Variety (Jan 1929)

56 VARIETY L E GIT I M A T E Wednesday, January 30, 1929 Plays on Broadway SERENA BLANDISH ■ C"M\f;ily in Iwo acls by ii. ^«■ Hi;-hi'm;iii, ba>od. on Ihi'' nDvul'-of' that n.-iiiio ■ Ijy an xjnkhn^vn ■ English authur. PrcsotUod by Jed JIaiTis iit. the Moroscp Jan. ■ i;;t'. liulh ■ doi.ili.n, A. JS. - Matthews -ami i''.inj;tai)o?. ■ . Cotlior fi.'atuieJ,. Siagetl by piDiluL'pr and Dnvl.l UUrton.' NikHle...................;. .Tyrroll .Davis . Serena IMandish . .Ilulh (Joi-don 'SlKTiiuni) Trtub..GlaVPiice l;oi-.weTir - Hcadwalter... ...... . . ... . . .. . iUai-oJd WhItp Mrs. Jilandish. Alice- Ji)h;v ' Chauffcui'...;,.......-.....:, ,.pero)c: HuhJc -' Coiinlpss. Klor. 'di' Folio..;. Cpnsta'hc'' ('oMii>r Edgar Mallesori,,. ,. . I/ugh Sinclair . . Mai-lin.,. ............ /..A. K. Mac the Wi: v. Ep.lincd. Lail.v,. . ..... ...;.. .-.-.lultii .Ui>y:' liol'il Ivor ( "i-i.'.ini. ............ .llf'nry Ininicl' Ciushing ■^^:>nl^l ... i .-M.-irion tirey Marrlugoable, DaughtPr...;... ..lOlloon IJyron " Kir Kvprafd I'yiichcon....,, Wall.ico -jCr.sltin- Michael....... .Dou.tiliis (-Janlcn .Poet...... i .:, , .> Alfred Shirley Bus Conductori...... . i. . John Gray "Sere.ria Blandislv".' is a ela.ss play played by actors who can act. .Given: In/two portions; .the. story is split into to scenes, which rather halts the action, but if Is; ofisentially, a dialog affair. It was adapted from the book of same name, ci:edited merely to "a lady of quah'ty." May be so; as-her vocabulary is wide and ■ the speeches are often, brilliant. That may bfr credited to S. N. ■ Behrlmah, who fashioned the English .: satirical novel into play form. The playwright's flair for clever group- . ing iof phrases may be remembered from: his "The Second Man." In writing of how Serena Blandish, a little punk, flopped when placed ..within .the home of Countess :li'li3r di Folio: for. the piirposfe of. snaring . .a wealthy husband, the authoress : wove into , the book a fine satire! of .the wealthy British. The fun' is subdiied. Giggles are not numerous, though the strain of. .comedy is generally prevalent. In • the t>i'esentation Jed Harris, keen about his satire,- inserted ofi-stage .nusic,'almost the entire.\vay.,Olher- •Wlso the pei'formanc^ might: have . become drowsy. The first act, with its four scenes, Bcemed to slip . along nmusingly .Fre^iuont changes of setting in the second part and-the dialog let the play dbWn. . It finished up very well before a polite and dolied-up audi- . ence of first-nighters. . The choice of leads was very good . casting. Ruth .Gordon as Serena : seemed just the right little nobody "Vvhom a shrewd and wealthy jeweler picked for an experiment. She blossomed in the house in Mayfair among a set of more or less smart people; and became a real Woman when, she realized, she was loved and did love a ybuthi Instead of accepting the proposal of Traub,- the jeweler, . who cared not If; she carried on a love affair with her young man, she elected to trot off - to Monte Carlo with the \ youth, marriage' or none/ : There her Edgar and a Max are to start a . night club. ■ Constance Collier as the countess . Who adopts Serena for a month fur- nished no little portion of the en- joyable features, A nut about pets, she trotted an assortment out on the stage. In. her garden was a collec- tion, about which Martin, her price- less butler, said: "Some are deia.d and some are dying." The countess cared for nothing else but money. Success was her god, and a rich husband the only chance fdr Serena. A. E. Matthews Is the erudite but- ler, Martin, with .fine skill. Though' a servant, he is a gloriflod. one and with a satirical'sense of humor. To him, too, it seemed that Serena's only chance is to grab; off a rich guy. He tells her she is crazy to go away with Edgar, whom he knows as only a man knows his bitterest enemy. Edgar happens to be Mar- tin's son, but the yoiith doesn't know It.' Martin's little Joke, on life-was to bring the boy up in the belief that he is of the aristocracy, IIo sends him to an American university> tind the cpunte.ss has Just arranged a match bct\vcen him and an im.- mensely wealthy, titled woman. The .boy Is a dilettante, the reason for . the father's contempt. . . . . Then there Is Hchi-y Dahiel aS Lord Ivor Cream, a, follow with tttuch money and lands, but perpet- ually, bored, even in his love affairs. Clarence.. Derwimt as the polished merchant, extremely Intelligent biit Btill a tradesman, one of the best played characters. Julia Hoyt doe.s a woman who never married, and regretted it very well. : iTugh Sih- clair Is: the good-looking Edgar,' '. "Serena Blandish" should draw a smart audionce by the same token as "This Ycjar of Gnice." Its run possibilities may be lin'iitod, but It Is there. Ihcc. HABIMA PLAYERS ("PRINCESS TURANDOT") .Third 'season of thi.s trovipn frutu r.us.-ila. Originally intioduri-d by -Morri.- ti>'s! .ilui ing the.vogue fur llussl.'in diama. I'ltW't,- is ilf>- acrlbpd as a tragi-coinedy by. C'orfos (.}ti7./.\, tniii.slatc-d Into Yiddii^h tiy A. Kmy.. .^'tag.'-il bv iJovIs (ilagoliiv.- A( Lew K<i'!il-.'Maii3- flbld, Jan.. at!.' .Toi) .\Uohuni (PliaraoUj.. i..... .... .-IJugli I..pnzcr Tumndot . . . Ualh-AmI CJalivf. ;.... .AVi JCiUili A'dt'liiia.,.. ,............... .>lelpii- '/.Plinsikaya Uarac'h....,... l/.i-hak Uoiiiblum .Sljirln.i.................... , .Shlfia . Burak.s y.pllina..... .■; .'.v. AJiiivah .CliacliKtii...... (>-pu-Ari .(Ual,i5ln.> Tuhni. .. . .............. ^. 1 !piiao ..'-'i^h'n.Plder The i'l ly.-it............... UciiJamIn Zi'mach Tho Munnny ......, ; Katb-Atnl 'Fitniir..... .......'. .lischiik itiiihbliim lixccuiionpr......', ,:. .'. i...'. Warren (Jurvoy f Nusia Ka'liinu' - -• j R').sl'yn 'W-i'inbergor Dancers:. ,. . ... ,,...'-j Hi-Ven - AcUiiv I I'Jdward Si'hnelder l.Willliini-vSi'hnelJer : . ( Ui-n Ilasonki) yarieiy'.s regular Hebrew soiiolar being out with the flu 'or some- thing,, they handed this chore to a' pinch hitter who doesn't know a word oE Yiddish. In the emergency the reporter, cagily, read the synop- sis in the back of the pi'Qgram and then rode it out oii the rpuctions of the audience around hiin. Framing his judgment ou that basis, "Pi-ihcess Turandpt" is a bust. During the action a fairly, full house remained cold to the whole proceedr ings-. Frorti first to last there wasn't a single spontaneous laugh, although theiy did listen attentively, even if they were remarkably indisposed to, applaud. It appeared from lobby chat, and botwobn the acts conver-' .sation; in the theatre, that the younger people: Averen't quite up to the dialog either... A group just be- hind the ro.portcr said so frankly cand audibly wished the play Ayere. doiie-In .English Instead of, a.s might be gathered from their convei-sa- tions, partly in popular Yiddish and partly in classic Hebrew. ' ■ When Cost brought. the troUpe over first in 1926, it was . offered as a. highbrow novelty at. 55 top and had'a moderate degree of suc- cess. The fir.st - play of . this sea- son appears to make a more pop- ular appeal and that may be the reason for this apparent first night indifference, "Princess Tura:ndot" ptarports to be a fantastic legend of ancient Egypt, with Incidental music, half hearted attempts at ballet displays and very futiiristic scenery, The. whole business, has a certain bizarre charm as a curious spec- tacle Independent of its dialog. The talk,, one might guess, is pretty dull, being made up of astonishingly long speeches and interminable "scenes. ■The acting seemed to be strained and artificial, and the test of audi- ence behavior gave piretty conclu- sive evidence that the comedy must have been pretty poor. Play has to do with Egyptian princess whose hand is offered to any suitor , who can answer three riddles, and the successful campaign of Prince CalaC, despite the efforts of a court maid to balk him because she loves ; tlio prince herself. Setting is the same tht-oughout. A futuristic arch about 12 feet high, which it a city gate; interior of the pyramid, throne room of the Pharaohs or a hanging garden, by the simple device of hanging dif- ferent painted cloths. This foreign group needs the help of a popular vogue, such as they enjoyed on an earlier visit. With four: score native theatres pulling against them on Broadway at this time, their prn.spocts do not look Cohan^s Plans George M. Cohan has shufflod again and has shifted "The High Sign" hjick until next -season, al- though it may have a spying tryout. Cohan is calling it a season with "Billio," now In Boston, the sur- .vivor of five production*, launched by the author-producer this season. Cohan is also working on\A new mu.Micali but scouts the possibility of tossing the musical in for a suihr mer run. CHAUVE SOURFS ,-.\'?''Jl'.^ finnual DrpyenliUlon of Hallcff .1 Un.ssinn Irouup. In two nets and lii scpnps. . At .Tol.«>i)n ilinntre tor lour weeks .starling Jan. '22. $.-1.50 toij. It's easier to name what is lack ing in this yeai'.s ;^'Chative Souris-' than to place a finger on those points at which it amuses. It may: be nilnus a lot of things but it's not shy of showmnnship. Morris Gest rates one more huzzah for the man ner in which he again introduced this Russian troupe to them a.t the opening charity performance. Flashes popped all pvor the street as the stream of social celebs bo.i^an to arrive; in the lobby Raymond Hitchcock was on post to greet these same names, elderly ladies fluttering around the heavily foroTlockcd Raymond, and up and down the. aisles sauntered male es corts in tails as honorary usher."!. J^oys had a vague idea of what the letters and numbers on the stubs =5ttwiV'=fnrrso^^tiVenrousi^^^ were saving many, a brand from burning. . ■ But it was the "Cliauve Souris" and Gost, .nnd everybody seemed tickled to doatli to be tlu-ie. A ma- jority still appp;uvd in a • jocular mood at the end of the . 5G-niinute first act. The fanfare' and rilz aluiDsphero carried right Into- the performMnco proper foi* spontaneou.s applau.-<e which started uj>on r,;ilii>ff's initial appearaiiue and spilK-d over usHln." drapes parted to reveal a black plush drop in front of which stood a lone h\it highly colorea set piece as a background for a riialc quintet. Fi'antic applause for this slmph' scenic-display which tipiK'd off that thin was to be pne of those niglits. The acknowledgemeut oontiniu'd. ahno.^t throughout the entire first act until the saine black drop kept on appearing sometinie.< with and somelinios without a lonely board painted, as a, symbol in the Russian.- ihaiiner. .Up to lO o'clock Ealieff'.s troupe provided some iiice singing voice.s, an Jniprcssive shadow effect as the. ghost of Napoleon ; reviewed his.; troops, arid an almost embarrassing few minutes as tire "Chauve Souris" went topical during a song in Eng- lish.; called "That Will Never Be." A supposed doorman at Maxim's had as many supposed punch lines on Otto Kahn, Gest, Belaisco, Lind- l)(?rgh and Joe arid. Nick .Schenck. I<'irst act finale saw 23 people on the stage in a. Moscow street scene, sah.s a wallop in talent, to, send the audience into the lobby raving. As a riiattcr of fact they did raVe, but it was ah effort. That finale . W-ais made ; for Kara- vacff, but it's probable that neither Gest nor Balleff ever heard of him. He's in the picture houses now, was ill vaudeville and has been in a couple of musicals. He'-'' also.Rus- sian, and a dancer.. Anyway, a dancer, Karavaeff's spins arid hock step taps wouldn't have done any ihorc than blasted the foiir walls from the theatre. And how they could have used him. HOuse. Avas constantly ready to explode, but the igniting spark was never there, Gest might have takoh Karavaeff, cliariged his name, put a beard on. him and saved, his first act, If there's any real action in this edition it remained hidden up to the hour Variety took to its heels. . One girl . prorrilsed something as .she went up on her toes but didn't stay there long enoiagh to prove any- thing. A couple of male contempo- raries outlined the familiar Russian mode of acrobatically scraping .a fioor. but left off .'at merely tracing the idea. It was all very dull and .slow. Either the picture ho.uses have borrowed from the "Chauve Souris" or, -regardless of the shock,' maybe the "Chauve Souris" has borrowed from -'the picture houses. At least the film emporiums are constantly moving forward, have symbolized many things as well as this troupe and can teach the foreigners much on lighting. A well knOwn cinema stage sil- houette conception and a mechanical dance, whicli 'was done In New York foi' the proletariat, would have brought paeans and caused the trum- pets to be sounded if:sponsored un- der these auspices. And it's quite likely it would all have been hew to: this . first night' gathering, 75 per cent. of. whom lobked as if it con- sidered the cinema and its sur- rounding factors! a • necessary evil. And there can be no doubt that there is a direct comparison to be drawn between the "Chauve Souris" and the Americ3.n major presenta- tion picture house, irrespective of the difference in price, Balleff has been away a long time. Admitting that many a pic- ture house producer may be follow- ing his theory, it is also true, that they have gone ahead of him. His present layout may be termed arty, but it^s not entertainment. Sid. JONNY SPIELT AUF ("Johnny Strikes Op the Band") (Jerman Jazv!. opera- In two parts and J- scenes by lirhst Krenek (book and score) at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Jan. 28. Arthur Bodanzky conduct- ing; scenic production by Joseph TJrban; 'VVUhelm Von Wymetal, stage director; GluUo Settl,' chorus master; Armando Ag- rilnl, stage manager. Ballet corps routine In last scene arranged by August Berger. MaXj composer..........Kudolf Laubfenthal "AYti rtrrTriWIT. 7; ."r.vrr; .t^. Klorcnw Easiw Jonny, blackface..........Michael Bohnen UoTiiello; .violin........., .Trledrlch Schorr 'Vvonne, chambermaid,.. .Edltha Fleischer Anita's .Impresario;.......... Arnold Gabor Iloiel Manager:............ .-George Meador Railway Guard .Max Bloch Fir.st I'oUccman.., '.Marek "Wlndhelni Second I'ollcemah .George .Cehanovi^ky Tliird I'ollL-enian. William - Gustafson • Hotel Guest?, Tourists, etc', -; .. hud Jonny u 100 i)er cent Ethiopian, famed alike for his conquests with his band and his Caucasian women. For nativo consumpCion, the libretto has been slightly altered to convey t)ie idea of the Eddie Cantor make-, up. although Bohnen proceeds through 11 of the 12 .^tceiies under cork which, evi^n for biackfaccd comedians, is a bit Unusual. As a black-arid-tan opera it's all ;r grand bore. One i'ccognizes that iiohnen, considering his orthodox operatic training, . does manage f;iirly well in the tight Cantorish makeup . and Jolsoiiesque" mannor- i.«m.s, hut as a sublimated Harlem f'haraoier he's considerably worse, than the Vmammy , singers that stream ontp the American Roof. Speaking of mammy slng:ers, Kirenok overlooked that vocal opportunity for his dusky hero in fashioning his allegedly ".satiric jazz-opera," although Bohnen ad libbed a ..snatch of "Swanee Rivei-." Tlie metropolitan music critics elected to read into the cortiposer- librettlst's book meanings and subtle ihforonces that never existed. It's a simple enough operatic; libretto,. aljouf the usual fickle prima donna (Florence Eastpn), a couple of heavy lovers, hot counting the amorous nigger in the w6odpile, .a flirtatious maid, a prop Stradivarius and the not so grand operaitic com- plications, resulting in a murder or two, some ludicrous assaults Vi^ith ft trio of gendarmes; etc. Urban's production w'as more im- pre.s^slve in its simpler 'manifesta- tions,. stJCh- as the glacier sets and the intei'iors, but not so hot on the railway station; the city street with its prop automobile, and that sym-^ bolic finale into ' which the daily newspaper reviewers read so much, significance. It is a revolving globe with Johny perched aloft,, fiddling to make a dahce-mad world step. The score is undls.tingulshed. It h.as nothing save a few syncopated rh.\-thms. probixbly as much to the credit of the orchestrations as the pomppsitiohs.. There- is no :char.m, np Color, no melody to the score. ' Besides Bohnen, Florence Easton snng.lustily and:well. Miss Eastpn, cast as a prima donh.a, looked as primas are supposed to look; buxom, stolid and ahiple. Rudolf Lauben- th.al as the sentimental Max (com- poser), Friedrich Schorr as Dan- iello, the hapless virtuoso who loses his precious instrument, and Edith Fleischer, rather effective in the light -role of the mixid, were also prominent throughout. They, started walking right after the intermis.sion, They'stuck through the first half with its four scenes, but •with the remaining eight scenes in the second stanza disclosing little that was startlingand finally winding up early, at. l«:30^mariy beelined for the exits. Others re- gretted, audibly, not having done likewise. ^Much ado about less. Abel. Boys, it^s the nuts! As they say in-the classics, the niuchly heralded Ernst Krenek jazz opera in .Ger-r man is strictly the vo-do-de-o. It's neither fish nor flesh nor fowi; neither grand nor comic opera, nor a halfway decent conception of Har- lem at its jazz heights—or depths. The sacred operatic portals of the Met never before resounded with opera that was less grand. The manner of the raves some of the longluiir critical boys .put on iabout this operatic oddity almost leads one to suspect that the estimable Giulio Gattl-Casazza, the Mot's entrepreneur, must be dning a Mad- 4son=-Sqnare=-GaTden- with---spme-=pf^ the scribes. The Met for a long time hasn't scon a gross as- munilicent as that poured into the coffers of the staid opera house's box oillces and the ticket specs Who made this a gala occasion, Michael Bohnen, subtly program- med as "blackface comedian and jazz band leader" Jn the character of .louny, the jazz maestro, is doing a whit cw.'i sited rolt) under cork \vhcn» the original German .libretto THE SUBWAY T.pnox Hill Players,. Inc., produclion of KImpr Rlco'a episodic play in nine scenes, dnoctcd by Adele Gutman Nathan; setting.^ nnd lightings by "VValtpr 'Walden. Opened .Tan, 2.- nt the Cherry I.ane Theatre (former Npw Playwright'.-! Thpnire), 44 Commerce .otrept, Jn Greenwich Village. $.1 top., Sophie Smith. Jano Hafiillton Mr. Smith. K. Brooks Dascomb Mrs. .Smith....... A.dellne Ruby A""'f Smith Bvah Srhwab lorn Smllh ..Herman Bandes Eugene Hohni . .Ix)ulg John Latzer George j:iark .Harry Jay Marks .Tfimes .Bradley,...Mitchell Padralc Marcus Maxwell Hurst Ben ^^e^sDn H'Hiert Anderson .Peter Gwyn SubwayitPS and Voices- nap Sturm, Anna Bell Green, Jessie nheingold, Harold Smith, Bugenia. Wal- dpn, Arnaldo Mirante, Saul Weltzer, Caspar Musso, In a naive program note Elmer Rice, the author of "On Trial" of yesteryear, and "Street Scene," cur- rent dramatic smash whleli is being spoken of .{is the most likely Pulitzer prize "Kjontewier,-^^'admits since 1923 he has be^n endeavoring :vainly.tp secure a production for his "The Subway," ; First written. nine years ago, Shortly after the production of "The Adding Machine," the current play whicli the I^enox Hill Players are offering, was thrice sold for Broad- Avay production and twice cast, once with "VVinifred .Lenihan and later with June Walker slated for the lead, but never actually produced until now, with the. exception of a single try at the Cambridge Festival Theatre In England. Rice throws a posy at the Lienox Hill Players for their courage in attempting his diflH- cult and intricate production which, to quote the author's commentary conclusion, also sums up the prin- cipal shortcomings of the group's prcscnlatioh. Being an intricate and difficult play to jnpunt, it Called for more herculean and practical pfoduction investitur.e than the makeshift, if ingenuous, itnprcssiqnistic and ex- "iU'essibhislTc'ScT'^prcc drops upon which the Lenox Hill (IMayers rcli'^d .so much for ■ the \physical setting, Furthermore, this group, rating as a sdmi-pro or professional amateur Or gU)riliod little theatre organiizci- tion, found itself burdened with a thesis just a bit beyond its his- trionic ken, Xot that Rice's play i.s particularly sturdy dr.amaturglcally tab, there, Landry, Pulaski, et al.!) but it did call for a. more inspired CttsLing than thai which' is available from within the ranks of the av<.- age little theatre ^roup commercially (although this ea9.v enough to say After -some on! else has. chanced a;'produotfon) it^ really quite obvious to perceive thf play's box-'offloe shortcomings a, a play, it is episodic, not particiilariv replete wjtli action, and more of « psychological oxprossronlsm and » cross-section, insight into an adn lescent girl's soul-sfruggle". - . The sex yearn,. induceti by th« growing pains of adolescence, is not especially a new discovery. The ria ture ofSophie Smith's home lifV the machine-like aura of her busl. ness life—strongly remini.scent of Arthur Hopkins' recent "Alachlnal'' —her subway contact with the artist and tlie subsequent amoUr which made her his mistress in short order only to be mentally tortured^ as a conscious-stricken expectant moth er-to-be, Is better -play reading than play production, ' : Jane I-Iamilton, as Sophie, soundly merited the individual plaudits ac- corded her by the audience and her histrionic allies alike at the final curtain. Miss Hamilton, heretofore uiikhowh quantity, wili: probably be referred to as a "promising yoting actress," but actually Miss HanilU tori's promise is no mere hope for 1 the ■future. Her excellent feminine emotionalist Who broods- aloud In two corking soliloquies'(in: lier bed-- room) stamps her as very likely Broadway. She reminds of Clai- bOrhe Fostier's charm and possesses ' a corivictiOn and depth which should carry .her along rapidly in the legit.. In the ingenuous picture theatre £iccne, wherein, incidentally, Elmer Rice, having written iiis: "The Sub- way" :in ,1923, seemingly preceded Etigene O'Neij in the Iriterlude-lsh asides' style of play writing,' Miss Hamilton was again effective with Louis John. Lafzer as the worldly artist; An impressive scene, it was here that . both voiced their, inner thoughts after :thc fashioh of "Strange Interlude'.' in a sequence of asides. While.seemingly discours- ing on th,e silver, sheet's captions. "The Subway" miay be brought uptown. There is talk of this. If so, some of the casting should be bolstered and, of course,- the pro- duction. The opening, night the-sec- ond Scene, a prop subway oiva tread-, mill effect, went awry and was omitted. By now everything is pre- sumably^ in workirig order. • ; For the theatrically curious, a trip into the'.crooked :maze of Greenwich Villag-e streets would not be a total: loss. . Ahcl. JUDAS Drama In Ihreq acts by 'Walter Ferris, ajid Basil Kathbohe, who is featured:- Presented at the Longttcrp Jan. 24 by W'llliam A,, Brady, Jr., and Dwight Deere Wimnn.': Staged by Richard Boleslavslcy. ■ Siihoh Ish Kerloth..... .William Courtleigh Uebekah, his Wife. , .Jennie Kustace Naomi...Dorothy Cumralnr Judas. Basil Rathbone FlaviuSr Conturlon. .'J,.. .Charle3:nendersoa ' .Marcus',; Roman soldier.........Doan Romp Thomas. .: '.Lyons Wlcklnnd Andrew..Harold Moffet James., William D. Post Matthew '., ;CharIC3 Halton John........................William Challee Peter.'. , ,... .Doan . Borup Sadducees— First Priest,:..,. John O'Mearei, Second Priest -.Tom H.iyes Third Priest . A. Lymmborn Fourth Priest .Ralph Thomas C^lphas,. high priest... .William Cotirtlelgli Priest of the Guard.'.......Joseph Rpdalleu Akiba. .Charles Halton Joseph of Arimathea.........Robert Bamit No play more serious has been staged on Broadway. "Judas" is a play with a purpose, lightening the harshness connected with the name of Judas Iscariot that has come down, through the ages.' The famous biblical phrase "Judas kiss" is a myth, according to the authors of the play, one which might have bet- ter been presented within a church or tabernacle rathjer than a theatre. ■William A. Brady, Jr., and Dwight Deere Wiman may have fulfilled a promise- in. producing. "Judas," and , the promise probably -was to Basil Rathbone, rather a matinee idol than the earnest rebel of the Bible, ^ Probably but one person in 20 who sees "Judas" will like it fi-S enter- tainment. ,It isn't. ' No doubt "Judas" is instructive In: a certain sense. It treats of ene of the miost draniatic events in man- kind's history. The . ch.aracter of Jesus Of Nazareth and Gallilee is in the background, referred tO as the Master more often than as. Jesus. As Judas tells his mother and be- trothed, Naomi, he had cOmc upon the Man near the Jordan. There .Tohn the Baptist had proclaimed the Stranger as the new King of the Jews. That, Juda-s firmly believed from the start.. That Jesus.Was the Mcssirth ho did. not know, oven at the end.' "Judas" throws a new light upon the Iscariot who, in his miser.v, is little comforted by .Toseph of Arima- thea, Judas does lead the high priest and the soldiers of Pilate to the .restin g.:place^Qf,th6^. Ma.ste r.. .,., ButJ ja so doing Judas had hopod^t'o rouse Jesus to action. Judas felt that had (he :Master called to th<^ people tliey would have risen .and destroyed the Roman soldiers. Instead. lie quietly followed the guard. And so Jmla.s, instead of betraying Rome, betrayed the man he loved. So he says on the stage. The play is from the Bible, but In etching the new conception of the character of Judas the play dejKirfs from the New Testament narri- (Contlnued on page 57)