Evening Star Newspaper, October 25, 1925, Page 59

— Part 3—12 Pages & H.D WARNERL .BGIBJ’CO Effort to Be Cheerful In Spite of a Rough Night| By Philander Johnson. A week that was made to loom| large in expectation, inflated as the prospect was by all the arts of puff- ery, collapsed like a punctured ac- cordion when that wonder play, the pet of New York’s most ardent ama- teurs of the drama, wriggled through several unwholesome hours. The opening night brought at least one glad assurance. The American pub- lic retains its sense of humor, even in the face of press-agent hypno- | tism or the house-to-house canvass that metropolitan art now orga der the impression that they are enabling genius to express itself in defiance of the shackles of the com- mercial stage. The doorbell ringers have come to be a highly influential incident of the theater. There are times when they make the ordinary mmercial theater appcar like an nocent infant who has picked up some rough talk in its sidewalk play, but who still manifests a little occa- sional respect for the people to whom it was turned for sustenance. The sensc of hur asserted itself when during a particularly dark- brown scene the stcam pipes set up audible competi The audience laughed and made it clear that sym- pathy was entirely with the steam pipes. One young woman decided that it was not the kind of play she wanted to see and exercised her| privilege as a free American citizen of walking out. But the really mirthful ovation was reserved for the old farmer who evidently was trying to model his New England dialect on faint recollections of Josh Billings. He announced in his desperate resentment of home con- | ditions (which, it must be admitted, | could not have been worse) that he| was going to sleep in the barn. He | had the courage of his misanthropy | and the audience rewarded him Wwith a laugh, in hearty assurance that the crowd was still taking the exhibition good naturedly. e The play has a title which implies some poetic possibilities in narra- promoters | ze in deluded ecstasy un- | tive. The one little hint of idealism in the story is shown when from| time to time a character steps to| the front of the stage, supposedly looking into the star-iit sky, aud re- | marks, “Purty, ain't it!” But this‘ moment of attunement with |hc‘ glowing infinitudes of space passes, and this precious group of bad char- acters impersonated (with the ex- ception of Miss Freeman) by bad actors, reveals itself nmediately | ready for murder, larceny, arson or any other crime known to the police. g It is fortunate to be able to feel that in discussing a dramatist as well as an actor the discussion re- lates not to a personal identity, but to a fictitious creation designed to interest the publ to which he is required by modern custom to lend bhis name. Mr. O'Neill has, no doubt, decided that the public de- es the rudest skocks that can be administered and sets himself a loyai scrivener to oblige his patrons and his management. Making critical faces at him really means no more than the old custom of hissing the| villain in - melodrama. It is an| acknowledgement of the fact that he has succeeded thoroughly in an evident intention to offend sensibili- ties as thoroughly as possible. If this is a deliberate pose it is admi- rably taken. * k ¥ % But the arts of burlesque have| passed and the word persists only as a trade name in the theater. An| audience does not insist on hcing‘ cheered up a little after a harrow- | g emotional experience by a farce | or & musical afterpiece. This sad story of the farmer and the cow is submitted in full knowledge that it must jar the sensibilities of those | who have been secking to hypnotize | that themselves into the belief ‘Desire” has the austere dignity of classic tragedy. It has nothing in common_ with the classic poets who dealt with myths and personifica- tions and with deep emotions which arose from the conflict of great love or high ambition with the inexorable rulings of the fates. A breath of desperate afiection on the part of the rural adventuress gives the play a fleeting hope of sincerity. But this gle for a little idealism, even against the most degrading odds, is over- whelmed with a torrent of deliberate viciousness. frank. There must be the privilege of equal frankness in disavowing congenial interest in the subject or any admiration for the technical presentation. * X ok at managers are justified in as- suming a taste for the morbid as a strong characteristic of the present playgoing public is shown by the suc- cess of the film, “Phantom of the Opera,” based on a very poor story which improves in the telling by mera instead of print. It is a wild absurdity in which Mr. Lon Chaney takes his usual pleasure in figuring as a human nightmare and in which no episode or assumption of fact can | be too preposterous for the purposes of an extravagant plot. Itis a high- ly expensive production, and its man- agers report a volume of business which practically insures dividends on the investment. The ease which so morbid and inartistic a piece of fiction slips into popularity places momentarily a damper on the en- thusiasm with which the films were hailed as a means of bringing to at- tention the masterpieces of litera- ture. However, the studio must be given credit in_this instance for im- proving instead of garbling the nar- rative. * ok k ok The plain, plodding and, after all, conservative “commercialized the- |ater” came to the rescue with a bit of song and dance that dusted away some of the cobwebs of gloom. “The Music Box” ground out the melodies of long ago with modern variations and ultramodern stage settings. * ok ok ok There have been so many efforts at musical comedy that the public has grown weary. A really delight- ful music play entitled “My Girl” | had all the up-to-date tricks of gay | costume and sprightly movement, and, in addition, displayed for the first time in many musical moons some genuine talent in song making. It has its rough moments, but, after seeing the polite lunatic kick a lady last week, a little manhandling of matronal dignity such as occurs in “My Girl” appears to be all in the day’s work. We may yet have the privilege of sitting out and shedding tears before some dramatic produc- tion which portrays the sad, soul- ful story of a wifebeater. Joins Paramount. TJOHN MURRAY ANDERSON, noted producer has been engaged by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation as director of production for the Metro- | politan Theatre at Boston, the new Paramount house which will be oper- ated in conjunction with E. F. Albee. Mr. Anderson’s production activities, beginning six years ago with the first “Greenwich Village Follies,” and con- tinuing each year to the present, have included *“What's in a Name,” last season’s production of Irving Berlin's “Music Box Revue,” the production in London for Charles B. Cochran of “The League of Nations,” which ran for three years, and the new musical comedy, “Dearest Enemy,” which opened on Broadway recently, revelation of the human strug- | The morbid appeal is | hB %llflfiag %kxf flAutomobilgsu WASHINGTON, D. C. KELLERMAN Reiths ] JO—————— HroioN : SPINCER. Gayety” President to Open. ORKMEN have been busily en- gaged in remodeling the Prest- dent Theater during the past week. Manager Ira J. La Motte of the Gayety Theater sta‘es that the Presi- dent Theater fs also owned by the Columbla Amusement Company and that extensive alterations are now be- ing made on this Pennsylvania avenue playhouse preparatory to its opening during the coming month. The lobby entrance and interior will be remod- eled and redecorated throughout. e Tribute to Bill Hart. AMES MONTGOMERY FLAGG, well known artist, in his book called “Boulevards All the Way— Maybe,” an account of a trip by auto across the continent and back again, devotes two chapters to his visit with big Bill Hart. Among other things, he says: “Bill—blg, fine Bill Hart—came in the next day to see us and to take us out to Hollywood to dinner at his house. * * * He, of course, is one of the best known and best loved people in the world; nobody knocks Bill. “He s the hero of millions of youth- ful hearts. As one sees him in the flickers, so he is in real life. Not that he is outwardly the same. He does not parade around In cow clothes with six guns, but dresses like other men. What he portrays on the screen—a fine, clean soul; simple, dogged, strong, passionate in his likes and hatreds; a keen sense of humor; a lover of animals—it is all there.” Panchromatic Film. OR the first time in the histery of the studios, an_entire production has been made with the use of pan- chromatic film, which, according to ,motfon picture photographers, brings | out the true color values of the char- | acters. Ordinary motion picture film | does not do this. On most film blue | eves register gray and dark brown | bair registers black. Panchromatic stock was used throughout the pro- duction of “The Grand Duchess,” which Malcolm St. Clair directed. “The results of the use of panchro- matic film have surpassed our great- est hopes,” says St. Clair. “It has brought out not only the true colors of the subjects and the sets photo- graphed, but it also has picked up every detall that ordinary film would not ‘have registered. The panchro- matic film took in_ everything that might be seen with the human eye in real life. m’en the tiny beads on a dress are plainly visible,” ) SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 25, 1925. TRED &3 ADELE ASTAIRE - Natioral Current Attractlons At the Theaters This Week. BELASCO—“Silence,” melodrama. POLI'S—“The Love Song,” operetta. Opens tomorrow evening. Opens this evening. NATIONAL—“Lady, Be Good,” musical comedy. Opens this evening. KRITH'S—Annette Kellerman, vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. EARLE—"Visions,” vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. STRAND—Dance Revue, vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. GAYETY—"Step on It,” burlesque. Opens this afternoon. MUTUAL—"Chick, Chick,” burlesque. Opens this afternoon. BELASCO—"Silence.” At the Shubert-Belasco Theater this week, opening tomorrow evening, H. B. Warner, under the direction of Crosby Gaige. will be seen in Max Marcin’s latest melodrama, “Silence,” in which he appeared all last season ut’ the National Theater, New York City. Mr. Warner's first notable achieve- ment was as the hero of “Alias Jim- mie Valentine.” Since then he has appeared in several plays of different character, but the memory of the fig- ure of Jimmle Valentine has not been effaced. In the new melodrama, “Si- lence,” he has a role that is declared a worthy successor fo the character that was the outstanding hit of his career. Mr. Marcin, author of “The House of Glass” and many other successes, in “Silence,” is sald to have displayed an ingenuity in plot construction and a deftness in character drawing that surpasses anything that he has done before in the fleld of playwriting. Suspense, quick, unexpected action; deep sentiment and genial humor, are the chief ingredients in his new melo- drama. The first scene discloses the hero, Jim Warren, in the death house of a Western penitentiary, a half hour before the time set for his electrocu- tion. From that moment forward to the final episode of the play the spec- tator experiences an underlying thrill of suspense. Every role in “Silence” demands unusual and peculiar abilities. The company includes Frederick Perry, Flora Sheffleld, William Melville, John M. Washburn, Jack Bennett, W. C. Hoges, Charles Ritchie, Frank Bond, Alton Gaodrich, John Lyons, Noel Conners, Charles Gibney, Gran- ® ville Bates, Joseph North, Willlam Grant and Lilllan Kemble. POLI'S—“The Love Song.” The attraction at Poll's this week, opening tonight, will be “The Love Song,” the Shuberts’ most pretentious musical offering which ran for seven months at the Century Theater in New York and is now being offered in other cities for the first time. “The Love Song,” according to re- port, owes its.success not only to the Offenbach score, arranged by Edward Kunneke, author of “Caroline,” but also to a combination of other attrac- tive qualities. It is credited with an interesting story of the love adven- tures of Offenbach, and especially his romance with the Empress Eugenie; it has a comedy element that gives diversity to the plot; it offers splen- did opportunities for scenic em- bellishment which are sald to have been seized upon with a lavish hand; and the costuming, fashioned after the styles in vogue during the Sec- ond Empire, are described as a col- orful delight. The role of Eugenie is played by Charlotte Woodruff. Allan Prior, last season with the “Student Prince,” sings the role of Offenbach. Odette Myrtil, French, with all the Gallic sensibility of her race, comes in the role of Hortense Schneider, first a farm girl and then the leading player of the Bouffes Parisiennes, which produced many of Offenbach’s operas. The comedy is largely in the hands of Harry K. Morton and Zella Rus- sell. Evelyn Herbert, a singer of ability, sings the role of Herminie, one of Offenbach’s many loves, and Harrison Brockbank is the Napoleon IIL._There is an_ensemble of over " {Continued on Second Page) “w . “ Dancmg Mothers" Return- ing. ARY YOUNG, who in recent sea- sons has attained a place among the brilllant American comediennes, will be seen in her original portrayal of the heroine in “Dancing Mothers”, a comedy, by Edgar Selwyn and Ed- mund Goulding, which is scheduled to return to the Shubert-Belasco for a week’s engagement Monday night, November 23. John Halliday, who shared honors with Miss Young dur- ing the successful season's run on Broadway, also will be seen in his original role. The comedy touches on the uncon- ventional adventures of a woman wbo rebelled against a selfish husband and daughter and led them both a_merry dance until they acknowledged their defeat. The production was made under Mr. Selwyn's personal direction here in ‘Washington over a year ago, in ad- vance of the New York showing. Sheds Theatrical Optimism. ** SIGNS of recovery in the theatrical business are becoming apparent,” says George Arliss. “Nearly every business, and the theatrical business in particular, when once convalescence has started, mends very quickly. “Theatrical depression was due to the general business lassitude and will improve as business conditions grow better. “The theater has always been popu- lar since the days of the Greeks and will always continue popular until men and women cease to be interested in other men and women. “The drama gives them a chance to see, in the course of two and a half hours, what perhaps a whole lifetime of personal observation would not re- veal to them—the significance of cer- tain events or conditions in the life of another. “The dramatist—if he be a good dramatist—selects only the significant facts, incidents and thoughts bearing on the problem. In real life, the spectator misses so many of the little detalls and even of big events, that he can only plece together the evi- dence. “Man remains a curfous animal as regards his fellow men, and until that curlosity is eradicated the theater will flourish. Depression in the busi- ness end of the theater is merely tem- porary. It will soon rebound into vigorous health. It has passed the crisis and i3 now convalescing.” T RUssTLL Pclis 6 BELASCO—George Arliss. George Arliss, the actor of the En returns to the Sh jater next week, {night, November in Winthrop | Ames’ production of John Gals- | worthy’s play, “Old English.” Recalling Disraeli, Alexander Ham- {fiton and Rajah of Rukh in | Green Goddess,” it 1s said that “Old English” a different kind of a character is found to those associated | with the name of Arliss. | Sylvanus Heythorp, called | English” by hi ociates, is {usual Galsworthy hero. The English |author, hitherto Impartial, almost afraid as it were of taking sides w any of his creations, pleads the cause lof an octogenarian sinner, who is |about to meet his first defeat and |who goes to his end m ntly. As Robert L. Stevenson put it |1y he lived and gladly he die: look for a moral in “Old {may be to find it, but so richly it is embroidered by the author that he will he brave who shall tr it to platitudes. | Winthrop Ames has produced “0ld | English.” | " The cast includes all the players {who impressed New York during 1200 nights “Old English” was acted here. Irby Mar: wom- an for Mr. Arlis Simpson will be remembered for his portrayal of Watkins, the butler, in “The Green Goddess Others In the company ile Dixon, Molly Johnson, Ethel Griffies, Henrletta Goodwin, Murray_ Kinnell, Robert Harrigan, Henry Morrell, Gilbert Cowan, Gor- don McRae, Guy Cunningham, Perry Norman, Lewis A. Sealy, John Hall, Edward Cooper, M. Murray Stephens, John Parrish, Arthur Villars and Thomas Donnelly. NATIONAL—Ina Claire. Ina Claire, frequently referred to as America's leading comedienne, is to be the attraction at the National Theater next week, opening Monday, | November 2. under the management of Charles Dillingham, who en her to play the stellar role in erick Lonsdale’s new comedy, Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” a big success now current in London. Mr. Lon dale, by the way, is in this country to watch the rehearsals and the opening performances of this piece before returning to London. Roland Young and A. E. Matthews will be scen in Miss Claire’s com- pany here. POLI'S—“Mayflower.” “Mayfiowers,” a_new muslcal play, will be presented by the Shuberts at Poli's Theater, next week, opening Sunday evening, November 1. The fea. tured players are Ivy Sawyer and Joseph Santley. The plot is based on Arthur Richman's romantic com- edy, “Not So Long Ago,” which the Schuberts presented about five years ago at the Booth Theater in New York In addition to Miss Sawyer and Mr. Santley, the cast includes Robert Woolsey, David Higgins, Nydia D'Ar- nelle, Willlam Valentine, Ethel Morri- son, Gaile Beverly, Josephine Duval, Virginia Lloyd, Norman Sweetser, distingut peaking stage, Belasco Th nning Monday “o1d red to reduce | a-Ma ing da s of “Mayflowers' »rd Grey. The Kunnel 1 melodies by ction has been staged un- al ction R 1 KEITH'S—Florence Reed. ! Florence Reed, Broadway s , will headline the bill xt week in a n entitled “Jealousy. en for Miss ed by Edwin irke, who ha: ged the pi | EARLE—“Six Sun Flower Girls | week the Earle will offer ““The n Flower Girls” as its headline | attractic Others will include the | Owens Kelly Revue: The Three Lon- | dons and Cecil Alexande | _ The photoplay will be Cecil B. Da Mille's “The Coming of Amos,” star- | ring Rod La Rocque, pported by | Noah Beery, * nza and | Jetta Goua. { STRAND—*“A Nonsensical Revue.” he bill at the Theater for next week is headed by the comedian Jack Wilson, in “A Nonsensical Re vue,” wi Tay | Wheeler lie Ward. | Hughes and company will offer mantic Movements in Danceland, | Barr, Mayo and Renn will be heard in {2 harmony number, “She Cares for y Frank F Others will in- clude a song and piano recital, “Song Impressions,” by Barry and Rollo, and Les Plerrotys in an acrobatic number, “Thrills and Spills.” GAYETY—“Abe” Reynolds’ Show. Laughter, song and novelty is prom- ised at the Gayety Theater next week In “Abe Reynolds and His Rounders,” with Reynolds himself contributing h: hare of funmaking in his Hebrew comedy characteriza- tion. Assisting him will be Florance Mills, Lew L and Frank Naldi, the latter a brot! Nita Naldl, the motion picture act 3 Others In the cast are Will Moore, Marion Moore, Daisy Dean, George Kay and a peppy young chorus at tractively gowned in the latest styles MUTUAL—“Girlie Girls.” Next week the Mutual Theater will offer “‘Girlie Girls,” another attraction of the Mutual Burlesque Assoclation Beaufy Contest Winners. WELVE girls who have won hon ors In beauty contests in various parts of the country are participating in the tea dansant scene in “The Best People,” Sidney Olcott’s latest produc- tion. Among these are Evelyn Atkinson, “Miss Seattle” in two Atlantic City pageants; Barbara Cloutman, recently acclaimed “Miss Hollywood”; June de Vaney, artist model and beauty con- test winner a dozen times, and Rosa- line Borland, acclaimed the prettiest girl in Evansville, Ind. Three beauties of the screen who are featured players in the cast are Esther Ralston, Margaret Morris and Margaret Livingston. LOVBS Her THE stamp of the Ina Claire person- ality, one of delightful charm and appeal, is said to be especially sutted to her role in “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” the latest society comedy by Frederick Lonsdale, author of “Aren't We All?” and “Spring Clean- ing,” in which Charles Dillingham is now presenting her. Interviewing Miss Claire is rather an easy matter. She is frank and outspoken; there is no restraint. For example, ‘when asked whether she considered her early training in vaude- ville, in musical comedy and in Zieg- feld’s “Follies” of any definite value to her, now that she has become a player of legitimate parts in come- dies, Miss Claire replied promptly: “I consider this early training of the greatest value in the world. Vaudeville, of course, gives one self- rellance. It makes it possible for the Vaudeville player to get in immediate touch with the audlence. You must discard every tone and gesture that is not essential If brevity is the soul of wit, it is to be found in vaudeville more than any- where else. And in musical comedy one has to be ready to act In every sort of a situation—a bit of comedy a bit of pathos, a bit of burlesque, a bit of serlousness. They may bs thrown together in & catch-as-catch- can manner. But they have their value. “The late Charles Frohman was wont to declare that the audience was the best actor. There must be a re- sponstve appeal between audience and players, a mutual understanding and friendliness, to achieve the best re- sults in lighter comedy, especially as to make it possible for us to project. over the footlights, the subtlety and scintillating charm of Mr. Lonsdale's situation and dialogue.”