Evening Star Newspaper, February 7, 1926, Page 55

Theaters 7, SUNDAY 1926 Part 3—14 Pages FEBRUARY MORNING, JIMMIZ HussyEy Keiths -é)?"ene ]glop/o. S UZANNE” Nattonal (CARROLL MeCOMAS, well known| Dowling in this city, will play the leading | huve engag feminine role in “You Can’t Win,” | Virginta King f | which is soon to be produced in New | “Cherry Bloss | York. i Ruth Don! I for Wintam It and Bachelder binson Newbold and the new operetta which was see: re last week. Goetz of Sacha mps for & ozart,” 5 ow Tun- v is the mportan: ay with musical interludes ning in Paris author and aiso York this a few| rough | Braham and ding roles. ating witl tization of storles, The story Ralph Bunker one of Miss ‘Aln’ \ppeared in t olo.” Mr. sketch writer. ny have the lead: Merbert | orenz Hart and Richard | Rogers are responsible for the show. | FRANCES FARR. Mutusl Carolina Playmakers. JORGE v the Carolina part in all thre ve member of 1916, when, as Walter Hamip: more will_clos N when Mr. Hampden iCyrano, de Dergerac.” “The Cocc _!v' start rehe T { Harrls mu. fea L3 | pronounced hit fn the metropolis. Al ready, it is s4id, London is clamorine nd Ethel Barr costar engage. nigh be seen ir Miss Barry- | | take an 4 | sinee Hamilton Revell who has many parts in 1 E the organi: a freshm f the cas produc and Mr, players Cla son. Miss len Leathe Current Attractlons e At the Theaters This Week. — = is, the exceptions being Hupp, | Tord, hiy 'wm& e ‘1;"‘ Srerea roct WASHINGTON AUDITORIUM—Chicago Civic Opera Compauy the first time in New York. “Othello”; Wednesday, “Louise”; Saturday matince, Instead of the rural drama as ex- Carmen”; Saturday night, “Rigoletto.”) { emplified by “The Old Homestead,”| | NATIONAL—“Suzanne,” musical comedy. Opens tomorrow evening. we now have the drama of a crowd-| | BELASCO—"Aloma of the South Seas,” drama. Opens this evening. i e e ¢ b“ik| | POLI'S—"The Big Parade,” photo play. Shown this afternoon and Bu Philander ]a]u;son. ! man-interest key, in which Helen o e“: 8. - - ; { Lowell is conspicuously admirable,| | KEITH'S—Jimmy Hussey, vaudeville. Opens this aiternoon. (ular entertainment, and surmounting | brings into astonishing relief the{ | EARLE—“Syncopation Week,” vaudeville. Opens this afternoon |the difficulties ofh the | 311§§°;‘<|}1| strangest figure the stage has seen| | STRAND—"His Magic Wand,” vaudeville. Opens this afternoon L andenardness bur sl © o | nce the performer calling himself| | PRESIDENT—"The Lost Battalion,” photoplay. Shown this after- | mounting them. guessing whether he was a human noon and evening. ; * being or a mechanical figure. This| | GAYETY—"Flappers of 1925,” burlesque. Opens this afternoon It is difficult to forecast a success.| Aubrey, a personification of egotism,| | MUTUAL—Make It Peppy,” burlesque. Opens this afternoon It is no less difficult in many in-|conceit and noise, is played by Mr. | stances to explain the success after | Bartells in a manner which cor- ihiins Geiaied The coctet dicsimot responds strictly to the comic sup- - VIOLA SHERMONT- SERGE OURRAINKY ard GIACOMO RIMINI |- Thecogo Covie Opers ~ Washington. Auditorium LTTA PILLARD- Gayety oW ingt ight. ipworth head t | Conn | 1ins. | 1nt: {who s from Georgla, and Romanow, who 1s from Boston, M All are North Carolina Unlversity students, und all spectalizing in mak- ing and presenting American folk plays, with themes and characters provided by their own home com- | munities. Bilsee: Msdcrallinciiin Bold Relict. farce comedy, *The since the’ third i after ¢ Y. opened st the = | Music Box Theater, New York, whose Charles K. Gordon, the producer, | seating capacity is &aid to be less l‘hm: has retained Roy Requa to design and | 1,000, hes plaved to a gross business of make settings for “No Questlons |more than $430,000. i Asked.” Requa has for years done the scenic mork for London theater: Owen Davis wants $100,000 for the motien picture rights to “Easy Come Basy Go,” his farce comedy, in whict Lee Kruger and Victore Moore are making personal mired and the motor horn is precentor of the masses. * K K K gTuesda the = “Don-@. Jr.,”” in which William Tii- den was starring, closed last night in {New York. The business there wi | poor. s _ = 0 H. P." lay by Fr Dy ‘s ithl NIk K . P.” a pls vy Frances De|sents Nic L vaudeville and more recently in Th‘}wm. 1s to be vason’(ed)m\on by Mar- | Troubadour,” exclusive Brunswick Sweet Little Devil,” which brought|waldean Productions, Inc., with Lila |recording artist, who is featuring the the charming Constance Binney 1ast| Lee, Alice Fischer, Ram: lace | latest Irvin Berl ‘Alway season. Mr. Lalor, of course, has a|ang Norval Keedwell in the cas {last Tda; over the long record as a musical comedy co- | Everctt Hurde median. | “The Virgin,” instead of “The Voice s v Nighter oy in the Wilderness,” will be the name | beating Maj. WARDMAN PARK—"The Lady of the play which Jules Hurtig is to| Family to it hy 2 Next Door.” produce in New York within twowick offictals took drews, Frank Kingdon, John Catwell, Willlam Wayne und Ruth Warren. Mr. Wayne and Miss Warren are re- | membered for their teamwork in Keith | ater this week pre Take or ‘The Crooning ‘one H fump of rcs ough with hole ! equently s’ Capitol Theater hours. The Bruns AUDITORIUM—Chicago Civic Opera | with Charles Marshall in the title role, “Alwa off A Company. such 1y cook book that | i derived its being on for this 1s r schooled possi know case of defies the pro- ncompromis sen- omprehen- | y “Ex- Philosophers of the theater | together it for having [ h t pop the clever mind of authorship nor the management of purse in pro- {viding detail. Tt rests entirely in lity of the audience. The ke a sending station which i in !the ment stage is [ speaks to the empty whistles unless the list able to tune in. 3 When Asmodeus rewarded gentleman who liberated him from captivity in a chemist's bottle by en- abling him to see through the roofs d of houses and learn all that was going on, he performed in a way the function of a playwright. Of course, that was a marvelous thing to do, n the story was first told. It is a le less maryelous that we have dictaphones, | X-rays and prohibition agents. The function of the playwright as he | seeks to reveal to one-half the world how the other half loves or laughs is more rvelous than that of the alchemic wizard or our scientific superma In drama we expect some ethical hint in addition to the mere picture of life. some suggestion as to what is a right or a wrong course of conduct under certain combina- tions of circumstance. “The Show- | off” announces itself simply as a transcript of human life. It assumes of rife ing public or | the | It | l)f% | ar- It was | | the . Ho-{to attempt no more than an Asmo- aordinary success. {dean picture of things said and done thelin every day experience during the v with much | hand-to-mouth struggle that engages £ all sorts | the vast majori con- | for ! ill- | 1y The “Show-off” illustrates strange- the effect that the comic pictures air in howls and | the | | morals |hearts “It's love that makes the world go| plement standards of humor. He scores an actorial triumph in over- whelming all the other personalities jon the stage by dint of the sheerest grolcsque exaggeration. He is a gure that might have stepped from a toy shop. Or he might be accepted las an interpretation of that sem- blance of humanity fabricated by Frankenstein. At the outset of the play he announces himself from off stage by a cold, raucous laugh which penetrates like a buzz saw. He seems at first to typify the boister- ous geniality usually associated with insincere character; at first glimpse everything that is unlovable. Why, then, should his play (he takes com- plete possession of it) be a success with so many audiences? It is not until the third act that the attentive observer perceives the ¥“n! of hu- man sympathy which really animates the story and makes the plot some- | thing more than an arena for the antics of a jumping-jack. A girl loves him devotedly and marries him in the face of poverty and humilia- tion. His blatant braggadocio re- mains forever music to her ears. He has one big character point; he is capable of an unwavering devotion to her. A deft contrast is introduced in the character of the sister, who has married prosperously without love and is found at the end of the story far less happy than the young woman who surrendered so com- pletely to an absurd infatuation. So there are your various same old to adorn the tale; “Kind are more than coronets,” out | have had on publiic taste, both as dis- | around,” etc., etc. mi- | played in print and on the screen, with _the toleration for hness possible only in 1 that is ad an age | might have been pt: * * % ox It is easy to see how the role a playved with much more delicate shading such as would Scenic equipment and properties representing an investment of more than $6,000,000, it is claimed, are being transported over a 6,085-mile itinerary by the Chicago Civic Opera Compan which comes to Washington ne: Tuesday for the presentation of four of its most popular music-dramas. The company, which is now bring- ing to a close its Boston season, num- bers more than 300 in its personnel. It travels in two special trains which are run on special schedules between citles. Between the Boston and Wash- ington engugements the company will spend one night in Baltimore. They will present “La Tosca” at the Lyric Theater in that city on Monday of next week. Tuesday night the first Washington performance will present at the Wash- ington Auditorium Verdl's “‘Othello, | heighten its meanings as a probable | character in life by some such actor, |let us say, as Frank Craven or Wal- lace Eddinger. But it may be doubt- ed whether such an interpretation, even though more intelligently satis- fying, would have appealed as strongly to those of us who have never escaped the fascination of those weird monstrosities nurtured by the comic strip. Mr. Bartells must be credited with exemplifying in its most emphatic terms the ultra- modern sense of the comic. * ok ok X “The Gorilla,” which ‘had its first presentation in Washington, has ful- ly realized the predictions of suc- cess. It is also a complete departure from all literary standards, a work of craftsmanship in handling sus- pense and surprise. “The Big Pa- {rade” is on its way to a record- | breaking stay. Very few motion pic- | ture pageants show such remarkable | figures as to time required for pass- ing a given point A Rosa Raisa as Desdemona and Gia: como Rimini as Tago. Wednesday evening, Charpentier's “Louise” wiil “The Lady Next Door,” a domestic comedy, full of bright dialogue and be glven, with Mary Garden, Fernand |f2st moving action, will be offered next Ansseau and Georges Baklanoff sing- Ing the most important roles. Thursday the company, again in Baltimore, wiil give twe ‘“Masked Ball”; Saturday |afterncon Mary Garden will be heard |ingenue, who will e ‘Carmen,” with Fernand | and Bernice Fisher Butler | here again in Ansseau s her ociates; in. the ev ‘“Rigoletto’” will be sung, with T Rulfo in the role of the Jester. Edith Msson as Gilda and Charles Hackett as the Duke. From Washington the company’s route takes the singers to Cleveland, Buffalo Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Bir- mingham, Memphis, Miami and back to their home cit; NATIONAL—*Suzanne." “Suzanne,” a sparkling musical com- edy, the latest contribution from John Cort’s show shop, will open tomorrow night at the National Theater, con- tinuing one week, with matinees Wed. nesday and Saturday. Mr. Cort, of course, is known as a producer of a score or more musical comedies, many of which, like “Flo- Flo” and “Listen Lester,” have scored substantial successes. Willlam Cary Duncan_suppted the book and the Iyrics for “Suzanme,” while Harold Orlob is the composer of the musical score. The production. has been staged by Julian Mitchell, and attractive dance and ensemble numbers are promised. ‘The story of the play has to do with the escapades of Philip Alden, a young man who returns to his home town, Lower Falls, Mass., during the cele: bration of Old Home week. He is supposed to have become a millionaire, but in reality his total capital is just $10. Involved in the proceedings somewhere is the charming personal- ity of one Suzanne Weston. ‘The cast of 60 players will include Ra; Raymond, Phyllls Cleveland, “rank Lalor, Dodson Mitcheli, Nick ne. ir.. Feon Vanvar. Adora An- week by the Thoma | played by Parker Fennelly. Harriet Graham, | Robert L. Clear will be seen as Bert-| | Fitzgerald Co. at Wardman Park Theater. Ruth Harrison, leading woman, will share honors with Ruth Russell, the | t the role of | Harrison will | Sister Graham. Mis play Belle Sheridan, the “lady who is misunderstood by her husband and | who becomes invoived with Ed Gra-| ham, the neglected head of a family, Leona Roberts will play ram Sheridan, the “lady’s husband; Mildred Meneau, formerly with the National Players, will play Ada Towns- ley; Arthur Rhodes, Dr. Robbins; Thomas Herbert, director, will have the role of Bill Saunders, and Ann French will be seen as the servant Annie. This comedy, in three acts, by Elmer Rice and Dorothy Parker, played a successful seven-month run in_Chi- cago and later was seen in New York. KEITH'S—Jimmy Hussey. At B. F. Keith’s Theater this week Jimmy Hussey, comedian, who has returned to vaudeville after a suc- cessful season as the big laugh getter in “Puzzles of 1925, the Elsie Janis show, will hold forth. Eddfe Hickey, he promises a scream- producer under the title of “Getting | a Ticket,” written for him by Bhdie | Cantor. Jack McLallen, his comely partner, ‘“Sarah,” and company in the art of fun making, especially on roller skates, also will be featured. Others include a dance act by Dave Apollon and company in his new tantastic revue, assisted by Emily nd his Manila orchestra; Harriet Rempel in a comedy skit called “Broadcastings of 1926, writ- ten by Paul McCullough of Clark and McCullough; Lois Bennett, a ray of Western sunshine, in “Songs,” assls ed 1w George B. McKay: the famous ' with Herbert Stock | Assisted by | | —featuring Frival and Maslen, “the weeks. Marfon Coakley and Arthur Albertson have been substituted for Phyllls Povah and Norval Keedwell in the cast. Gertrude Bryan, who has gone to Palm Beach for a long rest, has com-| A E.| pleted a new comedy with Thomas, which she calls Super Anne.” ‘Anne and Reiffenach family -in their classical equestrian melange; Potter and Gam- ble in a song, dance and patter num- ber, “In a Nursery,” and Worden Brothers in double foot juggling, with screen features. EARLE—“Syncopation Week.” This i{s “Syncopation week” at the Earle Theater, beginning this after- noon, when there will be presented entertainment full of ginger, pep, nerve, paprika and other zippy stuff, with Gladys Darling and her Charles. ton Syncopators, heading the pro- gram. Others will include Meehan's Ca- nines, featuring his celebrated leap- ing hounds; Eddie Mennetti and Betty June in ‘Blessed With Nonsense,” with a nut comedian with a bagful of funny falls and a petite dancer who sings; the Novellettes, singers and dancers—four women and three men human tops,” and Nick Lucas, Bruns- wick recording artist, who will feature Irving Berlin's latest song hit, dedi- cated to his bride. ‘The photoplay will be Producers’ latest release, “Fifth Avenue,” featur- ing Marguerite de la Motte and Alan Forrest. “Syncopation week” provides also the “customary house features, in- | cluding the pipe organ recital by Al- | exander Arons, and short-reel film fea- | tures. STRAND—“His Magic Wand.” Heading the bill Theater this week is Walter Fehl, | the 77th at_the Strand | Jolson's list said, because to his runge The St. Patrick Players, a popul local organization, under the direct! of Rev. Father Hurney, recently pre sented thelr Academy of N with succe nd ve it to Lucas, 1t ix > perfectly adapted style of singing. actor, producer and o s sketch, “His Magic Wand,” assiated by a cast of capable artists. As ar added fefiture Olive Briscoa and Al Rauh will appear in a song number. spiced with comedy, entitled “Con quered.” TFollowing will be Elizaheth Kenned; nd sister In “Character Im pressions” and others will include Allen Calm and Charles Gala in & comedy dance turn called “Two Ex Gentlemen” and Gladys and Venus Portia, _contortionists and _equili brists, in “World’s Greatest Flexible Marvels.” The photoplay brings Betty Comp son in “Counsel for the Defense,” « thrilling tale of a fearless woman who pitted her wits against a desper- ate band of crooks and in the end won freedom for her father and husband. House Peters supports the star. Short films and_orchestral numbers wili complete the program. PRESIDENT—"The Lost Battalion.” A Dage of American history take on dynamic life and color in “The Lost Battallon,” which opens today at the President Theater. In it the glamour, all the tragedy,Whe heorism the suffering of that body of men assembled from the streets of New York comes back through the pow der smoke and is made vivid by it~ portrayal byl the survivors. Woven through the graphic scenes which_show how that noble unit of Division fought stubbornly to a man when surrounded after it lgne advance, are themes of love and of sorrow. sought ref. \Confinned A