Evening Star Newspaper, September 25, 1923, Page 15

i NATIONAL—“The Nervous Wreck.” When “Bull Dog Drummond” was turned loose upon an unsuspecting world, with its lurid, burlesque of melodrama, many in the large audi- ences that greeted it went away. after the performances to take an account of stock of thelr mental equipment. There were not a few who-failed to get the idea that they had seen one 6% the cleverest travesties of the generation of the blood and- thunder thriller. They imagined that whi they. saw was serious, honest-to-good mess, 50 to speak. Now comes Owen Davis, his laurels 8till fresh as ths prize winner of the best play of last year, with a trav- esty of the wild and woolly West, which has been fodder for the screen time out of mind, and fairly wrecks the .soul with an irresistible laugh- \ Mmaker 'that doesh’t know when to stop. Credit is given in the program for the idea to a story by E. J. Rath the pen name of the late. Chaunc Brainerd, formerly Washingtom cor- tespondent for the Brooklyn Daily agle. But in his stage creatiom the playwright has provided what a live-{ press agent might justly describ 8s “the laughing hit of #he centur: Hokum? Who cares. It makes you laugh In spite of yourself. Not only that, it keeps you laughing from 5:30 to nearly 11 o'clock. with fresh outbursts, at surprises and new turns that bob up so frequently that your sibilities never have a chance to rest, even for & moment. It runs amuck like a Ford, and that Is not a reflection upon that time-honored vehicle, which, by the way, enters largely into the plot. Washington turned out en masse last night to atterd the opening of the season at the National Theater. There was great curiosity to see what experts and art critics are calling the most beautiful theater in the country. There was a dubious feeling as to the attraction, caused doubtless by the unpromising ring of its title. ~Owen Davis had been known as a writer of thrillinggwestern melodrama_since Hector waf a pup. He had written also the best play of the year, according to the judgment of the Pulitzer prize committee, al- though there were and still are others. who contended for the prize and who think differently. _So do many of their admirers. It was the theater's unknown beauty which lured, not “The Nervous Wreck.” - But it Is doubtful, after the fall of the Tast curtain and Manager W. Har riman Rapley's modest speech of thanks for calling him out, if there was enough mental and physical vitality left in the audience to give a thought to evident appreciation of his handsome new playhouse. “The Nervous. Wreck” had supplanted all thought of anything else. It would be silly to attempt to tell the story of the play. It couldn't be done thoroughly and justly. One might say that it grew out of the effort of a charming little girl to escape marriage with a rough, loud- voiced. dead-shot sheriff of the wild t, by eloping, without the slightest ideaof the fact on his part, with a Washington's Greatest Women's Store [ ? | = An Attractive Saving is presented with these | AMUSEMENTS | mental and physical wreck trom Pennsylvania, whose doctor had ordered’ him to do the west, in the open aif, with a Ford, and whose con- stant thought was when and what medicine to_take, The glopement was paftially balk- ed in gave ont. This, however, was not to enable the playwright to intro- uce Hopwood entertainment, for ‘The Nervous Wreck” is as clean as a hound’s tooth. It simply prepared the way-for one of the most ludicrous hold-ups _ever shown on stage or screen. | What follows has to be seen- It can’t be told. But those who see will r their brains to a. frazzle before they will ever be able to re- jcall anything auite so excruciatingly funny, ‘so laughably absurd before. In it Otto Kruger; as the wreck. land June Walker, as the girl. one of the most delightful that ever came out of the west. are irresistible. And then thare is Willlam Holden, as the nervous: old boss of Bar M Ranch, who, with his son and daughter, Al bert Haykett and Winifred Welling- ton. were held up; William Riley Hafch, ranch foreman: Edward {Arnold, as the sheriff: Joseph Bren- nan. as Pud Morgan, the girl's father —oli, all the remainder of the cast. every one of them is fine in this unique laugh sensation of the Amer- W. H. L. {lcan stage. PRESIDENT—“Nightie Night.” Those who attended the President Theater .zst night expecting to see H disappointed. “Nightle Night,” a comedy farce. by Martha Stanley and Adelaide Matthews, is not exactly a play of the bedroom' varlety, idespite the suggestion con- veyed by the title, and despite also the parade of one pajama suit fash- ioned in\shell-pink satin. The play is done in a prologue and three: acts, the curtain rising on a scene in the Union station, Wash- [ington. D. C. where Billy Moffatt {and Trixie Lorraine meet for the | | The “The R is easily .rl-?:.d —no ice required—no injury to clothes or sloppy waste. This milk bottle cap does not bend or tear. It snaps back into place without fuss or muss and is the one perfect seal. Your milk man can "x these caps of all Jobbers or THE AMERICAN DAIRY SUPPLY COM- ' PANY, Washington, D. c. gon e\ he mountains when the gas! pick, fork -or - tool | first _time in y months. s been married a_ year and must be congratulated. Trixie has been married that morning and deserted in less time thun it takes'to tell the story, and must be condoled with and promised ald. They are bound on the same train for New York, Bllly to his beloved wife and Trixie to a job on the stage. Billy's pretty ter, who is more cat than girl, passenger n the same train, What she seos gives her & fine chance to use all her claws. The fact that Billy faila to see her does not tend to keep the pretty Ernestine from meowing when on reaching, the apart- ment of Billy and Molly" she finds that her brother -has not arrived. He shows up two hours later, and then the wheel begins to spin. John Litel as Billy Moffatt speeds from the devoted husband to the un- mitigated liar, from the soul of al- truism toward'an old friend to a gay decefver, from the heights of bliss to the depths of despair with such agili- ty that one belisves him to be a veri. table acrobat in the command of emo- tions. Leo Lindhard is delicious as the self-pitying new . husband . of Trixie, known to him as Angeline. He is the personification of stupidity in his misunderstanding of everything save his love for Angeline and his deep sorrow for himself. Edith King is the beautiful, but dumb wife of Billy, and Eunice Hunt is ‘Billy's eatlike - sister - - Hrnestine. Agnes Grant shows capability and personality, and she is well cast as the unfortunate Trixie. Others in the cast are Adrian Morgan as Molly's irresponsible kid brother, Phil, who helps along considerably in the mix- up of affairs, and Helen Travers as a hard-boiled Trish maid. J. Irving White and Gustave Bowhan have the minor roles of Dr. Bentley and the Union station newsstand agent. The play is staged by Harry Manners. Orchestra selections, under the di- rection of Meyer Goldman, include yariations from popular baliads and ts. 5 o yers continue the presentation of productions of the same caliber as “Nightie Night" Washington is assured of a season of wholesome and delightful entertain- Automobile Hits Four Persons on Sidewalk! When an automobile skidded recently four persons on the sidewalk were injured, the driver was injured, and a trolley car, telegraph pole and the automobile were damaged. Tf this accident had happened with your car, could you afford to pay the resulting claims? ct Write your name and address in the space provided below, mail the clipping to us, and, without obligation on your part, we will send you a booklet on the protection we can give you against such claims. Boss & Phelps We Insure Everything Insurable 1417 K St. NW.—M. 4340 WHERE THE BETTER THINGS COST LES! Handsome Iall Coats OME were selected from our regular stocks, but the majority are samples from one of the high-class show- And therefore ate produc- tions in vaudeville heads Keith's bill this week, “The Land of Fantasie” George Choos iz resopnsible for every- thing connected with the productio He first selected the dainty Stas Ledova, once the premiere dancer of the Chicago Opera Company, and then surrounded her with a clever com- pany, backed with stage settings that will stand comparison with big revues. Miss Ledova is everything the advance notices claimed for her. Her work last night was delightful, with pleasing grace and energy in spite of an unusually warm atmos- phere. The number Is divided into five scenes, “The Land of Nippon.’ “Colloquial’ Land,” *“Land of Toy “Pony Land” and “Land of Laces,” all of which are beautifully staged, the iast one in particular, which created | something of a sensation, being im- ported from Europe. Jimmy Lyons filled in with a mono- logue that proved a scream, compris- ing much that was new, ail handied in an original manner.” W. Wanla, the principal male dancer. is an artist i his line; Russell Scott helped out ! With sorigs, and the pony ballet was perfectly trained. A dozen curtain calls demonstrated that the audience appreclated the produetion. And then came the wonderful little singer, Yvette Rugel, who is undoubt- edly one of the best sopranos on the vaudeville stage. Mlss Rugel scored an emphatic hit, Other good numbers on the program incluca the Bird Cab- aret, Sullivan and Houghton in a song and dancing act, Amac and his wonderful disappearing three-card- monte woman, McLaughlin and Evans in a singing and dancing sketch, Lang and O'Neal in a lot of nonsense, the sensational skating act of Reynolds and Donegan company and the usual house attractions. GAYETY—"Bubble Bubble.” be Reynolds, one of the most po ular burlesque . comedlans that ~ap- pears In this city, is at the Gayety Theater this week. and it is needless to say that dull care has no place in the house. It would be exaggeration, perhaps, to say that Reynolds is the whole show, but that is the impres- sion made upon the minds of the au- . He is on the stage pract cally ‘all during the entertainment, except when he changes a costume; and he makes as many changes as & chorus girl. To tell those that have seen Reynolds before that he is fun- ny is superfiuous, but he is all the more enjoyable this trlp on account of his new material in lines and scenery, The star is supported by a company of clever performers, and the two- and-a-half-hour _entertainment is over all too soon. There are four topnotchers among the feminine con- tingent—Ruth Rosemond, who sings well and dances better; Helen Du Ross, soubrette; Violet ' Buckley, a good performer, and Ann Clifton, billed as “the fémale baritone,” who displays a remarkable range of vo- cal powers. Others in the cast are Jack_ Fu- quay, William Browning, John Ross, Andy * Francis "and James Holly. Among the specialties ced during the evening Is a clever dance by Helen Du Ross, Andy Francis and John Ross. The chorus is composed of a score or more of youthful fem- ininity, with a number of pretty cos- tumes. COSMOS—‘Fiashes land.” A bill of nearly all new and excep- tionally entertaining vaudeville is be- ing presented at the Cosmos Theater in conjunction with a big Paramount feature, “The Silent Partnef,” with Leatrice Joy and Owen Moore as ity \eading characters. The headliner, “Flashes From Song- is quite new to Washington feature of exceptio From Song- It is presented by uintet of several nationalities, th fine and well trained volces, and it numbers include Schubert gems from Time,” with the beautiful “ lections from “La Boheme, 1a," “Kentucky Babe" and other ple: Ing songs. 'he Dancing MacDonalds have not been surpassed in the grace and beau- ty of their performances in a long ile. Among their numbers is the hioned waltz, danced. with ex- uisite grace and charm. Muriel and hyllis, two young misses not vet in their teens probably, also bring a new and unusually good number. One of the pair is a unique comedi- enne and very comical, while the other is a good singer and graceful dancer. Both are quite acrobatic and win much applause. Will H. Arm- strong and company present ‘The $10.000. Ankle,” #n amusing playlet with a familiar theme, and Lloyd and Christfe, “two southern gentlemen,” entertafn with original and some- times daring: dialogue that, neverthe- less, wins laughter and applause. “The Silent Partner” is a domestic comedy, in which the wife leans to the old-fashioned way of getting along in the world and the husband wants to plunge in Wall street. He has agreed to divide, fifty-fifty, with her and she exacts an extra toll in gowns and jewels; but when failure comes and he is about to remounce her she convinces him she made her own gowns and bought only imita- tion jewels and that she has quite a little' fortune saved up to start him anew. The play is well acted, pho- tographed and staged and is quite interesting. CONSCIENCE BRAND MATTRESS Clean, Comfortable, Long-wearing . at your dealer’s or department store. 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