Variety (Oct 1929)

60 VARIETY tE GITIM AT E Wednesday, October 16, 1929 Plays Oil Broadway ^^^^^ ..^'ot«edy :,lri ■ thrco' acts-p^os^ntcj•• at thd !BroB(lhuisl by Sam H, llnrrls, Oct. l», Written by lUntt J^arOner nnd liedrge S. Kaufman. Staged .by the InttRr.-. Frea- Steveha..;.;.,....Normiih Fost'^r Edna Uakerv.....i....i...riLlnOa Wnthlos Pia.m Sears....,.....-.'.:.....;.:...Frank Otto Lucille.... . . .........Jean Dixon Ellcon..v.'.... ..I^ee Patrlclt Maxle •..M..'....-...IIS.i:ry no.iDnthn' Goldle ., a'-b'rfnre .r>."IH«!o A Wlndoxv t-'lMn'orFrank.Conlan A Man Xnmod' jJialjnard. w,. ,:.I';mlI ,Kooh: Bcniiy Vox. ....,.;..... Philip LOeb Mr. Hfirt; . ..................\..T-eo .Kennedy Miss Rlxey......;;».......Margaret Lee Here's another comedy'^hit. And, if you waiU to.knpw.isDmethlng, the bunch ■ of Broaaway. pepi^ie: in tlie flr.st night .thDUght /it a smash. Don't let the skeptics say that'"June Moon" is top wise!or. smart for .th2 average playgoer.^ .They said .the same thing abotit "The Butter and. Egg Man," and, .after all, the. wiste guys don't know it all. . ' "June Mbori" - is the bfcst play about populair soi>g writers that lias yet been shown; Certainiy it is the most enjoyable.. Other authors. had the idea in ..general- but failed to deliver the right stuff.; It r^imainod for Ring Ijardner . rt.nd.: qpin-.sre': Kaufman to tiut. it together. The story in otitline, is taken -frpn\:Liai'a JENNY Comedy . In thcoo ■ acts . nrcsent.ed by William A. Urn.ly, Jr., ond .l>wlRht Devre. wm^an at the JJpoth, Oct. 8, with Jane Cowl starred; written by Marfjaret : Ayer Onirics and Kdvj.ar.d SKt'lUpn; stagf-d by KrodcrJck i>tanhope-. ' ■ " . J6hn"n; >\'eatherby..,.i.;.....Guy Standing Ciile , .'.llobon Lowe Kustaoe .Wade,.'..~..-. .'. i iLcwls ' Martin OJssy Wentherhy .ICo-tbcrlhe: J'Jmmet l^rl'ncc Umllrl, Mir.arioff....\Coburri Goodwin. Jack> Wcathf'jby.,.....I3pjri> Lackland Nora- fScrrlsh" ;. . ..-;..... Joyce Car.ey A I'ec Ames : , i i,;:,.;. Charles . firokd-w Jenny Vnlehtlrio.. ,. .'.Jane .Cowl Aiigela Woathcrby;. ;. .vHelon . Brook? .''JehTiy'' canie. in ^yith • a;.: Veputa tion,. butvit is not as good-as that-. Last spring it \yent ;into .Boston and;:the management refused to play Holy Week unless the comj>any ac- cepted .a percentage • arrangement. The jgroiss .was $14,000 and "the plaiy- ers got more than, .their .usual ..salr aries. ;• ;.\ ■•■ .f. Th&- new play, is . graced by the charming Jane Cowl;- ttherVvise :it might not have; suryjVeil, i'ao try-'put period,' But the story is imi^robahle and.not-als attractivis as it might bei .In "Karl ;and Anna," a Soldier steals another inan's wife, in; ''Jenny," an actress annexes a. middle, aged hus- band, supposed to be a clever atr! tprnoy,: and ,she dp.es . it' {ijrhpst be- fore the eyes".of his family. John . R.^ Weatherby -lis just , a Cliristmas tree to. his wife, ^ojn and leer's short comle ^'Some Like. Them two d.luerhters.., one of ;the latter a r"nld But "June MooW' is.rquite gin drinking k}d .and the .other .a A?Jp f . petulant bri^^ They all take, him different. ' ■ i and he ..doesn'.t seem .to vmind. if Take these two ..fellows aipne— Ujreatl^ is giddy and has Lardner and Kaufman. Both are a very irtistic yoiig man in ..her tall and a bit hungry looking,, but train,; also a Russian; pr^ince. . top's don't let that fool you. Both arc nfiain indulg€!nce.;arpund the place is humorists, and neither is highbrow, growing roses antl collecting rare Lardner has made; the cotmtry sUimps. laugh for years with his short . Jenny. Vailentlne, a star of the stories. Kaufman hag made thoUr stage, wanders, in -. from the garden, sandS' laugh at his plays. There was attracted there by some exquisite "The Royal .Family,*' done with roses. . That starts one of these Edna Ferbcr. And. then, his diree-1 beautiful friendships and a love • t-lon of "The Front tage" was no-, affaii*. John is certainly, not pf the body's business—ask Charlie Mc- rpmaiitic type and the wonder of. Arthur and Ben . Hecht. Well, hej 'tiie tale Is that . Jenny, who might has done another neat job for Sam | pick from the world, , should center H. Harris's"Jtine Moon." in aodi- her affections upon a man past the _ tion to the writing end of it. Re- prlnie. l^lhember, too.the wise cracks In such gj^^^ i^r6.<? him to her Island camp ..T.A..rc oc ••Artlninl P.r.Thirers. . . in'Canada, under the pretext there is to ba a house party there. They talk ab'oiit-a.child, -^'ue would-want a boy and name it John. How they would, rtii.-e the kid and^dufate hini^ is tlies.gist of no little dialog. Some- how one doesn't believe so mature a man Woiild so openly cnier into such an afi'rtlr. But Jolni c'.i es and thej remain', in the oamp for about six: .weeks; Back in the "\^'oathcrby home in Grcemvkih, Conn., John is supposed BABE EGAN In Vienna : Week of pcfobei- 18 to 28, M.ptiilin Rougfe, .Vienna. , . . . . v . Besides playing this cafe we will tour the following during the month of .October: . Leipzig, . Dresden, Prague, Vienna,. Rome^. Barcelona, Si)ain, .Nice- and. Paris. ■Virill be .home soon. ; Direction NdRMAN JEFFERIES, PhiladelpKra. : V Shows as "Animal Crackers. •And there is . another . person in and o f "J u n e M o o n." Pal m Beach knows him, Miami .knows, him. New York's - Social .Register, knows hirii. and a whole lot of people on Broadway do, too. He is none other than Harry Rosenthal, pianist, composer, orchestra leader, and now a new actor and an excel- lent one. Showmen will-ask where that guy has been all this time, and theatre-goers will wonder- about %osey°"met Harris down in Florida [ to be all pepped up on how he is to With Arch Selwyn, and that^s how gul/his foot down on th^ family, it started . But he doesn't get away with it There was this "June Moon" show. T}]oy talk right back ta the docile that was coming along, and they old fellow. .Tenny gets IntO: action^ wanted a mah who could play tells them all where they get oft at Maxle. a music arranger in a pub- Then she proposes th.'^* John come llshirig house. Thoy caught Rosoy and. live with, her, admitting her In a. mood and he said ."Okay!" love for him .and knowing of his sharp like that. They asked him to .TfCectii->n. She exits while Johi be just himself, and that is what hesitatefi, but the curtain finds him happened. So, well? The critics* darting after her. Maybe it is im raved about Ro'senthai. He is probable too that a reputable bar something new to the theatre. Com- rister would act .iust that way, " ment like that was made by re- Miss Cowl, is of stajgeland's views of the tabs and also^the class thoroughbreds. Doesn't seem like publications. she can act other than well and at Harry Rosenthal Was born an tractlvely. Her "Jenny" is a likable ^ .actor, but he never knew It. His gii-i oven thOu.gh .sn-V has a. strange ^timing of linos waa so exact that for an elderly lover. Guy ■I 1)0 trouper of long standing could standinpf. is Weatherby. silver ^ have gotten the stuff across any i^aired' and more than fifty. He ^ purer. He. is a sort of dead-pan,' hard-boiled fellow, but atlll a boy with a heart. He proved h^m.<^^lf in the sentlmrjital scenes toward the ClOSG But ther-e are others in . "june Moon," Lardner and Kaufman have added.tp the. lines and gags so tfi^lt" everyone in the cast .gets laughs argument for stoek release. Call it six losing weeks. . Play is pi'etty .terrible and acting abotit on an appropriate level. With the conspicuous, exceptions., of Effle Shannon, who does a grande <lame in her distinguished manner^ and of Barbara r Gray, - personable yoting woman in the Ingenue role. . Play unbelievably crude. Doesn't seem probable It. could go before any audience more Sophisticated than a chauta.iiqua gathering whose idea of a stimtilating evening: is the late Prpfi. Herrma.nn. Script adapts itself to some siicii. purpose, with its 10 characters aiid Single set for all three acts. It belongs to the Stair & Havlin era . in American theatre art, and this production is scaled accordingly. Madame' Zita, ~ spiritualist, has gathered k hbtise party in an old mansion bequeathed to her by thie late Madame LeJloy, trance medium. Madame Zita/s son, convicted un- justly for the murder pf an Oriental dancer, has jtist escaped from life imprisonmient. Aniong the^guests is the real murderer, Craig KendalU it takes three acts of trick stage effects to frighten Craig into a con- fession of his ' ancient crime. Old mansion had been equipped for the business of trance medium faking, and all the hoke Is rung in, Includ ing skeletons with a phosphorescent glow which appear on the darkened stage; panels that open and shut and hands that suddenly appear from walls. Comedy relief Is abun dantly priesent in the person of Miss Spobner's , hard-working., soubret whose GUte wisecracks in situations of shivery intensity jolted this third-night audience, .largely Invit ed. Into spasms of merrimeiit. Piece is the nearest thing to a two-reel custard pic film comedy the stage.has seen since lft06. If there are any 1906 rural audiences left In the country they'll love it. It isn't a prospect for any other clientele. linsh. acted as thotiirh dazed at tlnios and maybe another man placed in the same .poRltion would be llkewlso. The otliers in the obnoxlorus family group are; nothing to rave abput al- though Robert Lowe its thp artistic fellow attracted some attcntioii at first, only to be lost in th<». going The impve.«<"slbn Is that "Jenny" Rarelv has that ever happened in. imi'«:e«sipu ^i^ .^nat . ''.^nnj, ♦Vii. +Vionfrr> ' w^Vl be a personal draw on Miss the theatre. "June Moon" meana rtiuch to Jean DIxon, who won miioh admiration for, her playing of-Lucille, Wife of Paiil Scars, a pop tune composer Who has bron'.in a rut .and w'ho has drawn ^o heavily, on; advance royal ties that slie cannot see how they will ever get even, . She- listens pa- tiently to> things her c hubby says; cracking sagoly, Satirically ' and sometimes bitterly; but always In- terestinjsfly or ainiwingly . ' Lirtda. Watkins is the Edna of Fred Stevens' dreams. She js a de- mure little thing, from up-statp, too. Cowl's; popularity,, meaning profit- able trade for. A moderate rttn. Ihce HOUSE OR FEAR ■M'ystdry.. f.-irfo ' )n. I'brt^e acln- by- ^Vall Rpenee. ■-.rrMented by-Mthy .ProdUollons, Inc. Stagod bv lOlmer H. llrown. At Uc luibllc, Oct, 7. at li.'J top. . ' • . The Intruder. ,Frfink Thnmas Mndumo ZIta. .ilOtnc ,Shannon (■"■ernld..'.',... .V..v,..., ,Alaury, Tuckerhian I'c'RKy Walker..».,'.'.....,.,Ul>rb;ira' Gray. l>aula KnOK ............... i-Lca I'enman ]?r;. Jiick. I'.ndd'.-.. .,-, ,.i.il!irry-\Vorlh i- " , ,- 1 . . 1.. k,,' xT,s,.,is/.,-. I frnliT Kendall......".CJorddn 'VVesteott Fred is cloyorly , playpd by Norman Mort'Jin'........, , ciay. (Mement poster. He i$< a hick, ana anyay^ | iiuddy nh>naoii.....,,. ,Oe<H Spo<)nor l''lnn('(j.'m. ■. .Jam^s Mi'-T>a,uJ;hlln ' Ray Prodtictlona Is - an 'associ'a- (ion.bf Raymond pay ton, 'neiihtiw of Corse . Payton; Jules,' Lcv-enthal. stock show operator and a financial hacker reproscntod in the : V'i'nture stays that way,, even when jilmoKt snared into ri wrong marriufre with ioloen.. a gold digger. The latter I.s ' played by Lee. Patrick. Frank Otto - i's a bollcv.ihle pop composer, . a : new face in the cast .since the try^; out in Atlantio City. There I.^ also Elotchc-f T>._Riac.j tli>. _CAni<il>idat!g)i ^|J jy_^ Thojiuspicesjire large. ' ter of Grantland Rice, the sports Ty. o7 the neigliborhood .stock char expert. She plays Goldlo. a wise, actor, as indicated by the presence .■little secretary to the follow who in the. cast of Cecil Spooner, and the runs the iniblJ.shing concern. Frank piece and prodiiotipn have nil the Conlori has a small but offective Hnes.se of a rough-and-ready stag- part as a window cleaner. The | ing by a Bronx resident trouj)e, Character brings about a funny second act curtain, V The story of "June Moon" doesn't ^ean much. Its lines and. its play- ;ers do." And Itfi pace, . Very, very enjoyable theatre. Ibce. On second.thought, it doesn't rate the Bronx classification, Joplin; Mo„" more like it. On Broadway just a passing Incident. Pitioe .will be held probably.' long, encttth to give • It a bit of prestige as sales They plan .to buy a nut farm out m the hills, despite the warning of the son Willie, who knows his sis- ter Helen is being taken in by a crooked picture producer, Hamilton T,. Holland. ' Helen believes that, stuff that she has the divine dra- matic fire, and it. isn't hard to win htibby over. The coin .goes Into the picture, oiit of which they are prom- ised a fortune;: . Wlilie'.. really knows something about pictures, although his mother and the' others think he is jiist a lazy dub.. Sister Helen has fixed it for . Willie to direct' this drama of burning' 'passlbn. ■ The youth gets an idea, apcepts the Job and prom- ises tp dp things never done .before by.' a-.-director.. . • '• . -.■' On .pre-view . the audience howls at It- :ThIngs look .very bad around the 'Barton home.. The -b.. r. has, gone ahd they' virill have, to go back to Newark. Willie has been missing for days. He had simply- changed the titles soinewhat and cut the fllni. He had bought out .Holland for $5,- 000. Then he showed it to ^Sld Graumah and others one night, and the boys bid it In for 80 grand. On top of that, Mack Sennett offered. 'Winie a Job to direct at.:$'7Q0 a Week, .'■'The Nut Farm'? when it. as-v Slimed the farcioal trend in the sec- ond and third actsi ndanaged to get a fair share.of laughs,. Ford started slpWly and the. sihg-songy- way he had of talking was annoying.: That was fdrgiven.: later in . his .capital performaince of a care-fire.e ; youth who isn't'as dumb as he acts. - Helen Henry as Mrs. Barton came through- Well. . One of the charac- terizations, that stood out was that; of Graharii, Velsey, playing a minc- ing .^uthpr with the hay fever. . Pe was amusing:and the stitfC was au- thentic. ; Natalie Schafer as Helen, the pseudo-actreis's'; Louise Hunt- ington, the ingenue, and Sam Colt, a neighbor. Were chief aids.. Those concerned -with "The Nut Farm" were .of the ppirtlon that the critics and perhaps the first-night- ers wouldn't.-thliik much of the show, but they riely on the Chicago record. Indications are business will be principally from, out rateSj with the engagement limited. ■ Tbee.' got here at the opening were cajoled and not spontaneous. King, King and King, ai before stop the. show for several minutes. Dancing trio, Dalpres, ;Douglas and Eddie, In an a:dagio turn, and .Paula Trueman,. in her old-fashlohed .un- . dressing sketch from the. "Grand Street Follies,", are. the. only legit- imate ,.applause getters of the' even- ■ Ing. Although some, of Tex's gang' haye some cracker jack fUr.nS; they're Wasted Ih t.he>. bedlam .between' per- formers ah.daudien<3e..^^. .-' • Jans and; Whaieh have a. lot of old stuff, mixing their ancient: ,vaude- vUle turn with a, sketch. .'' Have! . ■ Brothers . us€id'.here in V-A. Night iri\. Venice" .and some bliae bits with ■ Tex, Joe Phillips goes on the an- cient theory that to kick a man iii the pants is funny but to kick, a lady there is twice as funnyi -; Shuberts have. uncovered andthet toe dance beaiuty in Joyce - Coles. She's a deligm. , Tiiey fouhd Betty Rees in "A Night in Venice'' and new Miss Coles, Allen K, Foster and Chester Hiaie:' routines are hic(S without standing out. Cohen. '■ ^OF^OWN REVIEWS BROADWAY NIGHTS Pittsburgh, Oct; 15. Shuberts present a revue In twd' cu:ts' and 20 scenes ■with Texas Gulnan 'and Her Gang, Jans and Whalcn,: Paula Tfueman,. Frank'Gaby, Jo^ I'hlUllSsi .KIng', King and King; Dolores, Eddie and Douglas; .Brio Titus, Eddie SThubert,.' .Tanp Beach- and Jovce Colea, At.tfra Alvlh.-ior one .week; $4.40 top. THE NUT FARM ■F-irce, comedy In three acta. Presented by JoTin' Henry Mears.-at the Blllmore Oct. 14. Written t>y John. C. Urownell. Staged by Harry-MdcFaydcn, . Wallace Ford fea- tured. ■ Mrs. Jc(arton,, .Helen - Henry Willie 'Barton......Wallace Vord Tlobert Bt^nt.... .. .k..... .. , fLouis ICtmball Ezra Sli^comb......... Sam Colt Helen- Bent...,,.. v. Na,taUe Schufer ABaltha Sllscomb..I>>ulsb HuntlnRton Ilanillton T. Holland....... Ed ward- Kconc J. Clarence Blddeford....;.Graham Velsey H.arold Van Itorton..Mortimer T>ePey Hilda...,........... .Mabrl Marden . Perhaps, a run In Chicago means something.. Spmetirhes it has, but more of ten the opposite was the an swer; .when. subh . attractions were brought .to Broadway;- The latter rule appears' to .apply to "The Niit Farm';" which ran; 22 weeks at the Cort, . in : the- Loop, including the summer span; .- VThe. Nut Farm'' is a mild farce comedy. For a tlrne the busineas in Chi was regarded, as quite good. It seems, h6w<iver, that the .Cort has a' clientele of its own, and "The Nijt Farm's" ieiigagement was accom plished at a tinnie-when there -were but'fdw shows in Chicago. Reports arc that, there Were plenty of two for-one tickets around. Added to that Is Wallace Ford, featured, who played-. there for a year in . "'Pis^" after a .long engagement in "Abie's Irish Ro se." . _^ ■ • • ^"^^Ivn^^enry—Mears~ts~present'iir^ the Chicago success. Teamed; with him ' is Robert McLaughlin, ..the Cleveland showman, whose name isn't used In the billing, Mears got something with "Brothers," here last season. The first act is draggy and in- consequential. The Bartons, for morly of Newark, have moved to Hollywood, son-in-law Robert "Rent having sold out his store for $30,000 Looks like . the Shuberts might have saved a lot of dough had they definitely shelved, this one instead of trying JO revamp it With Tex G^uihan for Chicago consumption. Hete Tex isn't worth $4,40, and It's a safe bet she won't be worth the. .top Jake. ahd Le"^© will aslc from' the gunmen and racketeers, . Judging from a slim opening, Rbckwell woiild have meant more to: "Broadway Nights" here than.La GUinah. ' / This idea of turning a theatre intd a night club has its disadvantages In the first place, the bald-headed bird Who paid $8.80 td take his wife isn't going to relish the idea of hay- ing a bunch of Tex's gang running down into, the aisles tugiging at his arm,, rnussing his hair and pawing over hini generally. May be okay in a cabaret. where this sarne bird comes in -with somebody else'is wife, lialf crocked before he starts: Here the mob' didn't -warm up and all the gaiety scemed to conae from the paid entertainers rather than the. paying customers. In its present form "Broadway Nights" is 'prpbabiy the filthiest revue ever to grace a local stage. Some' of the :biacko'utir.make;^tlt€" worst burlesique attraction look like, a. Sunday School picnic.' Tex has a song, in which she reifers to .Sun tan and how hard it is to lose, giving as an example Itip Rhinelander's, and then ending up With the tag line, "Bpys; don't try- tp change your luck," '..Another skit was. a, fellow- asldng his iJrospectiye father--inT.law for the girl's hand; Old man Says they might iive' on $100 per week no\V but a • little stranger or two Would change that. Suitor comes back with "Don't think there'll be any little, strangers, we' ve been lucky so far," And these are tame to some of therh. Mob finds Tex, her gang, and band on hand in the lobby befo;'e curtain,. Kids pass out posies, noise makers, dancij around with a few of the cus- tomers and malfC .whoopee gener- aily,. Then the. first act finale Is a replica of Tox's night; club, with Cruinan presenting her gala while niobs on stage fire white ba.lls out at audience and audience tosses =tiTeTtr=^imi'ir=^irpr?fin7==^^ with . customers ducking into their seats to oscape getting beaned* Tex comes out In one during sec- ond act for monolog In which she relates her experiences with boot, leggers, revenue agents, judges and •patrol wagons. Harry Jans In box Is Tex's Sid Silver and gets over a few nifties. Thi.s, the night club .scone and a fow skits comprise Uuinan's duties, and the hands she HiOtJ^E OF^ MANbER ; ; ' Atlantic City, Oct. 15.- ■ "House of Mander,"..-\vhich opened ali the Apollo last eveningj is a'hard-. biting' drama of Illinois dirt farmers. and manners, told frankly and uh- adpriied by Winnie' Baldwin, It's the: sad :-story of- the stern father,. AVhC;se primitive lUst fOr Rpwer takes What, his hand fablds. He dominates his sons, plays- fast and loose with their'wives,, horse- whips hia daughtei:, seduces, o'thet" men's daughters, and in- general; pla'ys .havoG. .-with; his household ^r\6. the . villagers. ; ■How- an adopted orphan ahd.'a. -prodiga,! sph break the' rule of this czar in 'hls ownr prairie domain; is the substance ■ Of a. :play that gives prpmise. .of ah interesting..;evening. The promise is broken after .a -first act" of undeniable . tension. There.,: after; the^^^piece underwent a steady de'teriotatlon, and by the end Miss; Baldwin had left so many loose strands dangllnipr tha,t she shot sev- eral of her principal characters as the only •way qiit, ;;; : • Dialog is .as' frahk as primitl'v©; backwopd^ .folks are llk'ely .to use; and the piece,' like most melodrama Of ;the tyipe^'. is Oyerdrawn, . Neither was there point or reason in "Man der" excej>t, and this is only a gruess,. Miss Baldwin was attempting some behavlorlst propag:ahda, that ; We'd;, he a lot better off when we grew.iip if our. pai'ents. let. us alone to de- velop as we should and let-us live pur dWn..lives, ; ■ .. liespite Its faults; the' play .-has some dramatic force, and With; th«j liistful einptiohs of; its chief char- acter, may'have a chancej proVld.inir it get^bT.New York's equivalent to "the watch-and ward'^ society.. - The cast does very well by the- authoress, John F, Morrlssey; Alice J; Relnhart, Frank McGlynn, Jr„ and . Sam Byrd being especially good. Lawrence Shnbert, Lawrence and Lew Morton are the produciers, . Weintraiib. . QUEEN IN PARLOUR Sa n- Francisco, Oct, 15. . Noel Cdward's comedy-drama In thre» axjts. Produced by . Belasco ' & Currdn.. Staged by'GlImor Brown, Starring'Paulino Frederick, At Curran theatre, San Fran- cisco, Oct,^ 7, $3.50 top, Nadya,,,..................Pauline Frederick Sablen, , , ..„....... .Vernon Steele Zana,.........i........Tina Marshall General Krlsh..'.........,.«-I,awrehce Grant- Ml.«!s Phlpps.,.., .Elly Malyon Court Usher...., Dudley Carter Prince .Kerl>,...i....^llUom Staclc Gtand Duchess^... ^....... .^Grace Hampton British to its;backbone, taiky to the point., of being annoying in places, and dealing with a problem suggestive of Pinero in his heyday. 'The Queen/Was in ,the . Parlour'* had 'its ;A;mefican Sfeniiere at""the' Curran here: Oct.: 7' ■with' Pauline Frederick starred. It-Is doubtful if anyone of lesser popularity- than Miss ^Frederick would have stirred mtich excitement With this opus. Miss Frederick, however; opened to a packed hoiise and inspired, her followers a.t timeai to; real enthusiasm. As a vehicle for; Ker it is effective; for she has plenty of chances to. swihg from Comedy to emotional acting. Her cast is excel-, lent down to the smallest bit, '■ and Relasco & Curran -have plunged on the production. • "The Queen Was in the ParloUr'V opens,in the i?aris flat of Nadya,, an . emlgree frbrt the imaginary king- dom of Krajia, . She. Is' on the eve of mairrying a commoner. In a chatty ,sGene with Veriibn .Steele, as Sabien, hef fiance, her royal marriage to. a half-mad prince and her subsequent self-exile are brought out. Comes General ;Krish with the news thn;t the King of .Krayia has been assas- sinated and she mij st re t urn to the_ 'Oirone7===ShFTeBiTs7-M?1rF^la0^e~' of General Krish's calm determina- tion she gives in, leaves a note for^ the man she Avas to marry on the morrow and goes back to Krayla. In the second act, in the private apartment of Nadya ih the palace a year later, she is surrounded"; by royalty, .She has been successful in. quelling . an impending revolution, but upon entering.the palace grounds a malcontent has attempted her Hfe.