Evening Star Newspaper, February 21, 1926, Page 51

Theaters Part 3—12 Pages By Philander Johnson. to be customary to make quizzica! reflrences to the British sense of humor. The American idea of fun was jaunty, often irresponsi- ble in matters of respect toward au- thority, but facile in employing forms toth in verse and prose prescribed | by scholarly models. English writers | are now considering those exactions | with more deference they find | over here. And vet Creaking | Chair,” describing itself as a farcica mystery play, leaves us wonder ng | whether the British sense of humor does not contain ponderous el ments of the tragic and find grati- fication in u sense of the awtful as well as in moods of merriment. | W % % | To call “The Creaking Chai ical” requires a robust effort of the When Theaters Criticize Themselves that, as individuals, t are devoid of any segsitive regard for public opinion of Anybody who knows the theater and its people must be aware of cases in which some slight delinquency has | been shamelessly magnified rated narrative for the sake of what is regarded as a profitable notoriety. * ok ok o At the moment the interest in ob- serving the thea is largely tele- “Tep1oR their private cunducLl The Sundu WASHINGTON, D. G, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY RAINT~Farle & Cc'ming In. HAT Steve Cochran ordinately good news" calls “in- is the elabo- | word that Kathryn Givney has signed | to retarn to the National Theater | Players this Spring and Summer for | the second annual engagement under | the Cochran banner. | scopic, with Belasco again an Alpha ‘uminary in the Broadway constel- fation technically known as Taurus. He was disapproved of again by metropolitan reviewers, but the slaps | on the wrist sounded to the great|months' stay here, Miss Givney has | throng of play patrons of a certain | type like a form of reluctant ap-| plause. So they proceeded to crowd into the theater so densely that the | Misg Givney is now touring in the | road production of Anne Nickols' | ‘White Collars.” Since leaving Wash- | ington last September, after winning countless friends during her three been engaged in turn with “Cobra” and “White Collar: Announcement of Miss Givney’s re- turn, coupled with that relating to magination. The play begins with | police had to take the matter in hand | Billy Phelps, who handled juvenile a man in a wheel chair, proceeds| with the nervous agitations of a waif | from Port Said pursued by slave| dealers and makes its way to a very dignified denouement through a maze of theft and murder. Plays that the public has found breath- taking in their thrills are frequently | with regard to physical safety quite apart from public morals. Away back | yonder William Winter used to score | Belasco for producing plays depict- | ing with sympathy the outcast wom- an of one social stratum or another. | Belasco made liberal use of his pub- licity of Winter’s desciptive indigna- tions, warning Belasco that his tres- described as “farce” or “satire,” but *heir success is due in slight degree, £ at all, to any mirthiul distinction. | The idea that they are funny prob-| , ably arises entirely in the minds ofi “he people concerned in the produc- on who realize the absurdity of the devices employed over and over | again with results to| make audiences shriek in swrprise or shudder in suspense. | s ok i In the midst of a hubbub of ac-| tion, the thread of story based onl Egyptian research and the desecra- tion of tombs leads to a_genuine | shought, gratifying to find for those | who believe that a good play must | be able somewhere in its course to signal out the presence of little more than ordinary mentali The young | Egyptian student, whose nationality has been concealed, brings the story | +0 a close with an excellent declama- | »tlon of well written protest against | the violation of sepulchres in the | -ause of science. The speech brings he point home very cleverly, though, perhaps, fallaciously, by the pointed | inquiry addressed to'a group of Eng- ish citizens, “How would you like to see men from other countries coming armed with picks and shovels to dig away the sacred relics of Westminster Abbey?” * % K K *The Creaking Chalr” is not a great drama, but it stood forward as the best available to those who| are for the spoken word rather than for the costume and song of a big musical play like “The Student Prince” or for one of the perennial rts like “Kitty Kelly” to imitate hat classic specimen of appeal to 1at great mass representing the taste, “Abie’s Irish * % The most interesting and unspar- ng criticisms of the theater are of- fered by the theater itself. The any efforts to disillusion the public reminders that actors are very, »ry human, indeed, and that me- chanical artifice is responsible for mnuch of the charm that we insist on associating with poetical inspiration, had no influence, however much they m have entertained. The theater exists in the minds of the people in a series of impressions and idealjzations which cannot be destroyed by cold logic or uncom- promising fact. This time it is the notion plcture which takes a whim- sical delight in ridiculing its own methods, by showing how a star| may be rade from very raw materi- al with e little coaching and an hundance of expert publicity. The uoral of the satire—and every satire as #n underlying moral—points to practice which, for a long time, has onstituted a temptation to sermon- ze, that of compelling performers to arrender themselves absolutely into he hands of merciless exploitation vhich, in many cases, leaves them arced to rest under the imputation | * passing on dangerous ground and that he is threatening his career with a dangerous exit has been a regular feature of theatrical print until re- cently, when it became evident that his mental equipment enabled him to make a cold, accurate analysis of the | trend of popular taste and the tem-| perament of the time. Having stud- | ied his market he proceeds to meet it. One by bne his assailants, how- ever, tenacious of their own proper | standards, have refrained from pre- dicting disaster when his work in- volves lax moral tone. It is now generally admitted that it is impos- sible to teach Mr. Belasco anything about the show busines; Rescue of S. S. A;Atinoe Filmed. CTUAL motion plctures of the res- cue by the steamship Rcosevelt and her gallant crew of tho ill-fated steamship Antinoe, that took place re- cently on the high seas, were shown on the screen in the International News reel at Loew’s Columbla Theater last week. These pictures ere a remarkable achievement in that it tak: dience aboard the Roosev they can see the rescue work while the steamship Antinoe tosses on the wild sea like a cork. They are the only plctures of the now famous marine history story. The arrival of the steamship Roose. velt in England with the rescued British crew, the award of medals and gifts from the King of England and the home-coming reception in New York are included in the pictures. Marvel of Mar;ls ! 'HARLES KELLOGG, the nature singer, was born in the mountains of California, 200 miles from a rail- road. He has never eaten meat, fish or fowl, and he claims that this fact, together with the teachings of his parents to the effect that there was no such thing in the world as fear, makes him a harmonious part of the universe with all living things. He can call any bird or animal to him by means of inaudible sounds, it is claimed. Also no living thing will harm him; bees will not sting him, and he can swim among man-eating sharks unmolested. By means of this intimate contact with animals, it {s claimed he has learned to communicate with them, and he can sing the songs of all birds. He does this in his vaudeville act, using not the vocal chords, but rings in his throat similar to the rings in birds’ throats. It is said he was born with these rings and is belleved to be the only human being living pos- sessing them. He also extinguishes fire by the sound of his voice. He has a living flame, 4 feet high, inclosed in a gas tube which he places upon the stage. He goes into distant parts of the house and extinguishes the flame by | _| pupils and next come nature studies, parts last year, indlcates that a nu- cleus, at least, of last Summer's com- petent cast 1is forming. As second lead, this attractive refuges from Broadway appeared in all 18 produc- | tions ofered at the National last Sum- mer. Particularly will she be remem- bered for her positive appeal in “Spring Cleaning” and also in “Kiki.” Mr. Cochran_spent the last week end in New York, visiting several others who composed the first com- pany under his management, and there is an intimation that there will be more of the former.favorites in the troupe that opens the 1926 stock sea- son in Washington. The Child and the Movies. | BROTHER PAULIAN, director of the Lincoln Agricultural School at Lincolndale, N. Y., has this to say of the movie and homeless child: “Qur question is the homeless child. To whom can moving pictures mean more than to such a child, such as a foundling who has seen nothing of the life enjoyed by the average child in his or her home, the life that is lived in citles, country places and | rural communities? “Is mot this ‘outside’ life depicted to such a child so that he is as fa- miltar with it as if he were a part of 1t? Does not such a child absorb from the mannerisms of the players what is the best of etiquette, personal car- riage and correct conduct? ““Are not many morals and lessons of life brought to the attention of such a child which lessons could not >| otherwise have been learned, unless Dby personal contact and experience. “A lengthy essay could not begin to contain all of the advantages which the motion ploture brings to the child who has spent his youth in an insti- tution.” Elizabeth Purceil, superintendent of the Colorado State Industrial Séhool for Girls, adds: “We have a motion picture show here once & week. The common type of picture is most popular with our cwrent events and good, clean love stories. “I strongly recommend the use of motion pictures In schools of this kind not only from the educational stand- point but also as a means of promot- ing good feeling and as an aid in dis- cipline.” Screen Magnificence. ERHAPS the most elaborate grand opera setting ever made, with a cast of several hundred singers and & 50-plece orchestra in the pit, is said to have been erected for a grand opera that was never intended to be sung— i i | tomorrow afternoon. row evening. EARLE—"Sally, Irene and Mary,” NATIONAL—“The Rivals.” George C. Tyler, New York theatri- cal producer, within the last 15 years has organized three all-star theatrical companles that were wholly distinc- tive. One was the revival of D'En- nery's play, “The Two Orphans,” and the other a revival of Hartley Man- ners’ war play, “Out There”; and it was from the proceeds of the six weeks’ tour of the latter organization that Mr. Tyler was able to turn over to the American Red Cross Soclety $720,000. None of the tours of these organiza- tions was very extensiveg and 19 months ago Mr. Tyler and Mr. Hugo Ford began forming an all-star com- pany to play in Sheridan’s immortal comedy, “The Rivals.” Great pains were taken in selecting the players, and after the period of formation was virtually passed other actors of note sought to be enrolled. The projectors quietly picked over the field of emi- nent actors specially qualified to play the respective parts. The result of this ambitious enterprise has been extraor- dinarily successful. The organization, which is now ap- pearing in the principal cities of the Eastern States, will appear at the Na- tional Theater this week, opening with a holiday matinee tomorrow afternoon. In the cast are Mrs. Fiske, Thomas A. Wise, James T. Powers, Brandon Tynan, Lotus Robb, Jean Ford, Marie Carroll, Donn Cook, Fred Eric, Gerald MOLLE WILLIAMS ~ Gayety Current Attractlons At the Theaters This Week. NATIONAL—*“The Rivals,” Sheridan’s comedy. Opens with matineé BELASCO—“Charm,” comedy drama. Opens tomorrow evening. POLI'S—“The Student Prince,” operetta. Performance this evening. WARDMAN PARK—*The Light That Failed,” drama. Opens tomor- KEITH’S—]Jose Collins-Solly Ward, vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. STRAND—Royal Pekin Troupe, vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. GAYETY—Mollie Williams’ Show, MUTUAL—“Broadway. Belles,” burlesque. Opens this afternoon. the “Carmen” scene’in Monta Bell's production of V. Blasco Ibanez’ story, “Torrent.”” ’ A huge stage at the Metro-Goldwyn studios in Culver City, Calif., was em- ployed for this sgetting, which was technically correct in every detail, even through hours of rehearsing. The “company” was assembled, the cameras ground for a few moments and then the whole expensive set was “struck” and laid aside. Monta Bell's scenic effects in this picture, said to be among the most Rogers, Barlow Boriand and Herbert Belmore. s The first visit of ‘this company to .| the National Theater was made dur- ing the week beginning Monday, March 16, 1926, and was so suceessfui that the return visit was decided upon. WARDMAN PARK—“The Light That Falled.” A stage adaptation of “The Light That - Falled,”” Kipling’s poignant romance, will be produced next week, opening Monday night, by the Thomas Herbert Stock Company at Wardman magnificent of the season, include glimpses of a royal reception in the slight sounds. He Iights fires by the friction of two sticks and gives cther exhibitione of wooderaft throneroom of the Spanish palace at Madrid, with & dril! by Spanish royal auards. Park Theater. ‘While impossible in a play to give, the everchanging background of for- elgn scenes described 'in the book, it' 18 said the stage version- has con-| y Star Automobiles vaudeville. Opens this afternoon. burlesque. Opens this afternoon. centrated the highly dramatic action of the story and retained the impor- tant dialogue and action. Parker Fennelly, leading man, will be seen as the hero, Dick Heldar; Ruth Harrison will have the role of | Maisfe, whose love for Dick interferes | with her artistic career, and other familiar characters are Ruth Russell, as Bessie Broke; Leona Roberts, as Mrs. Beeton; Ann French, as Jane Beeton, and the lovable ‘war cor- respondent and his impetuous friends, Dessau and Cassavetti, will be acted | by Robert L. Clear, Arthur Rhodes | and John Schelhaas. Thomas Her- bert, director, will have the dual roles | of Henry Canby and Dr. Sedgwick. KEITH'S—Jose Collins-Solly Ward. B. F. Keith's Theater will celebrate the holiday week beginning today with a double headline bill. There will be two bargain matinees tomor- row, the first one at 2:156 and the second at 6:16. The headliners are Jose ‘Collins, comedienne and chan- teuse from London, who not only brings many new songs, but several trunks of new Parisian gowns, and Solly Ward, comedian, who will ap- pear in a satirical comedy, called “Bables,” written by Al Lewis and Mr. Ward. Marion Murray heads the supporting cast. Featured will be Irving Boernstein's Wardman Park Hotel Orchestra, offering many new musical numbers, and in addi- Mivnm MADDERN TISRL. and JHOMAS AWIsE | JMMEDIATELY efter the close of | Opera House. { {tinerary include Philadelphla, Wash- | | | tory that have won the greatest pop- | comedy of the sex war, 95 1, 1926, National SON Fong LN Straud Moscow Musical Studio. | their 12-week season in New York | | Saturday, March 6, the members of | | the Moscow Art Theater Musical | Studio, and their director, Vladimir Nemirovitch-Dantchenko, will mak ! a tour of the principal Eastern cities, according to an announcement by Morris Gest. | The Musical Studio will open in| ew Haven March 8 for one week,]| and will then proceed to the Boston | Other cities in the| ! ington and possibly Chicago. | The two productions of the reper- ! |ular and artistic acclaim in New York | will be presented on the road. These | are “Carmencita and the Solder,” | the modern version of Bizet's “Car- and Aristophanes’ hilarious jysistrata.” A speclal new feature, the rendi- | tlon of Russian folk songs in costume by the Tretyakova Chorus, will be given after the performance of istrata.” The: folk song: ve mnever been sung in Am will be sung fdr the first time in New | Haven. The entlre personnel of the Musi- cal Studio, including Vladimir Baka- leynikoff, the distinguished conduo- | tor of the orchestra, will take part in the out-of-town productions, which | are to be presented with the original stage settings which created a sen- sation in New York. the Day and the Pathe News Pio- | torfal. EARLE—"Sally, Irene and Mary.” A widely diversified bl this week at | the Earle Theater, beginning this| afternoon, has as the headline offering | Eddie Dowling's _pretentious, five- scene, condensed edition of his Broad- | way musical comedy hit, “Sally, Irene | and Mary,” with Jere Delaney fea-| tured in a large cast of comedians, | singers and dancers. All the life,| spontaneity and tunefulness of the| original production are sald to bel| |found in this tabloid version of the| popular hit. | The added attraction will be con- | tributed by Lorraine and Minto, with Mlle. Marle Andre, in a handsomely { mounted musical comedy miniature, “Moth and Flames,” with music by Fragson and lyrics by Willlam T. O'Sullivan. Other vaudeville offerings include | Eddie Barto and Mae Mack in a skit, | “The Milk Bandit”; Billy Barnes and Jack Barton in a musical comedy satire, “Kandy Kroox,” with songs, dancing and fun; Gene Winchester and Sammy Ross in a hokumistic classic, “Wise and . and Charles Klass and Saul Brilliant in “Stick to Your Horn,” a combination i of clever funmaking and expert musiclanship. The photoplay will be Producers’ Distributing _ Corporation’s “Brave- heart,” featuring Rod La Rocque. The Earle Theater news reel and house features will be added. | father, STRAND—Royal Pekin Troupe. For Washington's Birthday week, commencing today, the Strand Thea- ter announces the Royal Pekin troupe, & group of mysterious Chinese wonder workers, to top the vaudeville pro- gram. The act consists of acrobatics, juggling, contortion and tricks of magic. The troupe is sald to include tion will present Dolly Daye, the dainty darling of the night clubs, and Mulroe and Kueling, the Dancing Fools. Others to appear, are” Charles Kel- logg, nature singer, and known now as the man who extinguishes flame by sound; Edith Clifford, popular and talented singing comedienne; Eddie Allen and Doris Canfleld in a song and comedy act called “Gimme the Makins”; Henry Regal, “The World's Greatest,” assisted by Ida Gerber and 0. Henry in a gymnastic offering “the world's greatest Chinese magi- clans.” Other numbers are Ann Butler and Hal Parker in a funny skit, entitled “Don’t Make Me Laugh”; Al Abbott in a song, comedy and dance skit, fea- harmonica and accordion mu- and Weldon, a pantomime and xylo- phone skit, and Joe Small's seven beautiful rainbow girls in “A Glitter- ing Galaxy of Gay Goddesses Gor- geously Gowned.” The romantic adventures of an un- ruly American flapper in a small town coated with comedy, and the Angel brothers, billed as the “‘unrivaled ncers.” ‘Completing the bill are the screen fectures, Aesop's Fables, Toplcs of is the motif of “Don’t,” the photoplay, which features Sally O'Neill and John Patrick, with Bert Reach. “Don't” is (Continued on Second Page.) Ibsen HENRIK IBSEN probably was the most misunderstood author of his time, attributable to an extent to the man himself. To those who did not know him he had an exterior as hard as granite and a disposition as frigid as ice.| This attribute he acquired honestly through his maternal ancestry, well as from early experience and en- | vironment that so embittered him with soclal conditions that for nearly 40 years he virtually lived the life of a recluse, outside his immediate family. Henrik Ibsen was born March 20, 1828. His father, Krud Henriksen Ibsen, was a prosperous merchant in Skien, Norway; his mother, Maria Cornella Altenburg, a German. The a jolly, merry, whole-souled chap, with a happy smile and a good word for everybody; the mother, grave, silent, solitary to her household duties with a sullen demeanor and listless attitude. ‘When Henrik was his father failed in business. All their belongings were confiscated to liquidate the debts, all excepting a little farm on the outskirts of tI town; and, characteristic of the people and place, his former guests and ac- quaintances ceased to call. So for seven years Henrik became closely | affltated with his mother and thereby assimilated many of his mother's traits and qualities. At 16 he was shipped off to Grim- stead to earn his own livellhood as an apprentice to an apotheca) an arrogant, poverty-stricken, uncouth youth. But the breaking of these home tles were the making of him. He soon realized that he must have an education, so for months he went without stockings and an overcoat to pay for his tultion from an invalid schoolmaster. Every spare moment he had he devoted to bettering his mental and material condition; but the thought of having been born in a mansion on the public square of Skein | and the misfortunes he had to en- counter since then, made him trucu- lent and aggressive. In 1850 he entered the University of Christiana and began writing poetic dramas on_historical and leg- endary subjects. It was in this year that his first play was written, “Cat- ilina.” Then came ‘“The Warrior's Barron” in 1854, and “Lady Inger of Ostrat” in 1856. In 1856 he iwrote “The Feast of Solhoug,” in 1857 “Olaf Liljckaus,” and in 1858 “The oical, attended | 8 years of age . fi Play_wright. | Vikings of Helgeland —which ended his legendary and poetic dramas. After traveling in Denmark and | Germany he became director of the | Bergen Theater for five years; he then went to Christlana as manager of the theater, but left to become “ac adviser” at another th he went to Italy and Germany where he remained for 10_years. Meantime his dramati had caused €0 much adverse comment | in his native land that he was persona. non grata among the literati of Scau dinavia, and so after a brief stay in his native land he returned in 1876 to Germany, taking up his residence i1 Berlin until 1891, when he again went back to Christiana, where he re mained until he died, in 1908. His dramatic compositions numerous and nearly all of them been successfully produced in Europe and America, although it was not untl 1883 that his first play was produced in the United States, when Mme | Modjeska. presented ~ “The Doll's Hous * then called “Thora,” ar Macauley's Theater, Loulsville, Ky And it was not until eight years late: that New York City saw the same play with Beatrice Cameron (Mrs |Richard Mansfleld) as Nora, at the Garden Theater. Of the 18 dramatic plays written by Tbsen, 15 have been successfully pre sented in this country. How prolific & pen he wielded can be surmised this brief reco: “Love’s Comedy, written in 1862; “The Pretenders,” ir 1864; “Brand,” in 1866; “Peer Gvnt, |in 1867; “The Legend of Youth,’ in 1869; “Emperor and Galllean,” 1873; “The Pillars of Sotiety,” in 1877 ’'s House,” in 1879; “Ghosts, The Enemy of the People.’ ‘The Wild Duck,” in 1883 “Rosmersholm,” in 1886; “The Lady of the Sea,” in 1888; “Hedda Gabler,’ in 1890; “The Master Builder,” in 1892 “Little Eylof,” in 1894 “John Gabriel Borkman,” in 1894, and “When the Dead Awaken,” in 1899 Like all men of originality and re form, he was subjected to the mos: ignominous contumely by the dra matic critics of England and America when his plays were first presented Clement Scott of London called him & “charlatan and suburban egotist’ William Winter of New York said he ought to be “put In jail for life”; after 35 years, Isben is the most alive author on Broadway, for at this time {six of his plays running there to profitable returns. The author ix dead, but his plays live on. In the S potlig’ht. ELEN MENKEN has been pro- ‘moted to stardom in ‘“The Makro- poulos Secret,” nmow running in New York. Charles Dillingham has sold the rights for Paris presentation to “Sunny” and Marilyn Miller will ac- company the show to that city next season. “Mama Loves Papa,” a comedy by Jack MacGowan and Mann Page, will open in New York tomorrow after- noon. The cast includes Robert Em- mett Keane, John E. Hazzard, Helen Broderick and Sara Sothern. Arnoid Daly and Kenneth McKenna will appear in *The Masque of Ven- ice,” now in rehearsal. George Dun- ning Gribble is the author. . Lewis and Gordon have canceled rehearsals of “Easy Come, Eeasy Go.” The New York company is to con- tinue. Next season it will play in Chicago and then go on the road. Peter Ching Goe, the Chinese actor in “Twelve Miles Out,” has trans- lated the play into his own language that it may be presented in the Orlent. Besil Dear will produce “The Great God Brown"” in London next season Noel Coward is sald to be desirous of playing the leading role. David Belasco’s “Lulu Belle,” sta: ring Leonore Ulric, seems to have hit New York hard, the police being called in to keep the theater from be ing overcrowded. The story concerns the “black belt” in upper New York. Augustus Thomas' anti-prohibition play, “Still Waters,” has been placed in rehearsal again and will be pre sented in New York next month. The role which Mr. Thomas himself played in the previous try-out will be acted by Thurston Hall. George Gershwin has agreed with Edgar Selwyn to write the score for e musical comedy, “Quarantine.” This is the comedy by F. Tennyson Jesse, played last season by Helen Hayes and Sidney Blackmer. “Is Zat So?” had its first showing in London last ‘week and press and pub. lic gave it a fine reception. The com pany is all-American. A. L. Erlanger is to bufld another theater {in New York in the neighber- T (Cantinued on Second Page)