Evening Star Newspaper, October 28, 1923, Page 47

(X4 AKE way for the ladies" " was the motto of the theater last week. Not only did Ina Claire sweep into the stellar survey with bedazzlement of gowning that gave her cometlike promi- nence, but the feminine influence authorship laid down the orbits in which stars and satellites pursued their intellectual travels. This was not so in Miss Claire's case. Truth,” is a man, Arthur Richman. The author of her play, “The Awful However, it was not boisterously contradictory of the methods of playmaking which women have revealed with so much success. In fact, “The Awful Truth” was more like a revela- tion of incident from the feminine viewpoint than the plays which were written or adapted by women. convincingly truthful. “The Awful Truth” is neither awful nor The artificial attitude toward the relations of two people engaged in amusing themselves and friends with marriage and divorce calls for great dexterity in dialogue to conceal the shallowness of plot. The lines are clever, even in several instances brilliant ; but not suf- ficiently so to give the play any lustrous altitude in the realms of satirical comedy. In addition to her obligation to the gentleman as author, Miss Claire’s program acknowledges indebtedness to Mr. Henry Miller as “pro- ducer,” a term vaguely employed to denote one who assumes supervision in almost any domain of theater activity from the financing of an or- ganization to the presentation of a costume novelty in song and dance. If Miss Claire is indebted to Mr. M er for her present methods of reading and enunciation, her obligation is but slight, for her syllables rush like a procession of belated commuters endeavoring to catch a train of thought, and the scenes of emotional suggestion convey the impression of mimetic patience rather than of personal spontaneity. Mr. Miller, like Mrs. Fiske, belongs to the school of actors who believe that if they have something worth the saying—and both usually have—it.is their perfect right to require the audience to listen attentively. * ok ok % S*YXJHISPERING WIRES,” a melodrama of the most uncompromising type, was written by a man but adapted to the stage by a woman, Kate McLaurin. The audience is requested not to divulge the plot. The reader of detective fiction will not benefit by the effort to protect him in the enjoyment of a thrill, for the device on which the story is based has| been placed conspicuously before the eyes of the constant reader. of the kind which makes the tense possible? Frankly speaking, I would not. It is spectator say, “Would you believe it But it is the privilege of the stage to depend on the adage, “Seeing is believing.” What you see is in- teresting enough to make you prefer to consider it within the realms of actual possibility. However, it need not worry the police with any idea that a new and reliable method of surreptitious murder has been dis- covered by the fictionists. It is compared by the compilers of comment with “The Bat.” It has the distinction of being better written than “The Bat,” a doubtful advantage, as a smart line or humorous quip is likely to be an intrusion rather than an assistance in melodrama. It is like the pun in conversation, which, however clever—and some puns are clever— serves only to check the current of direct interest and irritate the atten- tion by secking to divert it. The better the passing jest the worse for the play, unless it is fitted so accurately to the type of character utteririg it and weaves itself so consistently into the thread of the story that the mind is conscious of no interruption. * * * ¥ ACHEL CROTHERS, whose studies of youth have revealed depths of sophisticationin the juvenile mind often more cynical than idyl- lic—this was especially so in “Nice People,” some of whose scenes might have been splinters from Avery Hopwood—revealed what might easily have been mistaken for the production of an unfinished manuscript in “Mary the 3rd.” Miss Crothers has a fancy for arithmetical titles. The story of children who proceed to apply their superabundant and in: criminately acquired knowledge of “love and life” to the personal domes- tic relations of parents is a theme worthy of G. Bernard Shaw. It can- not be said, however, that the phraseology suggests the British satirist as closely as does the plot. The finish, which displays the juvenile suitor taking his sweetheart on his knees to show that they love each other, in spite of the terrible example set by their parents, could have been ren- dered more abrupt only by having the young man suddenly change his mind and drop the girl on the floor. In referring to this as Rachel Crothers’ best comedy the play bills do an injustice to several very de- lightful plays. 8! play: i * % 'HE darkness of the Shubert-Garrick must be construed as an indica- tion of the scarcity of good material for the season now getting under way. The Shubert-Garrick has been a center of rumors for a lon, time. One of these even went so far as to indicate that the theater would give way to commercial building, but this has been disposed of by a lease, which assures its career as a place of stage entertainment, under the New York direction of the Messrs. Shubert. It has, in spite of varying policies, succeeded in acquiring that most valuable asset to a playhouse, a tradi- tion. An atmosphere of artistic significance has been created, and it will be long remembered as the scene of the original American production of Mr. Drinkwater’s “Abraham Lincoln,” as well as of classic dramas at a time when this kind of entertainment was only beginning to slip By all the rules of the game, the Shubert-Garrick ought present vogue. into its to have been selected as the place for the first presentation of every new Drinkwater play. * * * * THE play for the Shubert-Garrick’s reopening will also depend chiefly on feminine talents. It will be b; Harriet Ford and Eleanor Robson, the latter lovingly remembered, as the exponent of the title role in the 5 Zangwill play, “Merely Mary Ann.’ The play is entitled, “In the Next Room,” which is not without its hint of mystery and thrills. The fact that Mr. Winthroj literary aspects of ‘The Bat.'” Ames, whose associations have been with the more the theater, is the director, should afford assurance that it will not start another avalanche of the proclamation, “Better than A remembering public will be content only with a play of rather delicate standards in association with Eleanor Robson. * % * % E actors’ fund benefit always reveals players in a mood most en- gaging to public fancy. Their work has a personal sentiment be- hind it. There is a spirit of democracy in the demonstration; the player whose success is not of the present is still honored and cared for. a stage favorite may be forgotten was illustrated in the case astor, whose recent death left many people surprised to know completel; of Tony How that he had lived so long. John Campbell, who was here with “Whisper- ing Wires,” was asked about Tenf' the same age as my father, Bartle; would now be_ eighty years old.” Pastor’s age. The reply was: “He was y Campbell, and if father had lived he Yet Tony Pastor’s fame amon, the people of the theater is linked with that of historic celebrities by ties of the gentlest affection. He was always active in organizations looking to the welfare of players. When his name appeared on a committee list. it was almost as if designated as Mr. Antonio Pastor. cently at B. F. Keith's, cherishes e were incog, for, in deference to formality, he was A veteran vaudeville performer, re- is photograph, and has scrawled across its face the words, “He never closed an act.” It is an eloquent tribute to a man who lacked nolhinx wound. Ina biography of in courage except the courage to inflict a ugustin Daly appears a letter from an actress whose youthful charm, which made her the idol of theatergoers, had PnsedA ' She was proud, but in neces: 'Dear Tony Pastor and urself have been the onl; y. She wrote to Augustin Daly: two fast friends that have stuck to me in the hour of need.” It is in such half-hidden mémento that fame is most sweet preserved, when the billboards and programs no longer reflect the splendor of a popufar ‘reputation. Recalls a INTHROP AMES and Guthrie t McClintic’s new production, “In the Next Room,” by Eleanor Robson and’ Harriet Ford, recalls the fact that Miss Robson, co-author. with Harriet Ford, was formerly one of the best loved actresses on the American stage. She retited at the senith of her youth and popularity, when she was married to Mr. Belmont. As a star, she is remembered for her fascinating acting as “Merely Mary Ann,” “Sal- omy Jane” and as “Glad” in “The Dawn of & Tomorrow.” Itisan adage of the theater that once PHILANDER JOHNSON. F avorite. one is infected with the germ of the footlights, one is never totally cured of its allurement. The persistency of farewell tours made by great artists is due doubtless to the irresistible charm of the theater and a reluctance to part from it, but there have been players who have retired and never returned, even though in their pri- vate lives their interest in the the: tre has never ceased. ‘When Miss Robson retired the stage lost one of its most gifted actresses, and nothing has been ablg to induce her to reappear in public. That she always has continued to live the thea- ter, however, is shown by her having written & play of such power as:to ¥ The Sundy Har. WASHINGTON, D. €., SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 28, 1923. 4 [} Burton Holmes. BURTON HOLMES has just returned on the Leviathan from his Euro- pean wanderings. i He will enjoy the distinction of be- Ing the first lecturer on travel to use the airplane as a means of transpor- tation, as well as to give him a novel viewpoint from which to make his motion pictures, together with still views of the citles, towns and coun- tryside over which he passed. His course of five subjects for the coming season will include one de- scriptive of an airplane and motor {journey over Monte Carlo and the Riviera, and another flight via Tou- louse, Barcelona and Malaga, across the Straits of Gibraltar to Casablanca. and Rabat, in Morocco. This first travelogue will thence proceed over the newly constructed motor roads of Morocco to Fez, and then along the coast to the Algerian Riviera, one of the most beautiful regions in the world. . A motor journey through Italy, an eye-opening visit to Budapest and the beauty spots of Hungary, a trip from Vienna to Berlin and the Ruhr, and a fifth travelogue on the glories of Switzerland will complete his series. “ < . Loyaltles Commg. "LO‘IALTIES"' one of Broadway's finest contributions to the stage last season In the opinion of many critics, will come to the National Theater the week of November 11. It is of interest to learn that Charles Dillingham promises the same distinguished company of players which contributed so much to the success of John Galsworthy's play last year. The plot of “Loyalties” is most in- teresting and exciting, having to do with a crime and its detection, but it is in no way a detective play. It was written by the master dramatist with great skill and deftness and may easlly be regarded as one of the finest dramatic treats to be seen here this season. Cohan's Method. THE layman, who sees nothing of the techinique of the stage from a seat in the orchestra, never gives a2 thought to the tremendous amount of work that must be done in Whip- ping a new play into shape. o Edmund Breese, one of the players in “So This Is London,” in speaking of George M. Cohan's methods at re- hearsals, recently said: “When it comes to starting a new scene of the play we actors will probably read our parts, glving our own conception of the lines and the situations, while Cohan ‘will sit perfectly still, with his eyes closed and apparently oblivious to what is going on. “Suddenly he will spring up and ex- claim, “Now, boys and girls, this is the way th hould be done! Then he will play each of our parts him- self, and by the time he has finished, we have an entirely new idea of the whole thing. He will cut out a super- fluous word heré and there—maybe a whole line, put in new business, may- be a new speech, and the whole idea will_be changed in a jiffy. “George M. Cohan is a firm be- Hever in naturalism. Every chararter must speak and act just the same as he would in real life. There must be no affectation, no false n: This is ‘why the plays he produces seldom fail of success. —_—— appeal to a producer like Winthrop Ames. It is said that actors never write good plays, but this is no nearer the truth than the other saying that critics are incapable of creating a successful drama. The contrary has been proved many times. In fact, Winthrop Ames, who produces Miss Robson’s play also produced a play by & critic, “The Green Goddess,” by ‘Willlam Archer, which is one of the -outstanding’ hits of many seasons. 0 " Automobiles | Coming Attractions DORSAYand MARIE CARROLL Nateonal Current Attractions AT THE THEATERS THIS WEEK. BELASCO—Grace George, in “All Alone Susie,” comedy. tomorrow evening. Opens NATIONAL—"“So This Is London,” George M. Cohan comedy. Opens this evening. POLI'S—“The Lady in Ermine,” evening. KEITH'S—Florence Walton, vaudeville. noon. COSMOS—Naomi and Brazilian Boys, vaudeville. afternoon. STRAND— Shubert operetta. Opens this Opens tomorrow after- Opens tomorrow ‘Tiny Sylvia,” vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. GAYETY—Watson’s “Beef Trust,” burlesque. Opens this afternoon. BELASCO—Grace George in “All Alone Susie.” Grace George, whose ability as a comedienne has long been established beyond question, comes to the Shu- bert-Belasco tomorrow night for all this week in “All.Alone Susfe,” a new play credited with being admirably adapted to her laugh-making talents. The return of Miss George to her former fleld of comedy recalls de- lightful characterizations of lighter vein In previous successes, among them, Cyprienne. in “Divorcons,” the wife in “The Woman's Way” and Major Barbara in Shaw's play. In “All Alone Susie” she has the role of an American woman hidden away in a little English village, stralght-laced and conventional (the description applies to the village). Environment and her neighbors re- strict her life, when into it comes a handsome gentleman, who styles himself a vagabond philosopher. He sees Susle at a tea room. It is a case of love at first sight and then——. The play Is from the pen of an American writer hitherto unidentified with the theater. His name is Lea D. Freeman. His play comes highly com mended. The leading man of the cast is George Tully, regarded as one of the best leading men or the London stage, who makes his American debut :here. The supporting players include Evelyn Carter Carrington, Jane wne;“%i %l!l.rlde ;l:ueu. Anita Dam- rosch, Winifre: rry and Reginal Sheffleld. i e The play has been mounted and staged by Jessle Bomstelle. NATIONAL—“So This Is London.” The attraction this week, begin- ning tonight, at the National The- ater, will eb George M. Cohan's in- ternationally “famous comedy, “So This Is London,” which ran ail last season in New York and is equally ropullr in London, England, .where t {8 now being played. “So This Is London” was written by Arthur Goodrich, but, it is hinted, George M. had a hand in it before it finally reached its premier. The evi- dent object of the play is to show up, in & humorous manner, tenden- cles, both in this country and on the other side of the water, to have too many prejudices against one’s neigh- bor and that the nationalistic spirit is not quite so praiseworthy as is sometimes imagined. ‘The story concerns a love affair betwgen a young American boy, sole heir to a _colossal . manufacturing business, and an_English girl, daugh- ter of a peer. The boy's dad has a tremendous hatred of avervthllls British, a sentiment fully concurre in by the girl’s father toward all that is American. This disagreement be- tween the respective parents, how- ever, does not prevent the young peo- ple from promising to marry each other and in the end the two Pnrenu make up thelr differences. The original New York cast prom- ised here includes Lawrence rsa) Edmund Breese, Donald Gallahe ‘Wallace Widdecombe, Edward Jepl son, Jose Guthrie, Robert Vivian, Lily Cahill, Marie Carroll, Marjon Grey and Anna Cleveland. - 1 POLI'S—“The Lady in Ermine.” eginning_tonight and for all this week the Shubert's operetta, “Th Lady in Ermine,” will be seen at Poll’s Theater. “The Lady {h Ermine” was a suc- cess on the continent and had long runs. in London, Paris and Vienna. This success was repeated in New York last, season. e retta is promised here, direct from New York, with the New York company of sing- ers and dancers. including Walter Woolf, Zella Russell, Harry K. Mor- ton, Nancy Gibbs, Shirley Sherman, Clarence Harvey, Gladys Walton, Det- | mer Poppen, Timothy Daly, Isabelle Rodriguez and ninety others. The twenty-two musical numbers were composed by Jean Gilbert and Alfred Goodman. The book is by Frederick Lonsdale and Cyrus Wood, from_the book of Rudolph Schanzer and Ernest Wellisch, and the lyrics are by Harry Graham and Cyrus Wood." The operetta was staged by Charles Sinclair, the musical num- bers and ballet by Allan K. Foster and the entire production under per- sonal direction of J. J. Shubert. A cavalry troop, headed by the domineering Col. Belovar, invades the castle of the Countess Mariana. When confronted by the owner the colonel succumbs to her beauty and attempts to win her in the manner wars are won—by strategy. The countess re- pels his advanc When she dis- covers that her brother has been captured by the enemy and is condemned to die as a spy, she, too, resorts to strategy. It is the strategy of the heart, and against this form of warfare the colonel is unprepared. His defeat is ignominous, but the countess proves a victor even though she has captured the colonel's heart. KEITH'S—Florence Walton. The current Kelth bill is head- lined by two internationally known stars. ° Florence Walton, one of America’s foremost dancers, comes di- rect from the Follles Marigny Theater in Parls, with her dancing partner, Leon Leitrim, in a new repertolre of American and European dances. As- soclated with Miss Walton and Mr. Leitrim are Rodolfo Santos, an emi- nent Spanish pianist, and Rubi Davis, violin virtuoso. Mr. Holmes—Taylor is his first name—shares the top honors with Miss Walton and Mr. Leitrim. He will be recalled for his characteriza- tion of “A Tallor-made Man” in the comedy by Harry James Smith from the Hungarian. “Mr. Taylor has just entered vaudeville. Tt is his first ex- perience in the two-a-day. The added attraction will be Yorke and King, who have a comedy built around the famous family tintype of some forty years ago, wedding the subject to dialogue and song of the modern type. ‘The third spot on the bill goes to Nini, a versatile and ac- complished pantomime artist. Rosemary King will bring George Kelly's latest one-act playlet, “Smarty’s Party”; Ralph C. Bevan and Beatrice Flint promise their own exclusive brand of comedy, persifiage and song, as “A Slight Interruption”; the Tableaux Petite presents an in- teresting group_ of art poses and studles, and the Kanazawa Japs com- plete the bill with orfental acrobatics and equilibristic feats. Aesop's Fables, Topics of the Day and Pathe News are added attractions. Last week's bill will be offered to- day at 3 and 8 p.m. COSMOS—Naomi and Brazilian Boys. No. form of terpsichorean enter- tainment, perhaps, is more snappy and enjoyable than that of the Span- ish type, which will be exploited at the Cosmos Theater this week, begin- ning at the matinee. tomorrow. by Naom! and her Brasilian boys, & South American hxgrasation conibin- ing a distinguished artistic dancer and a special orchestra of her own creation. It will one of the dis- tinet noveities of ‘the season. _Arthur Devoy and company, as- | | sisted by Evelyn Faber, who come second in_the billing, will present Emmett Devoy's playlet, with a punch and a laugh in every line— “Mother's Diary." Others in_a bill of general attrac- tiveness will include Mabel Elaine, late a stellar attraction with McIn- tyre and Heath, and Henry Marshall, | the popular song composer, a vaude- ville combination which ranks high; Kelso and De Monde, in “Papa’s Sec- retary,” a rollicking_skit by Kelso; Willlam Young and Charles Wheeler, “Bachelors of Music,” and Perez and Marguerite, novelty jugglers and originators of the famous “Jazz balls.” The screen version of Bertha M. Clay's famous old romance, “Wife in Name Only," will be the photoplay for the week. Philippa L'Estrange discovers that her love for Norman Arleigh is not returned, and in her bitterness turns to revenge by bring- ing about his marriage with a girl of the man who is in prison for mur- dering Norman's father. The climax is unexpected and thriliing. A com- edy of the popular two-reel type and the Urban Movie Chats will be among the added attractions. Last week’s fine bill will be re- peated at the performances today, running continuously from 3 to 11 pam. STRAND—“Tiny” Sylvia. Royal entertainment is promised at the Strand Theater this week, begin- ning today, in the premier appear- ance in this city of “Tiny"” Sylvia, the child wonder, who is regarded one of the sensational “finds” of the theatrical year. Little Miss Sylvia Is described as the minlature Belle Baker of American vaudeville, who is winning admirers wherever she plays. Victor Hyde will present a pre- tentious revue, “Dance Frivolities, featuring Ed and Niriam Root, with a cast of eight in a song and dance offering lavishly staged. Other acts include the Aronty brothers, marvels of strength and en- durance wport, Stirk and Parker, with their ¥Odds and Ends of Ver- satility” in fifteen minutes of side- splitting mirth, and Al Friend and Jack Sparling, two unfriendly friends, in “A Letter from Home.” The photoplay will be Fox Pictures screen version of Richard Harding Davig' story, “The Exiles,” with John Gllbert, of “Monte Cristo” fame, fea- tured In a story that gives a new angle to the question of what hap- pens when the savage and the culti- vated man lie down together. Short film features will complete the bill. GAYETY—Watson’s “Beef Trust.” A favorite with burlesque patrons— Billy Watson and his “Beef Trust Beautles” will be this week's attrac- tlon at the Gayety Theater, begin- ning with today’s matinee. “Beet Trust” Watson has been in burlesque mare than twenty-one years, but he still retains his per- sonal magnetism and jolly stage pres- ence and insists upon his associates belng experts in merrymaking, mod- els in propriety as well as in form and entertaining. “Beef Trust Beauties” will be new in all particulars except the comical assoclation of “Krousmeyer” and “Grogan” that has endured for many years. New scenery will dress the stage plctures; new costumes will adorn the heavyweights of the en- semble while the girl principals will represent a fashion show. _*Krous- meyer's Alley” will be th¢ locale of merry bouts and neighborhood quarrels, with Watson as Krousmeyer against Clarence Wilbur Grogan, the “Aighting Irishman. There will be a spectacular fire scene to wipe out the differences in the “alley.” 'Old Guttenberg” will be pictured In the race track scene and there will be a palace scene of great brilllancy. Edgar Bixley, he of the “big volce”; Elinore Marshall, a swet-singing prima donna, and Helen and Frances Russell, graceful dancers with good voices, ‘will make indi- vidual contributions to the song, dance and vaudeville specialties. Arcade. A gorgeous Halloween ball is an- nounced by the Arcade management Wednesday evening, with a special orchestral program, a bewildering number of bizarre costumes, beauti- ful and appropriate decorations and charming lighting effects, for dance lovers and onlookers on this night of nights. The widely heralded benefit of the celebrated Army Band will be the attraction on Friday, with a con- cert by the full band from 7:30 to 8:30, followed by a brilliant dance till midnight. Washington Prize Winner. (ONE humdred and fifty of America’s child dancers appeared at the Apollo Theater, New York city, last Sunday, in a contest held by the Na- tional Stage Children's Association of New_ York. Morse Allen, a pupil of the Hoftman-Hoskins Dancing School of this city, was picked ;| by Mme. Pavlowa, Florens Ziegfeld and Ned Weyburn, judges, for the first prize. All the leading dancing schools of the country were repre- sented in this contest by one student each. Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York city gave out the prizes, and was seemingly much pleased with the wark of the Washington boy. Morse Allen is only thirteen years old and is & student of Central High School, NATIONAL—“Sancho Panza.” Otis Skinners new play, “Sancho Panza,” which comes to the National Theater next week, opening Monday, November 5. is one of his largest and Tost spegtacular productions since his memoryible success “Kismet." . The _anhouncements read: Skinner's mw play Is a whirling, col orful panodama of Spanish life in the sixteenth ventury—a kind of Spanish ‘Arabian Nights' as it were, with robies, knights, impassioned damsels, Moorish beauties, kindly wenches, slaves, dancing girls and jesters t. the king." “Sancho Panza” is utterly different from anything in which Mr. Skinner has heretofore appeared. Richard Boleslawsky of the Mos- cow Art Theater has staged the play, 2nd Hugo Fglix has written songs and special nfusic for the mise en scene. Dancing is an important factor, and Bert French has charge of the terpsichorean features. Even to the costuming this new play bor- ders on the spectacular. nolds, designer of the wardrobe for the Ziegfeld “Follles,” has this de- partment in charge. “Sancho Panza” is an adaptation of the most important eplsodes In Cer- vantes' immortal work, “Don Quixote de la Mancha" Melchoir Lengyel, author of “The Czarina,” has written the play. Mr. Skinner's role is that of the genial squire, Sancho, faithful friend and follower of that adven- turesome knight-errant; Don Quixote, charger of the windmills. An efficient company Includes Russ Whytal, Marguerite Forrest, Fred- erick Tiden, "Stewart Baird., Millie Butterfield, Charles Halton, Bernard A. Refnold. H. H. McCollum, Rubi Trelease, Robert Robson, Anthony Andre, Richard Cramer, Herbert Del- more, Robert Rosaire, Meyer Beren- son, ‘William H. White, Olga Tre- koff, Robert Renys, Royal _Cutter, Dorothy Londoner, Elizabeth Page, Merle Stevens, Grace Elliott, Berte Alden and Helen Granelle, BELASCO—Ethel Barrymore “A Royal Fandango.” Ethel Barrymore's visits to Washing- ton at any time attract attention, but particularly in a new play. She is to in come for_such a visit to the Shubert- ' Belasco Theater next week, when Ar- thur Hopkins will present her in a new comedy by Zoe Akins, entitled “A “Royal Fandango.” This, it is an- nounced, will be her one and only en- gagement outside of New York during the season. Miss Barrymore's appearance in a play by Zoe Akins has particular inter- est because of their earlier assoclation, when the star played In Miss Akins' “Declassee,” one of her greatest suc- cesses. Since that time Miss Akins has almed to write another play for Miss Barrymore, but of an entirely different nature. “A Royal Fandango' is the sult. “Declassee’” was a tragedy: Royal Fandango” is a comedy, comedy. Mr. Hopkins will, of course, stage the rew play, and the production has been designed by Robert Edmond Jones. In the company are Cyril Keightly, Bev- erly Sitgreaves, Jose Alessandro, Ed- ward G. Robinion and Virginia Chau- venet. POLI'S—“The Camel's Back.” Theatergoers are promised a most enjovable play at Poll's Theater next week, when the Selwyns present “The Camel's Back." a new comedy by Somerset Maughan, whose last play, “The Circle." was 0 great a success that the Selwsns had two companies touring in it last season. “The Camel's Back" is a comedy of English society. The fun fs all de- rived from the fact that middle- aged barrister is steadfast in his bellef that as he is master of all he surveys his family is not only one of the most conservative in all England, but is altogether partic- ular that the conventions of tradi- tion shall be observed most scrupu- lously. But he is mistaken in his belief ‘and more than realizes it when his family combines to dethrone him, and succeeds in dolng so most ef- tectively. This is accomplished in a new and original fashion with a great deal of relish for an audience. There is sald to be a flow of de- liclous satire running throughout, easily understandable, and enriched with™ smart dialogue that Is often brilliant. The cast includes Charles Cherry, Violet Kemble Cooper, sArthur Lewis, Loulse Closser Hale, Gavin Muir, Joan Maclean, Margaret Moffat and Dor- othy Stoke: ‘A high James Rey- | GAEBRCK—"In the Next Room.” Winthrop Ames and Guthrie Me- | Clintic, who present “In the Next | Room,” a new play by Eleanor Rob- | son and Harriet Ford, adapted from |a novel by Burton Stevenson, at the- | Shubert-Garrick Theater next week, beginning Monday, are unusually si- lent about the nature of the drama, It has been the custom of producers in recent years to request audiences and critics not to divulge the solu- tion of this problem, but Ames and | McClintic are going even further and not giving the slightest hint as to | what “In the Next Room” holds in | store. 1t sounds as though it might be a mystery, a crook or a detective play, but this is neither denied not | confirmed by the producers. A little lees publicity in connec- tien with theatrical productions, producers are said to belleve, would bring back the glamour of ths theater which has been disappearing these last twenty years. In_the company are such players as Claude King, Wright Kramer, Arthur Albertson. Leighton Stark. George Riddell, Morris Ankrum, Ed- ward Butler, 'William Kline, Ann Davxis, Nerle Maddern and Olfver Valerie. KEITH'S—Nazimova in Unknown Woman.” The bill at Keith's next week. be- ginning Monday, November 5, will be headed by the noted in George Middleton's one-act playlet, “The Unknown Woma Mme. mova is in vaudeville for a limi engagement, after which she will re- turn to motion pictures. As a special ture Bairnsfather, the English cartoonist, creator of “The Better ‘Ole” and *Old BilL," will make his first_appearance in Washington. Capt. Bairnsfather is making an initial American vaude- ville tour. Others on the bill will be Wilbur nd company in a new act, “The York and Lord, probably two the funniest comedians in the world: Kelly and Birmingham, in “Picking a Peach”; Smith and Strong. two unusual singers from the golden west, and the McDonald Trio in a cycle of beauty and daring. Fables, Topics and Pathe News follow. COSMOS—Pola Negri Cheat.” The Cosmos Theater next week will feature in its bill Pola Negri's big Paramount photoplay, “The Cheat,” adapted from the stage play, and ranked as one of the most important screen contributions of the FPolish star since she came to this country Leading the vaudeville program will come Anna Praile and Andre Pallo, heading the London Steppers, an offering from higher vaudeville of the headline caliber. Other acts will include David and Pelle. Cavanaugh and Cooper. Ferry Corw Jean Southern and Ann Francis and com- pany in a bill which will rank with the season’s best. |STRAND — “Theater Russe.” One of the season’s notable offerings, a spectacular Russian fantasy in three | scenes, with a large cast of artists di- rect from the Moscow Theater, pre- sented by Marcus Loew, under the title “Theater Comique Ru: * and featur- ing Mischa Visafoff, will headline the Drog;(mm at the Strand Theater mnext weel. i Others will include Wolgast and Girlie in “Music and Thrills'; Mabel Drew and her baby grand; Grace and Eddie Parks in “A Bungalow of Beauty, Bal- lads and Bunk"; Al H. Wiison in non- sensicalities and witticisms. The photoplay will present for the first time in Washington Preferred Pic- tures production, “April Showers, Irish story, with an Irish cast, including Colleen Moore and Kenneth Harlan. GAYETY—“Monkey Shines.” Next week “Monkey Shines” will be the offering at the Gayety Theater. Clark & McCuallough wrote and pro- iduced “Monkey Shines,” and while these two joily fellows do not ap- pear personally in their own show. as they are playing in Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue, they are said to have succeeded in injecting into it much comedy and action. A splendid cast and chorus is promised “The . pt. Bruce in “The Comique Grace George’s Career. RACE GEORGE made her first ap- pearance as a star under the di- rection of Willam A. Brady, in the comedy “The Princess Chiffon.” Later she starred in “Under Southern Skies” and followed that on a tour at the head of an all-star cast pre- senting “Frou-Frou.” She _then achleved great success in ‘“Pretty Peggy. which was presented at the Herald Square Theater. The following spring she was one of an all-star cast which revived “The Two Orphans” at the New Amster- dam Theater. Later she scored suc- cess again in the dramatizations of Mrs. Humphry Ward's story. “The Marriage of Willlam Asche,” and still later in Rupert Hughes' comedy, “The Richest Girl.” Hig’h Art THE Chauve-Souris itself is a symbol of the new game the sophisticated now play when their play hour comes. This performance, which Morris Gest brought to New York, and which is coming to the Poli Theater Novem- ber 12, did not start out in Moscow as a performance for the general pub- lic at all. It was given after theater hours for a midnight club called “The Bat"—which Is chauve-souris un- frenched—a club frequented by the protession, actors, dancers of the Rus- sian ballet and by the Russian mu- Sloikita Balleft with his Chauve- Souris can rightly take his place with the elemental laughter of history. Be- cause, reduced to its final ingredients, its humor is that of the tumbling clown of the circus. It does “funnily’ Shakespear 'ERE is a type of humanity which spends its days seeking cryptic messages in the works of Willlam Shakespeare. These people, whose lelsure hours seem boundless, discov- ered that Francis Bacon wrote Wil- liam Shakespeare. It would have been quite as easy and much more interesting had they applied their zeal in the selfsame way and found out that Amy Lowell did it. There s another type which revels in putting the prophet's robe on the Shal peare shoulders. These people have ferreted out in the thirty-six recognized plays that Shakespeare foretold steamships, automobiles, ca- bles, telephones a airplanes, not to mention such things as open plumb- ing and first-rate messenger service. 3 At the Manhattan Theater, Miss George's success in “Clothes” was followed by a brilliant performance |in “Divorcons,” which she played | with equal success in London. Later | she appeared in *: via of the Let- | ters” and then came another bri |liant success in “A Woman's Way." At_the request of the directors of |the New Theater, Miss George ap- | peared in that organization's produc- |tion of “The School for Scandal.” | Those who appreciate intelilgence - | in the theater followed with keen in- terest Miss George's establishment of A Tepertory company some seasons back at the Playhouse in New York. lThll she intends to do again—the repertory companies to be founded in fifteen cities throughout the United States. and Apes. what art does seriously. But what 1ifts it pre-eminently above the slap- .stick of the movies is that the dancer Who does her marionette ballet stiffly, | had her training in the imperial Rus- | sian_ballet. The actor who becomes | the hind legs of the horse has also acted Hamlet. " Balleff, the Russlan czar of laugh- ter, whose “act” consists of mere an- nouncements In his broken English between acts—whose face has not & touch of make-up—who makes an au- dience ripple with spontaneous mirth by those expressions gleaned from the monkey's face and by the simple expedient of disappearing suddenly behind the curtain with a switch of his dress suit tail liké the switch of his own ancestral cousins—this man is a super-clown, because he was first an accomplished tragedian. He has thrown civilization’s techniques to the discard to study his grimaces from the face of the gorilla, e Prophecy. Now they are to have yet another Shakespearean “prophecy” come true. Wednesday night, October 24, E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe, who are giving a festival of Shakespeare's dramas in New York city, broadcast via the radio station of WJZ, the com- edy of “Twelfth Night.” Appropriately enough, the direct prophecy that this would be done is found in the comedy itself in the words of Viola, who teils the reluctant Olivia that she would: “Make me a willow cabin at your gate And call upon my soul within the house; Write loyal cantons of gontemned love And sing them loud even in the dead of night; Hallow your name to the reverberate hills And make the babbling gossip of the air Cry-out, Olivia!