Evening Star Newspaper, February 17, 1929, Page 57

Doores DeL Rio RaLou Forpes < Columbia Drama Discusses Weather BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. 3 a weather prophet the ground hog did not assert much immediate authority, continuing to see its shad- ow, even in the present of some slight falling temperature day by day. Theatrically, this wise ani- mal foretold conditions accurate- ly, so far as the New York situa- tion is concerned, since it dis- closes frost, storm and a contin- uous picture of lowering skies. The sudden decrease in the out- put of experienced and indus- trious dramatists has led to some interesting presentations of time- tried material, as well as unpre- cedented spectacular magnifi- cence. In view of the competi- tion represented by films, auto- mobiles, country clubs, cabarets, and, in fact, almost every kind of general recreation, the theater has thought it necessary greatly to increase box office receipts. ® *x ¥ X The theater is a topsy-turvey world. Its reAlms of imagination bring examples of poetic justice te con! to ordinary expe- ce, and ‘in its businesslike | I transactions it also reverses what seems to be established rule. The theater represents the only busi- ness in existence that attempts to meet competition by increasing prices. * % X ¥ The | extraordinary talents of Frederick Lonsdale for conversa- tional rtness make “The High Road,” in spite of its employment of familigr material, a distinctive creation which. might with pro- priety be referred to as “a witty tragedy.” The actress who be- comes engaged to a young man whose family preserves the sever- “est traditions of aristocracy, has long been a charming herpine of stage literature. She, too, causes an ‘upheaval of the ordinary course of events and brings the family into tremulous fear that she will refuse to abandon her art in order to make the marriage which at first they so much de- plored. ‘The vital and reviving influence of buoyant youth in a staid and eonstrained household has been a theme for play-making of all time. It recurred very recently in “The Bachelor Father,” * ook ok A wonderfully capable cast makes a long-sustained brilliancy of cynical expression seem hu- manly probable. Where repartce flashes incessantly it often be- eomes so artificial as to seem be- yond all mortal power. ‘The art employed in utilizing so much wit and humor is shown by the fact that it does not prevenf the story of intense mutual love from leading through scenes of serjous beauty to a heart-breaking renunciation in deference to high sense of honor. The parting is as affecting as if the pathway of the story had not been made to sparkle so resplendently in the sunshine of temperament. * ¥ % X A figure of great attraction in the company playing “The High Road” is Frederick Kerr, no less competent today in a role of the “Grumpy” type into which his many years of stage experience have congenially led him, than he was 30 years ago or more, when | he was the graceful leading man in the company which toured America with Lily Langtry as the star. * % % % Ed Wynn headed musical co- fports through scenes of emphatic Zun. The Savoy Musical Comedy Co. found itself with a well estab- lished clientele sufficient to pro- vide first-rate attendance. The niew policy of guest stars goes into effect this week with the un- exclusive call on ‘available road attractions, for the National The- ater meets the annual “long-felt want” without waiting for the early robin, stepping boldly out under the banner of the snowbird. The launching of stock company entertainment when Winter is still fully under way is another evidence of the topsy-turviness in Theaterland. S. E. Cochran swings into the fifth year of the National Theater Players’ proud history with a play well favored in popular attention, named “This Thing Called Love.” The interest already shown appears to make the program picture of a very long line at the box office carried by the program, a printed warn- ing to come early and avoid the rush, appears a very friendly and reasonable suggestion. * k Xk * Every four years, as inaugura- tion time rolls around again, pro- ducers confidently ex;e additional volume of patronage from the attending throngs. Four years is sufficient to cause forget- ulness of some significant re- minders. Again the theater be- comes an example of a reversal of ordinary rules and looks for bet- ter results, as results may be self- ishly measured when the weather is unfriendly and causes people to seek shelter. Washington, D. C., on a,t b{lght, flenr kl:lny oflet;s :}t:e greatest display own e world; one with which no theater attraction could hope to compete. * %k %k ¥ One important point that makes the year 1929 different from all other years in theater history is the complete depend- ence that playhouses, technically known as “legitimate,” are plac- ing upon voice pictures to provide reliable attractions. Theaters are already being wired for the “talk- ies,” as these marvels of com- bined art and science are termed, which wijll, when they hold the engagement, eliminate expense of stagehands and musicians. This expense has grown to such a de- gree that managers are beginning to regard it almost prohibitive. As the situation stands, the ele- ment of the public that insists on the immediate presence of human actors on the scene may as well make up its mind to be kind and polite to the stock companies. Fannie's First Photoplay. HEN Warner Bros. release “My Man” in Washington motion pic- ture audiences will hear Fannie Brice sing the songs which have made her one of America’s foremost comediennes, practically all her famous numbers being included in the produc- tion. , “My Man,” the Brice song hit, for “which the picture is named, is one of the principal numbers. The others are “Floradora Baby,” “Second-hand Rose,” “Spring Song,” “I'm an Indien,” “If You Want the Rainbow You Must Have the Rain” and “I'd Rather Be Blue Thinking of You Than Happy With Somebody Else,"” her recitation, Beach.” “Mrs. Cohn at the —. Attention, Ladies. ADVANCE styles from Paris are soon to be shown on the screen in the | theaters of Anferica. Even before the New York dress- makers get hold of the newest Paris models through their agents, World | Wide Pictures will show the latest smart costumes from the ateliers of the French modistes in pictures that are actually made in the French capital, the com- pany announces. Arrangements have been made where- by European companies producing for World Wide Pictures in Paris are per- mitted to costume their stars and prin- cipals in several of the most prominent dressmaking shops in France. These pictures will be released in America far ahead of the coming season’s styles. ‘The first picture with-this novel idea has just been completed and received in America. It is “Week End Wives,’ bound enthusiasm with which Kate Smith was received during & fortnight, constitutes a prece- dent on which confident expecta- tions are based. (5 $oli's is apparently to have an and was made in Paris and Deauville. ‘There is a fashion parade. of manikins in it wearing next Summer’s models. telle Brody and Jameson Thomas have the leading roles, and Monty Banks, the American comedian, also has one of the principal parts, It will be an early Spring releass. ct a large | Hi Miss Brice also gives | M (3 AMUSEMENT SECTION @he Sy Star, WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 17, 1929. [/A\Gl[ aund' SCREEN “Young Alexander,” a comedy by Hardwick Nevin, will soon be produced by John D. Williams. Hengx ull will head rther in- Charles Dalton, d Rigby. “The Divorce Doctor,” a play by Bruce Bairnsfather, remembered for his “The Better 'Ole,” has been purchased by Willlam T. Farnsworth. It is sched- uled for production in the Fall, after a Spring tryout either in.New York or on the Pacific Coast. T “Penthouse,” a melodrama by Robert Brister and Harry Bliven, is to be - duced by Elenby Productions, in w] Mr. Bliven and Armand Lubetty are as- sociated. In the cast will be Helen Spring, Alan Devitt, Eeda_Von" Buelow, th Thompson, Gordon Hamilton and Corbett Morris. Joseph Spurin is di- recting. pEdgar MacGr _Tnta 1 Joseph Urban ve begun on settings Eddle dy adap- tation Big Parade,” which will be produced in New York shortly, Frank Mandel and Sir Alfred Butt have definitely set dates for the open- ing of “The New Moon” in London during Easter week and “Follow Thru” late in August or early in September. Sir Alfred will look after the foreign in- terests of the productions, “Mr. Bones,” a play by Fulton Ours- ler and Bide Dudley, calling for a cast of 40, is announced for production early next season by Lew Cantor. Lou Holtz will head the cast. Arthur Margetson, now playing in “Paris” with Irene Bordoni, announces that he will return to London at the conclusion of “Paris” to join a musical production. “Autumn Violins,” the Bernie-Ratoff production, which is featuring Frances Starr, will not open in New York to- morrow night as originally scheduled. March 18 has been set as the tentative date for its nhnmn& on Broadway. Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Atlantic City will be visited first, “Meet the Prince,” a comedy from the pen of A. A. Milne, with Basil Sldw and Mary Ellis in the leading roles, wiil have its New York hearing one week from tomorrow night. Jo Mielziner will supervise the settings. Nydia Westman has joined the cast of “Jonesy,” for which Donald Meek and Josephine Hull have already been an- nounced. The play will open in At- lantic City tomorrow night. ‘The engagement of Beatrice Lillie of Noel Coward’s “This Year of Grace," now running in New York, has been ex- tended an additional four weeks. The original engagement was intended for six weeks only. Margaret Anglin will presently be seen in an English play entitled “Se- curity,” the work of -Wynne '{‘hy; son. It will open at Wilmington first of March, with New York to follow the week of March 11. The play is being directed by Stanley Logan. Claude Rains, Henry Travers and orris Carnovsky are announced for the Theater Guild’s production of “The Game of Love and Death,” to open in New York March 4, Margola Gilmore, Earl Larimore and Arthur Byron have already been signed. “Suspicion,” a play by Alexander I. Ruth, will open tomorrow night in New Rochelle. Ruth Hammond will head the cast. / A e Concertina Clyde. WHEN your work calls for your play- ing the concertina and you don't know how, there's only one thing left— and that is to learn. If you're as }uck‘{ as Clyde Cook you'll get pald or it, Cook’s role in support of Victor Mc- Laglen in “Captain Lash” necessitated his playing the twisty instrument, its notes to serve as a warning of irmpend- ing danger. Clyde sat him down and eventually mastered “The Campbells Are Coming” to the intense discomfiture of his neighbors on the set. o well did he do, in his own estimation, that he became interested in the “machine.” Before the picture was completed he could play anything he wanted. His associates sald it all sounded like the same tune, but Cook, a new-found ar- 3 , Jeerne from THISTHING CALLED LoveE ”? National In the New York Theaters By Percy Hammond. NEW YORK, February 16. N his violent dismissal of the dynamo as nothing with which to replace the old gods, Eugene O'Neill seems less than just to science. For in- stance, the power house in which he stages his demonstrations in “Dyna- mo” is not a rational engine room, dis- pensing comfort and incandescence to the muiltitudes, but a flighty bedlam whose chief occupant is a raving dervish, Instead of functioning quietly and steadily, as most public utilities do, it is addicted to delirious incoherences, buzz- ing now, snarling then, and altogether unlike the sane ministrations of the Westinghouse, Insull or Bylesby groups. Any electrician who views its odd processes will admit that it is a queer plant and not to be taken as fairly rep- resentative. In its mad operations elec- tricity is not given a chance to make good as a deity. * K ok % Mr. O'Neill has offered us many strange beings to study in his 32 in- vestigations of existence, but none more eccentric than this Reuben Light in “Dynamo.” The son of a fundamental- ist clergyman and his somewhat pagan wife, he wanders from the mourners’ bench to a liaison with the daughter of an atheistic neighbor. Persuaded to un- belief by his sweetheart's sacrilegious parent, he defies God in a feverish out- burst of blasphemy, and dares Him to strike him dead—in the best bravado manner of ' Sinclair Lewis. When neither sex nor atheism satisfles his “primitive religious instincts” he turns to electricity. Here, his muddled mind informs him, is the real thing. Accept- ing a position from the local light and power com] he turns the place into a voodoo shop, and with savage prayers and incantations, worships the dynamo as the only god. After the woman tempts him by her attractive person, to desecrate Dynamo's shrine, and he em- braces her before the holy apparatus, he is overcome with remorse. He shoots her to death and then immolates him- self upon the desecrated altar, * ok ok % According to the instructions of Mr. O'Neill, he “throws his arms over the head of the dynamo; his hands grasp the carbon brushes of the exciter. In a flash all the lights in the plant dim down until they are almost out and the noise of the dynamo dies until it is the faintest hum. Simultaneously his voice rises in a sobbing cry of pain , . , like that of a happy baby.” . . . He has rnyed: *‘Oh, Dynamo, God of Elec- tricity, which gives life to all things, hear my prayer! Receive me into the lgnlc Current of Your Eternal Life! . me with Your secret so I can save from sin and sorrow and death! me the miracle of Your lovel” All of this stufl, an ironical heri. \ tage from a pulpit-thumping father, is shocking; but it doesn't give electricity & square deal. It puts the current in a bad light, so to speak, and one that is not justified. Such things, as Judge Black might say, do not happen in power houses. It 'is so isolated and ab- normal a series of aberrations that it means little as an argument against the dynamos, and it leaves us feeling that Mr. O'Neill has taken advantage of his prestige to make a straw man out of a glant and to knock him silly. In “Dynamo,” Mr., O'Neill employs the “asides” more unstintedly and with less effect than in “Strange Interlude,” and most of the speech seems to be mere soliloquy. Since the characters are, as he says, less cerebral than those of “Strange Interlude,” their conversa- tions with themselves are sometimes long and irksome. One suspects that he has overworked the device in “Dynamo,” and his promise to use it in other plays of the trilogy, “Without Ending of Days” and “It Cannot Be Mad,” fills one with apprehension. background, half symbol, half real, is one of the Theater Guild's better achievements, and the acting and direc- tion are of the first class. But even with these privileges “Dynamo” is but three acts of interesting and inconse- quential hysteria, honest in purpose and dafly in execution. The good players are Glen Anders as the maniac, Miss Claudette Colbert as the handsome sex-* appeal, George Gaul as the mouthy minister. of what Mr. O'Neill calls a dead god, and Dudley Digges as the hard-boiled and wise-cracking un- believer, h];et It Rain. EK-END tourists who have been o caught by an unexpected rain- storm in an open car may find consola- tion in a consideration of the trials and tribulations of Greta Garbo and other members of the cast of “Wild Orchids,” the new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer syn- chronized i)lcture. It was literally necessary for Miss Garbo, Nils Asther, Lewis Stone and other members of the cast of the new photoplay, a story of Javanese ad- venture, to be drenched to the skin every day for a period of more than a week in filming some of the se-| quences of the picture. The scenes in fiesnon were particu- larly important the continuity of the story, and a large number had to be taken. Before each scene Miss Garbo and her fellow-sufferers went under a “rain machine” to be given a thorough soaking. Then they played their re- quired parts and scurried back to the spot where a big electric heater with The 'scenic | B CECIL Lean, Belasco Motor, Avi ation and Radio News /‘ - ~ CLAIREWINDSOR, znglierorMe Lag FOoxX o~ [} LEN, S TME S B T FANNIE B RICE; « Metropolitan. EA BELL, Strand Signed by Paramount. IRGINIA MARVIN, who has been re-engaged for the title role of “No, No, Nanette,” at the Belasco, and who 15 weeks ago created a hit in the role with the same company, signed a con- tract a few days before her arrival in Washington, to be starred by Para- mount in a Vitaphone production. Miss Marvin has appeared as a dan- seuse with the Mordkin Russjan Ballet, and has sung leading roles in operettas produced in Paris. She was a regular member of Mr. Cook’s Savoy Musical Comedy Co. for 20 weeks in Canada, and left after the first week in Wash- ington to study with Edward Johnson to fit her for a prospective role at the Metropolitan Opera House. Miss Marvin is regarded as one of the finest dancers on the American stage today. Middy Movie. ANCROFT HALL, where many scenes were fllmed by Director Christy Cabanne for the Pathe picture, “An- napolis,” offers an_impressive sight for visitors to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. The build- ing, which houses 2,500 men, is the largest granite structure in the world and has six miles of corridor for sleep- ing quarters. “Annapolis” is an orig- inal story by Prof. Royal S. Pease, an Instructor at the academy, and has John Mack Brown, Jeanette Loff and Hugh Allan in the featured roles. A Crime.W-iver. RESEARCH worker of the Metrp- Goldwyn-Mayer studios find that there was comparatively little crime in Dawson City, Alaska, during the gold rush. This was brought out in spite of the works of fiction to the contrary, Wwhen experts were employed to find facts for the filming of “The Trail of '98.” The reason that crime was held down was that justice to the criminal was meted out so quickly and ef- fectively. Dolores Del Rio, Ralph Forbes, Karl moDme. 'néjolg Manhn.u.’ n:(n ‘l;:lu m rge Cooper are a few peol who appear in “The Trail of '98." A Is This Tunney's Romance? PAR.AMOUNT has announced that a thoroughly American romance laid in the background of pugilistic achleve- ment is to be found in “The Man I Love,” a hlklw roduction now being directed by lam Wellman, wif ith Richard Arlen and Mary Brian as the principals. blevgler :fi’t;cm was used t:')u ke&p them' partly WAIm un! e next curtaln call came, 1t was to be expected that sooner or later Gene Tunney's little love story would Snd itself upon the silver screen. Attractions in row evening. ' ning. POLI'S—Arthur Hammerstein's day afternoon. NATIONAL PLAYERS—“This Thing Called Love.” ‘Tomorrow night the National Theater Players, in their fifth successive season in the old E street playhouse, the Na- tional, under the management of S, E. Cochran, will present as their first of- fering Edwin Burke’s comedy, “This Thing Called Love.” A hit in New York from the very outset, “This Thing Called Love” is still having an extensive run in Chicago, and the National Players, through a friendship of their manage~ ment with the New York producers, will have the distinction of being the first repertoire company to have the privilege of presenting this play in stock. Its theme has to do with’a young girl who, seeing her sister’s marriage on the rocks, decided that thefe will be no such blight in her life. So she makes an arrangement with the man who pro- poses to her that would obliterate all love making, and then the two fall in love and the trouble begins. Beginning their Spring and Summer season in the midst of what ordinarily is the regular theatrical season, the Na- tional Players have before them what is undoubtedly the longest stretch ever al- lotted to a local repertoire company. All things being well, they have the op- portunity of occupying the boards at the National from now until well into late September. In this time, it is hoped by the management that they will be able to revive several of the outstanding classics of the past quarter century, such works as “The Virginian,” “The Girl of the Golden West,” “The Old Homestead,” besides keeping pace with current Broadway productions, and Washington theatergoers will have the opportunity to see plays that were| scheduled for road tours here, but which were canceled because of the present- day booking situation. Among some of ning. WARDMAN PARK—“Twelfth Night,” Washington Playhouses This Week IN LOCAL THEATERS THIS WEEK NATIONAL—“This Thing Called Love,” comedy. Opens tomor- BELASCO—“No, No, Nanette,” musical comedy. Opens this eve- “Rose Marie.” Opens this eve- Shakespeare.. Opens Fri- ND—“Frivolities,” burlesque. This afternoon and evening. Belasco, is returning the title role. Robert Capron, a comic comparable with any in electric lights, has been applauded as Billy in many large cities. Prank Gallagher layed Tom over 300 times. Beatrice Efie is coming back as Pauline, the comedy cook, a part she played on Broadway. Miss Hamilton, Miss Parker and Gladys Huntington will be cast in the com- paratively small but important roles of Flora, Betty and Winnie. . “No, No, Nanette” holds the record for “longest runs.” It ran for a whole year in Chicago, & town in which four weeks is considered good. In Phila- delphia, where plays seldom stay longer than two weeks, it ran for seven con- secutive months with Cecil Lean and Cleo Mayfleld as the featured stars. It played to capacity for an entire year on Broadway, two solid seasons In London, five months in Boston, and has been vociferously applauded in Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Prague, Brus- sels, Moscow, Norway, Sweden, Den- mn-k‘. Australia, China, Japan, India, re Will be an extra matinee Fri- Washington's birthday. WARDMAN PARK—“Twelfth Night.” The Junior Theater at Wardman Park turns again to Shakespeare this week, presenting the comedy “Twelfth Night or What You Will"* in three per- formances next Friday and Saturday. All the players of the past two weeks Wwill be in the cast. Youthful audiences for Shakespeare are most responsive, declare Miss Marlowe and Mr. Sothern. So in choosing another Shakespeare play the. Junior Theater is following both requests and tradition. And what complications of plot did Shakespeare create to delight young day, the outstanding successes contracted for { are “Pigs” “Girl Trouble,” “A Free i i Soul,” “Loose Ankles,” “The Thief” ana ! | “The Skull,” ! All matinees during the season will be given on Wednesday and Saturday. | Whenever occasion arises, there may be | an extra matinee on Friday. BELASCO—*"No, No, Nanette.” Cecil Lean and Cleo Mayfield, guest stars, in their original roles “No, No, Nanette,” is Charles af T this week, beginning this e A “No, No, Nanette,” has been played as in There is the shipwreck on the shore of Illyria, the apparent loss of Viola's brother, whom she later im- personates. There are nobles and their ladies and a scene in & palace. There is Sir Toby Belch, a comic type, and Feste, a clown, and much mistaken identity to add to the humor or the exquisite poetry of the lines of the im- mortal bard. Elizabeth Valentine will be Viola, a part she has played with Mr. Sof X PFrank Arundel will here before, but never with Mr. Lean | clown. and Miss Mayfleld, nor, it might be said, with as s a supporting cast. Prom the six original and touring “Nanette” companies which swept the | be world like a c-rnll:l of merriment g:;| selected his. cast. | M5 ook by the way, was associated with H. H. e from the very ot:’ "gmme:' largely res) helming popu- pr Saturday Strouse’s new edition of “Priv- comes to the Strand Theater Charles “Bimbo” Davis and olities” Virginia Marvin, who made & hit in the Savoyard's initial M‘nm( are the stars. Davis is one of lormers who quickly