everyone and taken in hand by the aforementioned husky co-ed to build up his physique. Haggerty is a panic in his . comedy scerieis^ and although at presehf>he has only one number, just ordinary, he Is: slated for another which will be more in his line.' A third youngster is a scrap of a girl named Dorothy Lee. A ,dead ringer for . the girls in the John Held illustrations with the short .skirts, rolled stockings and in- evitable expanse of skin showing. Thomas Brittoh, another newcomer plays a corpulent student. He's not. a finished performer but has youth and means it.all the time. Walter Pliminer, Jr., playing the masculine lead, gives the hero's role sympathy and undci-standing. Glim- mer is more at home in straight comedy, his one flaw here being lack of voice. Jane Focshee, opposite him, seems too .'^opliisticat.od and mianhered for the heroine,'but she has beauty and plenty of it. Vo- cally she is competent, no more. Show really needs .voices, but It has one corker In Walter Fry His rendition o.' "True Blue," a lively march, number,, sounds for all. tha world like an alma mater air and gets plenty of encores. One of the best: performers seems miscast. That is Stasia T/Odova, a first-rate ballet dancer, who does not look In the lea:st like an American colleg.-> girl. Iler dancing Is great, and In the last act, by means of a dream, tlvey weave In a chance for her tu do some toe work. The jazz orchestra grafts naturalr ly and smoothly into the stoi-y. Fred Warin.cr hn.s a shiall role and plays it ingi-atialingly, while the niembers of his band appear as students. They play no instruments until th^ end, Although appearing on several occasions In glee arrangements, and their vocalizing, helps. Then In the last scene, representing a' college function, they have the stago to . themselves. :for about 20 minutes, during which period they 'i>lay the four or five song hits of the show. The boys do "not appear in the pit at any time. The band numbers 18, not including Fred, ' Story has nothing, to do with ft last-ftiinute touchdown or a home run. It concerns a \n-iZo play con- test in which the heavy plots to dis- credit the hero by mrtking It appear that the latter tried to tu-ibe a mem- ber of the award committee. As a matter of fact, said hero w^as : try- ing to cover up a, g;imbllug cBcanado of, the son of the collogo pre.sldent and for this reason his lips are eealed even when the heroine begs him to explain. Not too much plot* Most of the .evening being taken up with canipu.s and iraternity house tomfoolery, roughhou.<?ing and general devil ment. . In this respect the .show loolcs superior and more natural J:liAa^GQ- Od_.,New s,''_y^ij^ch^ had the advantage of expcrlcncoJ^ pbopTcTTa put over some slim material. Clarke Sllvernall deserves a hand for his staging of the book. Dave Gould has done some good work in putting on. the dances. There may not be a great deal of radically new stuff, but It Is all fast, some of It Is Intricate, fresh and interesting. Richard Myers' score Is particularly adaptable for danc- ing purpo.scs. .Perhaps If tlie show Icul I'lHter voices Iho nnnil)iM's would impivss even more, but llioy are okay for what they .set out to do, Thi-re aro two or llirof, notably ••You've (Idt a' Wiiy With You" and '•I, Want tlio. NVorld to l-Cnow," that can easily be plugged. .Production has been elaborately .set; in fact, one wonders why, with a fa.st, lively, funny .siiow like} thi.s,- it was necessai'y to spend so much on the pictorial end. Howevei*, it all .helps. ^•Hello Yourself" is a little rough right now, is naive and uhprctcn- tiou.s In its comedy material, but it )iaa all the. earniark.s of a solid hit. ■ ■ Waters. ' ■ LrTTLE ACCIDENT Ne\v ilaven, Sept. 22. American convody In thrue ai'ts an'l tlinio .<?cones; i)rO(luced liy Crosby Uiiie ' book by • li'loyd Doll un<l Tlionm.s Milolipll; staffed by Arthiir . Hurley; pro.ilin'tlon (Je- slgiied by Itay .sbvey; uC Sliubort, NOw llavtn, Sept.. 20. J. j, Ovorbeck...Miilcdlm- ■Williams Dorla Ovorbeck .llose Jjorner Mrs. Ovorbeck.. Lloth " Frunkliri K.itle .MAdolu ino r.iirr' >,'onn;in Ovpi-book. .Tlioinasi Mlti'lf^U ttllbert Riinil .l-'lonilnir Ward T.ucliuia Overbook... .K.'iUirrlno UarrluKton Jnncl I'arke. I'Moretioe Urlnton Emily Crane........... Ilolon iliirlnefcUow Miulec Kcrrls........... i.. ...Elvta Kndfir.s Ilev. /.Or. C!llTor(l.......... ilarry Fcrsman MtS9 .Clark ^.(.)lsa ilanson Ilicka:..'..... ......-....-. ..lobn Butlor Kuuolpho Ainenaelaro.i .\>lrlun Rosloy MiKS lIofnlnBway..iKIlzabeth Urucfi' Doctor X.eMUika........,. .Desmond K.elley IsHbcl Drury........v.......,ICay Jolin.son Monica Caso..............l»a.trifia Barclay Mrs. C4>ae....................... .L-ou RI).loy Crosby Gaige has- his newest conicdy of American life, "Little Accident," from the book "The Un- married Father" Increasing the number of illegitimate children on the legitimate .stage. Floyd Dell and Thomais Mitchell authored. Mitchell has the lead and richest role. - The lines . are. outspoken. It Is Simply thei manner of delivery that holds the pliiy up to the point that makes It funny. Therc^ are lots of laughs arid .the cbmedy makes any^ thing off the line inoffen.slye. Opening scene is .the dining room of the Overheck home in the mid- west. The son is nine months out of Harvard law school iand re- hearsing for his wedding when he receives a letter from a maternity hospital in Chicago asking for ad- vice on a certain matter not to be discussed by correspondence. The boy counts on his fingers and re- rhembers one Isabel at Cambridge. She was all wrapped up In her art of paihtlng but at some time or other; must have discarded the wraps. Son calls off the marriage and goes to Chi, finding the mother ready to leave for Paris and her art, the child being discarded and fibout to be adopted. The father kidnaps the child and goes to a boarding house and for three weeks briiigs the baby up according to the book. : . Liandla;dy'g daughter falls for the pop and . he, in order to secure a mother for the . child, agrees to hook up. Then the real mother returns and wants a wedding ring, followed by the fiance who is also willing to take the orange blos- soms. The mother by her affection for the child leaves herself as the logical choice. . Mitchell, as the unmarried father; uses his heavy comedy lines and situations to the best advantage. The feminine lead,, ICay Johnson, as the mother, was on the stage for very brief moments but con- tributed much. Fleming Ward and Elvla Enders were also cast to best advantajSe. John Butler and Adrian Rosley, as expectant fathers at the hos- pital, carried practically all of the come.dy in the second act •without putting It on too strongry.. - The sets, by Ray Sovey, are nothing eIa,boratc but suffice. "Lit- tle Accident" Is due on Broadway in a few weeks and should easily see the New Tear In but hardly until Al Smith's Inauguration. . Roherts. a philanderer, but because she Is too solicitous and babies and pots him too much. He Is perfectly frank and unblushing In his infi- delity and admits that ho desires a divorce. The wife, however, in- stead of being, cither horriilod at Ills transgression or liystericallv tearful over it, announoos. c.'ilinly tliat she will have no divorce and that she will battle to the utmost to break the lies that bind him to the other woman. In the mean'tlipe, the siren has employed a private "detective to pro- cure from the wife a number oi incriminating letters which slio <the siren) had written the huslKind. The detective's girl, ma.squerading as a hoiisc maid,, is caught in the act of purloining the letters. Her fiirtatioua ways give, the wife and her .friends an idea how ta reclaim the erring husband. Accordingly,, they .sohd the girl, ui^der threats, of imprisonment, to the nparlmcrit of the other M-oman, figuring tiial she can vamp hubby so successfully that he will break off his present liason. After that, the wife and hor party figure It will be easy to get him back home. The sii-on, however, is nobody's fool, and she succeeds pretty well in preventing the cute little decoy from using her wiles on the susccp- tir)le husband. The lattier's son also comes to ask his father to return liome. . No go. A twist In the plot Involves, the private detective, who is the lUtle girl's sweetheart, atid who thinks that the good-looking son means no good by her. Furi- ously jealous, said detective drav. .s a gun In the siren's apartment, but the bullet, intended for the son, strikes the father and infilcts a serious, though hot. mortal woun l. That niuch of Act Two is melo- drama;. after that, the spirit shifts to clever comedy of the drawing room variety. Wife, healrlng .of her' erring spouse's injury, Insists'on in- vading her rival's home grounds, and when she sails in upon the scene there Is a lively set-^to, the upshot being a victory by the wife. In the last act the wife is sho'vvri In pos- session of the battlefield, actilng as nurse tor her husband who Is still, however, adamant. In his decision to have a divorce and positive In his affection for the vamp. It comes to a showdown and the wife, apparently losing, finally admits, her falliire and lirepards to go. At this: point Sel- wyn's play loses Its cianritng. Ho has the son, who up to now. has been a splendidly drawn example of up- to-date, free-minded mioderh young manhood, suddenly turn sentimental and beg piteously for his dad's re- turn home. Whereupon, without warning, the father changes^ his mind on the instant and agrees to return to his wife. The siren then declares that it Is all just as well Inasmuch as she is bored by the amour, and the love affair of the son and the erstwhile maid Is also brought to a happy conclusion with some applesauce admonitions on the part of the now virtuous father. Those last five minutes take . the edge off. iSelwyri has given his play a cast that It would be difllcult to Improve upon. Margaret Lawrence has never given a better performiance than that of the fu.sslng, fluttering wife. The role IS somewhat different than any- she has ever tried, and by no means a pleasant one, but Miss Lawrence makes every bit of It count. Walter Connolly is dignified and legitimate as the husband. Roberta Beatty is the low-^Tldded,' seductive home breaker, and Robert Montgomery makes a corking juvenile. Edna Ilibbard gets away. from her'wise- cracking type to prove again that she's a sure and able character actress. She presents a saucy and attractive figure as the maid. Show has been neatly staged in two sets. Except for ia, final, ex- plosive tag-line that Is pretty strong but amusingly appropriate (cut by the censors here) it offers nothing sen.sational in dialog or situ- ation, but the play has merit. Waters- POSSESSION Philadelphia, Sept. 25, After the number of half-hearted and disappointing dramatic pre- mieres here this season, "Posses- .sibn," written and produced by Ed- gar Selwyn and now playing at the Lyric, stands out as a masterpiece ill compari.son. It is really con- isiderably le.ss than that, but never- theless a distinctly worthwhile and wollTwritti-n iilay splendidly porfornu'd by almost every mem- ber of the cast Sf Iwyn has taken a number of famili.'LT sltiiations and Ideas, has twisted theni around cunningly and T5t'^nTrnt3'=thi7nT"Ti.s^anHir( t'i-esting- do- mestic comedy th.it falls down only in the last flye minutes. XTnloss the author is enlln ly sold on this solu- tion of his problem, this end should be altered pronto so that "Posses- sion" will have no handicaps to be the success It deserves. Story con- cerns a husband ■wlio Is unfaithful to his wife, not because she is shrewish nor because .she, hor.sclf. Is Command Performance Philadelphia, SepL 25. Herman Shulman, former agent and general manager. Invades the producing field with a play called "The Command Performance," which is being, tried out at, the Broad Street theatre here. Before any analysis of the play or the playing is made it should be stated that Shumlin ha.s done his own part very well. He has taken a first play by a young English actor, C. ytafCord Dickens, and has given it the advantage of capable and thorough staging, exceedingly serv- iceable settings and a cast of well- known and talented players, all of them apparently shrewdly selected for characters. Taken for what It Is, "Command Performance," save for a few rough spots that can easily be ironed out, Is satisfactory in every respect. The question Is whether people will ac- cept this type of play written as It Is.-=Young=DlGken3 jiaa JiJ.cgi^^ Prisoner of Zend.a" theme, worked it over quite ingeniously and offers It as a sober-faced, Intensly serious romance of love behind or arpund a throne. There Is none of the kid- ding of royalty to bo found in "The Queen's Husband," none of the risque Innuendoes that were In "The Command to Love"; none of the sa- tire that Molnar and some of the other Hungarian playwi'lghts put In .such plays us "The Czarina" and "The Swan." This la bald, un- adulterated romance with all the heaving and the sighing and the protestations of undying devotion that used to Hl)ound in tho Grau- stark trilogy. If tlio hard bitten, sophisticated audienc9s of today will accept this in the spirit In wliich it is written and played, then the .show has a great chance. Other- wise if.s thinnhs down. I'iot is laid in the Imaginary kingdom of Moldavia, the first fccno sliowing a rehearsal of a lit- tle traveling theatrical troupe. The leading man, a hand.spme devil, hai.)pen3 to become involved In a street brawl with the dissolute young prince of the country and is arrested. Queen of ^Moldavia is anxious to promulgate a treaty with the neighboring kingdom of AVallachia by means of a union be- tween hbr son, the aforementioned Prince, and the Princess Katherina. The Prince, however, won't listen, being mainly interested in actrcs.scs and booze. It is then discovered that the Im- prisoned actor is a dead Image of the Prince. After much hemming and hawing it is decided to send the actpr to court the Princess. He is not supposed to fall in love, be- cause at the last moment before the wedding, the Prince is to take his place. Of course, the strolling thc- pian and the Piincess fall madly in love. He finally confesses his iden- tity, but she, to save his life from her. father, keeps his secret and agrees ■ to go through the ceremony as arranged. When the time comes for her to n?ai-ry. the dissipated Prince she almost balks but Is per- suaded out. of it. In the meantime the actor has been put in prison because he knows , too much. Solution is reached by the dis- appearance of the Prince who leaves behind a note saying that he is fed up with the whole business. Whereupon the plotters have to lib- erate the actor and allow him to igo through with the masquerade. . Ian Keith plays the . dual role of actor and Prince and does excep- tionally well. He is ah impetuous and fiery lover and supplies a nice character touch as the drunken Princeling. Fallacy Is to believe that any man could successfully im- personate another In the streets of his own tovyn, and In the rooms of his ovyin. palace. However, this must be accepted if the play Is to be.accepted. It Is not Keith's fault that this is unbelievable. He Is a good romantic actor. Jessie Royce Landis is an alluring and. always charming Princess. Excellent char, acterlzatlons are contributed by Ivan Simpson as the half-cracked old actoi: who gi /as the hero away to the Princess, and by Lee Baker as the oily Chancellor who thinks up the schemes. Beatrice Terry is a bit over emotional In one scene, but is generally every Inch a Queen. Charlotte Granville and Hubert Druce play the roles of the Queen and. King of Wallachla and here Is another, weakness of the piece, •These, parts are utter burlesque, the regal personages being presented as a Mt, and Mrs. Jiggs, forever bick- ering and squabbling. This jars with the romantic scenes. Waters. Martin Given Award By arbitration Louis Martin was given ah award against "Mr. Money- penny," written and produced by Ohanning Pollock. The actor was dismissed on the third day of rehearsal, but as his contract was dated over CO days prior to the start of rehear.sals he made claim for the minimum two weeks under the rules. The board o.C three consisted of Blanche Yurka acting fof Martin, Arthur Hopkins for the producer, arid Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt as umpire. Pollock's claim of an oral agree- ment on the 60-day clause was dis- -regardedj^ - ~. — 'GRAND ST. FOTiL TE S* TOTJMNa "Grand Street Follies" will tour from the Booth, where tho revue ends this week, it being the first time.for the Village co-operative or- ganization to attientpt out-of-towni bookings. Prior to last season the revue was presented downtown and refused a number of offers for Broadway houses. It is due to open In Chi- cago as the first stand out. TEMPLE GOES STOCK Rochester, Sept. 25. George Gukor and George Kon- dolf, Jr., summer operators for sev- eral seasons of tho Lyceum theatre, lost week announced they had taken over the Temple, former Keith house on tho other side of the local Ri al to,, and will eondurj^. a winter stock company, beginning OctT i5^"~" Stock for Pastalo Dramatic stock goes in at the Playhouse, Passaic, N. J., next week with the stock being operated by J. J, LeventhaL "Th© Spider" opens. ENGAGEMENTS Norenc I?ryne, Margaret Carthew Claire Blaeketh. "Rosalie." ' Roberta Arnold, "Adventure." Madeline Cameron, "Polly." Francelta Molloy, Vincent You- mans productions. Marcia Manning, Edgar Nelson. "Tin Pan Alley." , Sir Guy Standing, Philip Meri- vale,. "Jealous Moon," Catherine WJllard, James Rennio, Tom Douglas, "Young Love." Ruth Urban, "My Maryland." (road). Sammy CaiT, Qllve McClure, Doris Carson, Aileen Hamilton, Bachelor Octette, "Americana." Dorothy . Libaire,. "Skidding." Una Vale, "Whoopeo," Marian and Martinez Randall, Club Mirador. Tyrone Power, "Unknown War- rior." Frances Goodrich replaco.=r Jean Dixon, "Heavy Trafnc.'" Hilda Moore, "Interference." Lyn Harding, Basil GUI, Mar- garet Anglin; "Macbeth." Mildred Block, "Mother's Love." ArthurWInters, "Golden Days." Cecil Spooner, Teddy Hart. "Guns" (road), Olga Royce, Florence Walker, Dinky Ozniont, Buniiy. Hill, Mary Bay, Fuzzy kaye. Frivolity Club, New York. Elsie Lawson. Frederick Worlock, Milllcent Hanley, Richard Gordon, HaLTold Elliott, Evelyn Cairns, "The Common Sin.^' Hardle Albright, Shubcrt. Clare Woodbury, "Little Acci- dent." Edwin Phillips, "Courage." Henrietta Cioodwin, "These Few Ashes." Ingeborg Torrup, "Light of Asia.". Louis arid Joe Caits, "UpS-a- Daisy." AHEAD AND BACIC Chai'lcs Hunt, company manager of Theatre Guild-slVow, opening Jn Pitt.sburgh. George Ashby, manager, and W. L. Wllken, ahead, with !Hit the Deck," opening on New York sub- way circuit, Nellie Itevell, to Boston, ahead of McEvoy's, "Americana." Jack "Daddy" Sheen, manager. "The Queen's Husband" (Chicago), Cliff Stork, manager, Guy Hardy, agent, with "Burlesque" (Chlcngo). Arthur Nichols, now treasurer of the Eltlnge, New York. '^■ "Dick" Mitchell, ahead; M. R. Hasse, back, with " Henry Duffy's "Tommy," making a brief tour of the coast one-nighters, prio'r to go- ing into Duffy's, new Dufwin, in Oakland. Burton Davis has resigned as press agent for Gene Buck. Duffy's Big Nite San Francisco, Sept. 25. Henry Duffy will open his . new Duf win (dramatic stock) In Oakland Oct 8. First attraction will be "In Love With Love," with Duffy, Bale Winter (Mrs. Duffy), Harilson Ford, Raph Kellard and others featured. This will be Duffy's first stage ap- pearance in a year. Duffy's new Portland, Ore., house, also named the Dufwin, is scheduled to open the sam«* night as the Oak- land house with Leo Carillo in "Thd Bad Man.'* ALL-YEAR GUEST PL.AN The Denham (Denver),' operated by Ben Ketchum and A. M. Obor- felder, layia claim to being the only stock in the U. S. running all year 'round guest star stock. Alice Brady started a three week's engagement there Sept, 6. Fritzi Scheff and Frances Storr have signed for three weeks' stay each at the Denham. '^Ml3B~SchefiC left New -York liast Thursday for Denver. She opens in "Our Bettors," followed by "All Alone Susan" and "Naughty Cin- derella." Wietin^'s String Orchestra .• Syracuse, ,N. y., Sept. 25. The Wletlng opewi house will re- place Its conventional house orches- tra of the past, with a string en- semble for new season. The shift will be accompanied by. a change In leaders, Arthur Phoe- nix, long at the Wletlng, glylng way to Andrew H. Goettel, conductor of the Strand orchestra here. Rogers N. O. Stocks Chicago, Sept 26. Harry Rogers is taking over the Palace, Ne^w Orleans, and will book musical comedy stock Into thA house. I ^^..^Elmoc^Ierjjme will-be-mana| irer. piympio Ready in November Chicago, Sept. 25. .•Shubcrt'fl Olympic, being rebuilt, win bd ready to open by Thanks- giving. Interior of house will be com- pletely reconstructed.