Evening Star Newspaper, May 17, 1925, Page 59

CECILIA Lortus - Ke P~ Sy th From Ancient Rome To the Broa&way Farce By Phslander Johnson. The theater struggles bravely on Even the semi-barbaric splendor -of the circus could not quite over- whelm it, and devotces of the drama occupied their favorite places in the playhouses regardless of® the gor- geous entertainment rendered avail- able free of charge on the thorough- fares. * % % . There were two types of tent show in evidence, one the distinctly Ameri- can development, reflecting some- thing of the picturesqueness of pioneer life in this country. It is, however, gradually reverting to type and being absorbed into the tradi- tions of the circus, whose very name leads the imagination back to the mes and pageantries of ancient ome. The display of wild beasts, charioteers, elephant herds and all the other incidents of old magnifi- cence is a bit of fossilized history which enables us, if we choose so to { regard it, to gain a little more vivid imaginative picture of what a Roman triumph was like when games and splendor were the order of the hour and the populace gave jtself over to general rejoicing. ko The Americanization of the circus as presented in “Ranch 101,” so as to make it reflect our own memories, finds greater appreciation in Europe than over here. Uncle Sam is a brave but modest gentleman, who ingtinctively avoids picturesque os- tentations. Keen as are his utili- tarian perceptions in most matters, taey do not extend quite so far as| {0 enable him to employ for art de- clopment or ornate fashion mate- rial that is beneath his very eyes It needed France to show us how the designs of a Navajo blanket or the markings on our prehistoric pot- tery may be utilized in fanciful fab- rics. Modernized Navajo blanket designs arc like wrist watches. People who now use them most con- spicuously are as unlike their origi- | mal wearers as nature could arrange * % % % Another distinctive form of Amer- Scan entertainment that the Summer used to bring was the negro minstrel show. The songsters in the sable | semi-circle were usually assembled | .rather informally, touring expenses | were easily met, rentals were not high and the public welcomed the .rollicking interruption of the Sum- mer quietude. Bones, tambo and in- terlocutor represented the cternal triangle of the drama. and of sports as well—the two disputants and the Teferee. [ %ok [ 4 Gradually minstrelsy organized into permanent entertainment. | whose leading exponents made and spent ‘money lavishly. led nomad fives, with welcome secure wherever they chose to tarry. It was I. H. Haverly who took the most impor- tant step in organizing minstrelsy, which, as the names of leading per- formers ceased to figure in combina- tion as the name of the producing firm, gradually became " more and more standardized and less and less interesting, until with the recent death of Lew Dockstader the last of the typical names of burnt cork celebritics was swept from the bill- hoards. Negro minstrelsy as re called by Mr. Jolson or Mr. Tinney has, like the circus, merged ‘into,a setting of European splendors less conspicuous for any interpretation of ideas than for its reflcetion exotic magnificences * * x The equestrian who manages sev- | eral horses at once in the sawdust | ring was outdone in bravery by Mr. Shubert, who hitched together paraded them all at once in “The Dream Girl.” From Victor Herbert, whose career is closed, to Walter Woolf, whose assured success only beginning, Mr. Shubert has put into harness the past, the present and -the future. F. Bainter, ad- wired as a dramatic star. shows that swg Gan swg and dance when she |a sort of monotone that happened | | fection with the gencral composi- | | which is a blend of broad farce and | emotional drama. | powers. | personal | of | * | dominant position. e group of billboard celebrities and | chooses, and claims the large type over a list including William Harris, jr.;. Victor Herbert, Rida Young, Harold Atteridge, Walter. Woolf, J. C. Hoffman, David Bennett, Fred Hoff, Eleanor Abbott and Watson Barrett. This staggering array of talent for the creation from an old comedy of what modestly de- scribed as a new musical play makes it seem more marvelous than ever that W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sul- livan should by their unassisted ef- forts, each in a specialized domain, have supplied the theater with such satisfactory and enduring entertain- ment. In this Shubert potpourri it | was the work of the best recognized | artist that found most respect, the music by Victor Herbert. Sy When Blanche Bates appeared at the National Theater in mid-Decem- ber her play, which enjoyed a run in New York, was entitled “Mrs.| Partridge Presents.” The most con- spicuous figure in the presentation was Ruth Gordon, with a personal- ity entirely unique, evading compari- son with any that can be recalled. | She seemed a little freakish at first, to harmonize with accidental per-| tion. She has the center of the stage quite to herself in “The Fall of Eve,” | * * % % The play takes full advantage of the rugged schooling the public has had to induce a patient, and even re- spectful, toleration of scenes long regarded as forbidden for mixed au- diences. . The fun ‘is emphatic and | irresistible, yet the playing requires | capabilitics which approach tragic | 1f there is any such thing as indelicacy in the theater it must | be regarded as concentrated in "Thc[ Fall of Eve,” and the players are to be admired for letting the manu-| script and Miss Gordon take care of | the comedy without effort to use| emphasis, which might casily change the performance irom a droll experiment-on audacious lines into a catastrophe. * ok ok * As it was, the audiences laughed | heartily and long. And players, like | mischievous children, know quite] well that when they make us laugh | no amount of perfunctory chiding in afterthought can disguise the fact that in reality all is forgiven. Irish Imagmsnon. | HE Irish world toda | berg. who has just. signed to long- | | term contract” two young Irish direc- | {tors, James P. Hogan and Frank | | 0’Connor. H | imagination rules the| ,'" declared B. P. Schul- | ““For centuries some particular race, | with its art and literature and think- | ing, set the example the universe fol- lowed, vs_ Schulberg. ‘“Years ago it was French. Before that the Eng- lish and still further back the Ital- jan. In ancient times it was the Egyptians, next the Greeks and then the Romans. Today, in my opinion, it | is the Irish. “The most influential writer of to- | | day is an Irishman, Bernard Shaw, whose thoughts have had a great in- fluence on the human race in the last O vears and whose writings have Swayed the English-speaking world. | James M. Barrie and other Irishmen ight also be named. These men ve taken the lead in shaping mod- n thought in literature and plays {and have placed the lrish race in a I ¥ o “The Irish are a romantic race, com- Dining in their nature all the elements that constitute the ideal motion pic- | ture—humor. emotion. love, heart in | terest and the recklessness that pro- vides thrills. The Irish seem to be the one race wh romance, melo- dies and humor appeal to the entire world.” | A rumor is afloat around New York | to the effect that Charles Dillingham is to bring Seymour Hicks from Lon- don mext season for a series of play which ‘he has been sucecsstul sdon In fate years, il WASHINGTON, D. C, “Three Little Maids of Old." Alice Brady, Fritzi Scheff and Christie MacDonald, who created a sensation the “three little maids from school” in the Shuberts’ 1910 revival of “The Mikado” at the Casino Theater, sang at .the “Gil- bertian Players’ night” last Wednes- day at the Forty fourth Street Theater, New York, one verse of the peren: nially popular number which Mar- guerite Namara, Barbara Maurel and Elsa Potersen now sing in the present production. Cbmposer of Clean Songs. ED SNYDER, The Sheik of Araby,” “My Wife's to the Country,” “All Alone With In a Litle Rendezvous,” and countless other song hits, will appear in person at the Rialto this week, heading the special musical presentations. He: will be assisted by Fred Hughes, re- cording artist and radio entertainer. Mr. Snyder ‘will play some of his own compositions on ‘the piano and will have the assistance of Mr. Hughes, who has a rich tenor voice, in a song revue. Mr. Snyder recently said: “I never wrote a song that would make any one blush or that couldn’t, with per-| fect propriety, be sung anywhere. 1 “The public welcomes the clean, | clear type of melody and a ballad | that goes home,’ he said. “I've| proved it in my own business and| see it demonstrated more and more | every day. composer of 1 A Spry Oldtimer. | ILLY WASHINGTON BURKE, one of the famous old clowns and minstrels in his_day, came with the | circus, but not of it, last week, to pay | his respects to The Star and to say that although detached at present, he is still just as chipper and active as when he used to catch the applause of the big tents for his somersaulting, and their laughter at his antics. Bill, who has been for a time at Somerset Crystal Springs, the Actors’ Fund home at Bernardsville, N. J. warding off a nervous breakdown, stepped into the sawdust arena when he was a little short of 10 vears old. e is now 61. He has served with | the William W. Cole circus, old John | Robinson’s famous road show, and | with Harris' Nickel Plate, which ran the road from Chicago. In 1586 and 1887 he was with the famous Hanlon Brothers, of Fant: ma fame, where he did his first wor as a pantomime clown. Then he was with the Beach and Bowers Minstrels for two seasons, with the Katy Ham- mond Stock in specialties and with Al G. Field for three years. His eves are still bright and his step elastic, and he says he is open for engagements in his line. Has Had Experience. Miss Lenita Lane, the leading lady | of the National Theater Players, is not | vet 25 years of age, but during her | theater career she has essayed som(‘-i thing over 100 roles. “My experience has been confined mostly to stock,” says Miss Lane, “though Broadway has lured me se eral times. My last Broadway appearance was | in “Flame of.Love,” with Brandon Peters, and that play goes down in | memory as having the largest t 1 have ever heard of, except | pectacle plays with supernumeraries and ‘atmosphere.’ It had exactly 40| speaking roles and the stage of the | Morosco Theater, where we opened, was hard put to it to accommodate the number required by one situation. Miss Lane was a principal also in | A. H. Woods' show, *“The Love Child.” | In stock she has appeared in Clevi land, Pittsburgh, Des Moines. Tren. | ton, Philadelphia,” Montreal, Boston and Ottawa. Some of her roles in- | cluded leads in “East Is West,” “The | Man Who Came Back,” “Sick-a-Bed,” | “Up in Mabel’s Room,” with Jack Nor- | worth in “Excelsior,” ‘‘Ladie: “Johnny Get Tour Gun” and “C Prodigal Son in Pictures. | WOVEN materials long enough to extend 25 ‘miles were used dur- ing production of “The Wanderer, the film spectacle of the great Biblical | s of the prodigal son. The ma terials, consisting of silks and dra- peries, are declared to be the largest amount of cloth ever used in a single ! motion picture. Many of them are exceptionally rare and were purchased by Mrs. Florence Meehan, who made a special trip to the Far East for special weaves of cloth and for Ori ental tapestries. As parts of the. picture will be made in color. the film will reveal these =lorious hues In (heir natursd lus| Current Attractions At the Theaters Thi§ \Vcek - Wreck.” NATIONAL—"The evening. POLI'S—Imperial Dancing Revue KEITH'S—Billy B. Van-George afternoon. Nervous EARLE—Leviathan Orchestra, vaudeville. Revue, vaudeville TRAND—Lane and Travers noon. GAYETY—"Let’s Go,” burlesque. MUTUAL—"“Speed Girls,” burlesque NATIONAL—"The Nervous Wreck.” The National Theater Players will offer for the first time in stock “The Nervous Wreck,” at the National Theater tomorrow night. with a care- fully selected cast in an acknowledged laughing hit. In over a quarter there have been many tenders. and liberal ones, a Summer lease of the National, but for divers reasons the National. until now, has remained an institution for road show attrac- tions only. Unusual care has been of a century exercised to make the innovation now | a memorable one. In “The Nervous Wreck” Henry Williams, a clerk from Pittsburgh, worries himself into the last stages of exhaustion. On advice of physi cians he goes to an Arizona ranch for rest and quiet. There but a few weeks he meets the rancher’s daugh- ter, frantic in her efforts to escape marrying the bulky and braggart sheriff, to whom she has been prom- ised. She tricks Henry into eloping with her in a flivver. They run out of gas, hide on a strange ranch, a cept jobs as cook and waiter and fin- ally are pursued and caught by the girl's father and her finance. All of which is very hard on “the neryous wreck” until the situation demands he take action. And the action he takes is so hurricanic he is amazed to dis- cover he is no longer a ‘‘wreck.” Minor Watson essays the Henry Williams, with Miss Leneta Lane as Sally Morgan. Edward Arnold plays the blustering, pompous sberiff. Others of the cast are Butler Hixon, Dorothy Tierney, Romaine Callender, Charles Halton, Thomas L. Brower, Walter Solderling and Wil- liam MecFadden. Matinees, as usual, Will be on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when extremely popular prices are prom- ised. POLI'S—Imperial Dancing Revue. The Imperial Dancing Revue, a production which aims to give the | public of Washington an adequate idea of what can be done ir profes- sional dancing training, will be pre- sented at Poli's Theater: tomorrow evening. 4 There will be an overture—a real “musical comedy.” overture, develop- ing all the original melodies used in the show. This in itself is an inno- vation. Then follows in rapid sequence a “breezy” opening number, intro- duced by Burke and Deery, a clever team, in which the first view of the chorus and its work is given. Then will come a tuneful juvenile, Master King; a mirth-provoking sketch, in which there is no dancing and no singing, by a team of witty comedi- ans, Cush, Kiernan and Webb, with the aid of Miss Langer, and the [“Cherry Blossom Ballad.” written ex- lusively for this production, and the finale of the first act. A whirlwind series of Russian bal- {let, songs, dances and quips will open the second act, after which will come Jack Bowie, the zolden tener, and Lscn Katz, u tenor, with role of | SUNDAY ‘MORNING, MAY 17, comedy. Opens tomorrow Tomorrow evening Lemaire, vaudeville. Opens this Opens this afternoon. Opens: this after- Opens this affernoon. Opens this afternoon feet,” dance specialties and soothing | ballads, during which the musical di- rector, Miss Klavens, appears and performs: the Geisha Girls, a Ming | Toy scene and the famous Chicken { Leg Tmperial. A fast-moving jazz finale precedes the last curtain. KEITH'S — Billy B. Lemaire. The management of B. F. Keith's | Theater announces as the headline act for this week Billy B. Van, ec- centric comedian, and George Le maire, who will be remembered for | bis hilarious sketch, “At the Dentist who will be seen in their latest com- edy skit, “Hello, Central.” They are | supported by a cast including _the Wood Sisters, the Trado Twins, Jean Holt and Frances Holliday. Ernest Evans, American dance star, will be featured in his new produc- tion, “Ripples of 1925, the supporting | cast including many versatile danc- | singgrs and musicians. Others | ressy and Blanche Dayne, | scene from Mr. Cressy's novel, he Hills of Hampshire,” entitled | 'he Village Lawyer”; Allan Cross, in their act “Showing | the Smartest Styles in Sons,” their | examples including everything from opera to jazz; Jack Haley and Helyn Eby Rock. who match wits in “Chic | | Ristbilitie: Bessie Wynn, musical | comedy comedienne, known as “The | | Lady With the Velvet Voice” in &' group of modern songs called “Wynn | | Spirations,” assisted by Marie Har- court, and directed by Charles Loven- | | bers. and Paul Remos and his won- der midgets. in a stunt novelty. Aesop’s Fables, Topics of the Day and the Pathe News will complete the bill. Van-George EARLE—Leviathan Orchestra. | The United States Shipping Board is | presenting the U. S. S. Leviathan Or- |chestra_at the Karle Theater this ;week. The orchestra is said.to have | an exceptionally fine saxophone quin- | tet, while Nelson Maple, its director, |is rated high among orchestral leaders. | n added feature is the silver-voiced | tenor, Emmett O'Mara. | Almost equally prominent on the billJ is the dancing team of Kola and Syl-| a, who, with their assistant at the | piano, offer “In Happy Moments of | Dance and Piang.” Others are: Cleve- | land and Donrey, who discuss, as two clever comedians can, present-day con- | ditions; “the Rialto Four, known as| | Broadway’s own quartet; Larry Comer, | | Who is remembered here from previous | ‘appearances. and Frank Le Dent, “an| { American juggler with ideas of his own The pllotoplay is “The Girl of Gold.” | | which features Florence Vidor. STRAND—Lane and Travers Revue. Heading the bill at the Strand The- ater this week will be Lester Lane jand Elsie Travers, two dancers, in their revue, “A Study in Youth.” sup- ported by a guartet of pretty dancing Ed Healy and | . {King, who, in addition to his unique |orignal | Weisenfreund, Wolf Goldfaden, Mark | lish-speaKing playgoers. zirls. Joe cGrath and Jack Deeds, billed Designers of Comedy and 1925. FYTA L Written by Washingtonians.i “THE NERVOUS WRECK. credited . to Owen Dav | critten in_its original narrative form | two Washington people, Mr. and | Mrs. Chauncey Brainerd, who com- bined under the nom de plume of E. J. Rath. Brainerd was Washington corre- sponderit for the Brooklyn Eagle and his wife a prominent penwoman who had written innumerable short 3tories. A, H. Woods is to produce next Fall another play based on one of their stories. Songs, tion. Others include Jack Usher and com- pany, offering “Wives vs. Stenogra- phers”;: an Edith Mae Capes offering, alled “Freshies,” with Donald Tom- kin and Ruth Love in the featured roles. and Rasso and company in a| Jjuggling novelty. Johnny Hines, in “The Cracker- jack,” will be the photoplay attrac- tion. The story, by Richard Friel, tells of a go-getting college youth, who, in his anxiety to put his uncie's pickle product on the market, gets mixed up | in a South American revolution. Harry West, Bradley Barker and.J. y.are in the supporting | will provide the added attrac- | A comedy, ‘“When Dumb:-Bells Ring" the Fox News and Director Manvell's Orchestra, giving Greer’s “Florida” as an overture, and Rapp's’‘“‘Sunset” as exit march. complete the program. GAYETY—"Let’s Go."™ Fred Clark’s Columbia * Burlesque, “Let's Go,” this week's attraction a the Gayety Theater, has 21 scenes, ranging from the. South Sea islands to the North Pole. with musical and other features. The. chorus .is. sdid to be esceptionally well trained in songs and dances. At ‘the head of the cast is Mann line of laugh-making ability, is some- what of a violinist. 3 Nan Palon, Arnette Creighton, Fay Tunis and Helen Flynn—all appea specialtle: ‘Walter . “Pe] Smith, Andy Price and -Harry Peter- son are particularly. effective in.a radio broadcasting station sgene, which presents also a .male quartet. A special feature is Little Jim, th¢ wrestling bear, who meets all comer: ) Yiddish Theater. Tonight. .. * . Maurice Swartz, one of the famous actors of the foreign language stige, and _director of the Yiddish'-Art- Theater of New York, will present-at the Shurbert-Belasco -THeater this evening Scholem Aelichem’s" delight= ful comedy, “Hard to Be a -Jew" Mr. Swartz heads the. cast,. sup ported by Anna Appel, Bertha Ger- sten, H. Sherman, Lazar Fried, Muni Schweld, Abraham Fishkind and Tsi- dore Cashier. . In New York, -where the Yidais] Art Theater has thrived for many years, its performances have -found unusual popular appeal among Eng: The* Yid- dish is the naturalistic' school, and it is announced; wiile - the rinied in Loglish is a Ecxp 1 Automob Su3v s o g iles Ibsen Play Amusing. 'OR some peculiar reason a perform nce of an Ibsen play is not sup- posed to be an occasion of laughte: This traditional morbidness, it said, is being cast to the winds in the case of “The Wild Duck” at the Forty-Fighth Street Theater. in New York, where it is claimed a new Ibsen, an Ibsen whose humor is as keen and enjovable as the brittle satire of George Bernard Shaw, is be ing presented. An enthusiastic audience at the opening performance of “The Wild Ducl clamored for a speech from Mr. Digges. He refused at that time to say anything. However, after proper reflection. he commits him self thusly and briefly: . “If the-Actors’ Theater production of ‘The Wild Duck’' has done noth- ing else, it has dispelled the belief that this Henrik Ibsen play is filled with dark-blue symbolism. Prior to present presentation in had come to this | look with this great dare dread upon the plays of Norseman ose who did to view, characters entered the theater with a sileat reverence mingled with hor ror.. There, indeed, they expected to behold the seven terrors. To laugh was entirely out of the question. 1In | such surroundings there could be no | laughter, no gayety—only the dark | clouds of tragedy and the dreaded ‘mbols. | “The confirmed Ibsenist who hur- ries to the Forty-Eighth Stree Theater and quietly slips into his seat for a few moments of meditation before the curtain rises is due a de | served shock. As the tale of the House of Ekdal is unfolded. th Ibsenist will shockingly discover that | the audience, enjoying itself im mensely, laughs outright and often | The symbolism becomes seconda: i the * engrossing, and_ entertaining story, and ‘The Wild Duck’ become: la play i lecture. T Cdsmo Hamilton. COS.\IO HAMILTON is one of the _most prolific writers of the day. In addition to his plays, which have been offered on all five continents, he has considerably more than a dozen novels to his credit and many of these | have found their way into the motion | picture field. Perhaps the most faraous of plays was “Scandal,” in which Francine Larrimore co-starred Charles Cherry. ton’s plays are “The y; Sense of Humor,” “The Mountain Climber,” “Bridge” (which was produced also in French), P S, his Miss with Wisdom it 'is really unnecessary in order to follow the action of the play. This Washington. engagement. s orie of the few that will be played in the East. The company was com- pelled to bring its New York engage- ment to an untimely end because the famous Madison Square Garden, in which -the Yiddish Art Theater was located, has fallen Into the hands of. housewreckers. A new theater is be- ing ‘erected for Mr. Swartz, where he will make a strong appeal for the continuance of his English-speaking patronage, and later in the season he will direct not only this playhouse, but one in which the best foreign and American plays are given' with Eng- lish-speaking casts. MUTUAL—“Speed Girls.” Ray Read and his “Speed Girls" are the attraction at the Mutual Theater this week. Ray Read, known in burlesque as one of its most original comedians, is supported_ by ‘a cast -including Nellie Nice, Bee'Bell, Helen Manning, Date Cuttis, Hatry Seyon and Harty Dous as. - The . chorus . consists of looking Little speeders 20 good ,11 Other of Mr. Hamil- | of | his | dramatization of Maurice Le Blanc's | “Arsene Lupin.” “Mrs. Skeffington.” | “The Blindness of Virtue,” “‘Scandal.” ice People” and “Parasites.” Mr. Hamilton is an Englishman by irth and an_elder brother | Philip Gibbs, the famous w | spondent. In his early editor of the London World, which he ‘.\nld to the late Lord orthcliffe. Hr | began his literary career at the age {of 18. while spending the Summer in a little village in Normandy | His first effort was a book called Which is Absurd.” To his great sur | prise it was immediately accepted for | publication, and on his hurrying back 1o London he was engaged by the Pall Mall Gazette to do weekly arti cles under the title of “The Wares of Autolycus.” He followed this up with a fantasy called “Through a Key-. hole,” and shortly afterward wrote « play for Gertrude Kingston called “The Wisdom of Folly.” 'Others auickly followed, and then came his great success, 'he Catch of the Sea {son,” written for Charles Frohman | He wrote also for this manager “The | Gadsbys,” a_three-act drama; edy called “The | the famous and American musical comedy, “The Belle of May fair,” and an adaptation from ths | French of “Arcene Lupin.” In 1911 Mr. Hamilton came to the United States to see the first Amel | ican production of “The Blindness of Virtue.” He remained here until the outbreak of the World War. and, hav g received training in the voluntee: | service, he joined the royal naval | service in England. Since then Mr. Hamilton has writ ten many literary and- dramatic pieces. | _A. H. Woods has begun to cas “The Pelican,” in which Josephinc Victor is now appearing in London Several of the English cast will be imported for the .New York produc- 1 tton.