Evening Star Newspaper, January 19, 1930, Page 53

v | “;Thea an ter, Screen d Music Part 4—14 Pages Lois MORAN -/ J Song of Kentucky § ox MAURICE CHEVALIER ard JEANNETTE AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday Star, WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY 1TOVINIE. 3 MACDONALD - 7 * The Love Psrace” Columbia Two Players in Welcome Evidence. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. ‘The one great desirable object in the career of an artist is to es- tablish a clientele. It is something‘ to be attained with labor and vigi- lance, and often by means of the defeat of many rivalries. In this treasured possession of the play- house Jane Cowl stands secure| and assembles numerous admirers to burn incense at her altar in unwavering idoltary. x X x X Yet there are times when the call, “Author! Author!” arises in the consciousness of the admiring and always expectant beholder. The author who comes uppermost | in recollection as related to Miss| Cowl’s career may be one of sev- | eral, the list being headed by the immortal Shakespeare, who be- queathed her the opportunity to establish herself as one of the great Juliets of theatrical history. Another author who would not | be unwelcome is Bayard Vieller, | who wrote one of her earlier suc- cesses, “Within the Law,” and one | more, among others, is Robert | Sherwood, whose unassuming | travesty, “The Road to Rome,” elevated the comic muse far above the level of accepted buffoonery | and enabled Robert Sherwood to | flash into attention almost as a reincarnation of Aristophanes. ko % It was Sherwood who restored the word “burlesque” to its origlnal respectable significance, | and made it represent the winged herald of swift speeding humor, without a barb of satire to leave a rankling thought. In this re- spect S8herwood outdoes the Gre- cian humorist himself in creating , mirth without reliance on the support of current editorial style. ! Yet he is of the present moment and has found available every method of modern expression, in- cluding radio, over which he clowns effectually, but he is un- available to the Nation's Capital, which is inconsiderately omitted from his extensive hook-up. * X X ¥ Miss Cowl's later presentations| have taken the viewpoint of feminine sentiment rather than that of audacious analysis of ex- alted personages who have wear- ied many a youthful student and | | who owe him, in simple fairness, ' an occasional laugh by way of compensation. Her “Jealous Moon” reflected \, many suggestions that were dear to l{l(e memory, and the same may be said of this latest play, “Jenny.” Associated in the com- position of “Jenny” is the name et &n author from wh pub- hom the lic should be glad to “take a bow,” | Edward Shelden, noted in the biographies as a name associated with Doris Keane’s triumphant delineation of “Madame Caval- lini” in “Romance.” The play, however, is diffused through much authorship and lacks the note of indivdual authority. It is what would have been an assertion of social deflance in seasons long gone by in recogniation of the feminine right to control and to proffer affections at will. The play now merely trots in docile harness at the pace that has been set time and again by the playwright who imagines that there are still audi- tors to be startled by revelations of defiant womanhood, with here and there a tipsy flapper in the background. x X X X Time moves rapidly and its flight becomes especially swift when entertainment in unre- strained lavishness is transmitted by ether with the speed of light. It is perhaps due to the changing public taste to recognize the theme of militant femininity as archaic, and ready to be exhumed along with ancient schoolday celebrity and treated, like Hanni- bal and Mme. Fabiaus, in terms| of broad satire. * % k% The assemblages attracted dur- ing the week to the ample halls of Poli's Theater demonstrated the loyalty of a public which finds something beautiful in whatever Miss Cowl undertakes. Whether or not the ideas in one of her plays are co-ordinated in accurate proportion, her own scenes are each in turn a delight like a gem sparkling on in radiant independ- ence of a homemade setting. * * X x It used to be said that versa- tility is a dangerous gift. George M. Cohan, who has proved him- self brave in many enterprises, does not hesitate to fling defiance into the teeth of an adage and prove himself a conqueror in a field which he had not very seri- ously attempted before. After ex- ploiting under his personal direc- tion, and with his own individual- ity often in evidence, every style of theater known to the electric lights, he finally decides to pre- sent himself as a thoroughly lggl- timate comedian, without a single song and dance step concealed about his person. * k x % True to his long-avowed inten- | tion of giving the public what it wants, he makes his latest play an underworld stud alls it B sugiiec et bty e (R e | passing beauty. Palace Opening Bottles. AT Loew's Palace Theater, folks, they're opening bottles! No, not liquor—perfume. Out of those bottles come the famous Chester Hale Girls in an orgie of glitter- ing dance novelties that bewilder as well as delight. ‘This Capitol Theater stage presenta- tion is said to be a spectacle of sur- “Les Perfums,” as it is called, is a combined beauty show, fashion show and perfume show, blend- ing the artistry of stage design and directo and consummate showman- ship, wii Wesley Eddy as master of ceremonies. He plays no less than 10 instruments and also displays unusual band some paces. through note-scorching Leew's, Inc., Happy. VWHILE no stock-selling venture is contemplated by Loew's, Inc. the executives of that organization have is- sued a statement optimistic in tone for business in 1930. Their report shows that business at the Loew theaters has shown increases all over the system. In Washington Loew’s Palace broke all records by a substantial amount during the first week of the new year—an indication that Loew’s January festival is bring- ing in patrons with unusual attrac- tions. It also shows that the public has money to spend. “Gambling,” and succeeds in cre- ating a performance which is not only intrinsically fascinating, but significant of the faith which Cohan has always manifested in his public as susceptible to appeal on terms of decorous expression. His jesting never becomes Rabe- laisian and his business sense is so accurate as to give him a well recognized rating as one of the Nation's greatest “fun-an- ceers.” “Gambling” proved a happy experience. Not the least fol R,s interest was centered in |Cohan's finely poised playing. vocal talent, besides putting his stage MORNING, JA Mofor, Aviation and Radio SHEARE News ARIAN NIXON a7 JOUN BARRYMORE- In*Genere/ Crack.” Metropolitan R and ROBERT / Montcomery: In"Therr Owrn Desrre” Pslace / L Bidieasimsdind MAQ;E ETUELBERT- OoX o7 " /¢ Jhé VaGcABOND |\ #3 Kine” National WiLLIAM Bovyb- /"~ His. First Command” VIoLET BUCKLEY-Gayety ILLIAM DANFORTH, the Sheriff of Nottingham in the production |of “Robin_Hood,” which will be pre- | sented at Poli’s Theater next week, 18 a veteran of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and he has a record of imposing roles in musical comedy. “My stage experience,” he says, “really dates back to a juvenile performance of ‘Pinafore,’ when I was 11 years of age. That performance was organized in my home town, Syracuse, by my eldest sis- ter, after she had seen ‘Pinafore’ in New York the year it was first pro- duced in this country. On that occa- sion I played the role of Dick Deadeye. “If it had not been for a resourceful stage manager, I might never have appeared at all, for I was to make my first entrance through a trapdoor, and, alas! the trapdoor failed to work. So the stage mlnlgor in sheer d ration carried me up above and actually threw me on the stage to head off an embar- Tassing stage wait. That frantic ex- perience was enough for me for life. I've never missed a cue in any play| since then. “After that early start T returned to school until I was 17. Then the| monotony of life in my home town grew too much for me and I ran away. A | stage germ must have lit on me, for I! evening. evening. and evening. FOX—"A Song of Kentucky.” PALACE—“Their Own Desire.” RIALTO—"“His First Command.” noon and evening. GAYETY—“Girls from Happyland,” burlesque. R-K-O KEITH'S—“Hit the Deck.” COLUMBIA—"The Love Parade.” METROPOLITAN—"“General Crack” (second week). RiaHo Succeeds Frothingham. went right into musical comedy and in ‘The Chimes of Normandy,’ ‘The Mascot,’ ‘Olivette’ and ‘Pinafore.’ “I cannot recall how many roles I have played, there are so many; but I can truthfully say that I feel the dis- tinction of having the role of Sheriff of Nottingham in the Reginald de Koven comic opera of ‘Robin Hood,’ a role made famous by George Frothingham, the famous immortal of the immortal Bostonians.” Tallies Carar il Dbat THE miracle of miracles has come to pass—a deatf lady has been cured by the talkies! The medal goes to “The Singing Fool,” which picture is said to be re- sponsible for the sudden recovery of a ;l!—zelr-old lady resident of Leeds, Eng- and. According to & news dispatch from that city, doctors claim that the old lady was so overcome by the emotional force of the film “that she received her hearing in a jiffy and went out of the theater smiling broadly and blessing Al Jolson.” Stage and Screen Attractions This Week NATIONAL—"“The Vagabond King,” music drama. Opens this POLI'S—American Opera Co.—“Yolanda of Cyprus.” Tomorrow This afternoon This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. EARLE—“So Long, Letty.” This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. This after- operettas again, being engaged for ro]es‘ Story Told in Symphony. PLOT woven around a symphony is the novel feature of “A Song of Kentucky,” Fox Movietone comedy drama. During the playing of this symphony, which is supposed to tell the story of Jerry Reavis' life from the time he | meets and falls in love with Lee Cole- an, the principal characters in the |drama are listening to it, and at the |cnd of the concert patch up a misun- derstanding which settles them for life. Messrs. Conrad, Mitchell and Gottler, authors of the story, have written a brief synopsis of the rhapsody, in part | as follows: | “The music tells a modern love story. | A promising young song writer and composer loves a girl much above his social strata. He had previously been engaged to a youthful and entirely in- nocent affair with another girl. On the eve of his marriage to the girl he loves, the other woman frames a plot to con- vince his flancee that he is unworthy of her. The plot succeeds, aad the lovers are parted. “Meanwhile the society girl is broken- hearted, and makes her marriage to Kane Pitcairn, a persistent suitor for her hand, dependent on the winning of her colt in the Kentucky Derby. The horse loses, and Jerry, having known about the wager, goes back to New York, | determined to forget the past and live for his career alone.” S tar’ted Th’em’er Songs. | DISCOVERED!—the man who started all this theme song business and the man who has a unique method of “pounding them out.” Victor Schertzinger has come out of | his corner to admit that he composed “Just an Old Love Song" for Douglas Fairbanks’ “Robin Hood” a few years ago, which seems to have been the first inkling of the present song furor in the movies. He also admits, since his score for “The Love Parade” has brought him into the limelight, that he requires three instruments for the successful de- velopment of his embryonic song. First, he uses the violin to bring out the melody, next he gets his harmony with the help of the piano, and finally he works out his orchestration on his pipe organ. All of which thoroughness would seem to illustrate just why Mr. Schert- | | NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY Scere “HiT the R.K.O. “a -CuaeLarrEGRe /" Solowng. Ao Deck® Keiths and GRANT WITHERS- 7 Earle Skinner as | IT is in character parts that Otis Skin- ner excels. Not that he would not excel in & modern society play, but his preference seems to be for roles placed in & setting of romance and ad- venture or in classic parts. Maybe it is that way because his public prefers to see him so. There are those, however, who do remember Mr. Skinner as a jeune pre- mier in society plays when he was a member of the Augustin Daly stock company in New York, and when that company made a Spring tour of a few weeks annually, with John Drew, Ada Rehan, James Lewis and Mrs. Gilbert in the company. This was 35 or more years ago. It so happens that in his new com- edy, “Papa Juan,” Mr. Skinner will Papa Juan. week of January 27. His portrayal of the title role is a radically different im- ger.wnatlon from any he has given eretofore, and in many respects it is said to be the most delightful. Paj Juan is growing old gracefully, with- | out a hint of senility, but with all of his mental powers intact and looking into the future, which he realizes must be_brief, with calm serenity. He i5 not a tottering old gentleman clinging to a friendly arm for assist- ance or using a walking stick as an aid to locomotion. He is rather spry for a man of his years, and his body is healthy. In his active brain there is a_fund of knowledge stored up, and he knows how to handle people and his own descendants of two generations in particular. His outlook on life is happy and joyful and he radiates joy among all who are fortunate in in cor;ame with h‘l’md‘ - le is & Spaniar e present da and in comfaortable circumstances, 'ltl{ a regiment of relatives whom he is cen- appear in another character part when he is seen at the National 1{::%: the tralizing in his home to celebrate his birthday. will see the motion picture indus- try stampeding to color. Dr. Herbert T. Kalmus, president of Technicolor, Inc, is authority for the statement. “In Europe, as in the United States,” Dr. Kalmus is quoted, “there seems to be only one answer to the question, ‘Do you want motion ?lctum in natural color?’ and that is, “Of course!” “There was doubt about sound; there seems to be less about color. When sound came along it was feared the new order of things might eliminate many stars and directors who could not adapt their voices and technique to the new medium. “Color destroys neither stars nor di- rectors. It actually strengthens their talents. It gives the director new power to entertain. It is a tremendous gift zinger's muxlo” in demand. 1930 Stamped e to Color. tings and the camera man, who has new chances for effects. “The motion picture industry is go- ing to color just as fast as laboratories and equipment will let it. Within two years it is predicted that the black and white motion .picture will be as out of date as the silent picture is today.” This reference to colored photography brings up another point, namely, that new maf are necessary to reflect the light dur! the filming of the pic- ture. Only textiles such as silks, satins and metal cloths with a sheen are said to be adaptable to this new medium. This is in direct contrast to the old method, in which sheens were avoided in order to prevent the film from be- coming light struck. Special attention is also necessary in the method of combini colors so that to the designer of costumes and set- . e one hue will not kill another, 5