Evening Star Newspaper, February 4, 1930, Page 12

A—-12 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1930. PAPERS OF POET DECLARED MISSING #The Love Affair of a Biblio- maniac” Among Manu- script Probably Stolen. tions so appropriated. The second point of view is that O'Nefll was merely writ- ing & human drama for the stage. As long as he is able to get away with it of an audience from 5:30 to 11 o'clock pm.. with an hour or so off for re suscitative food, and makes the audi- the means. For it is not the morbid subjectiveness of the “Strange Int | lude” but the author’s ability to dram: tize the story of four abnormal lives, running the gamut from _sublime this work a place of its own in the theater. It is doubtful if any man, liv- ing or dead, could have done what Eugene O'Neill (the man who made By the Amociated Préss | a Babbit out of Marco Polo) has done CHICAGO, February 4.—Valuable literary and historical manuscripts that belonged to the late Eugene Field dis- | appeared some time within the last three years and the poet’s widow be- lieves they have been stolen. The lost documents include the manuscript of “The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac,” Field's last work and one {in “Strange Interlude.” And if any | of them could—would they? The Guild cast which brings the play the National this week is excellent, interesting mainly for Elisabeth Ris- don’s interpretation of the role of Nina. In time Nina may become a character susceptible of as many and as varying interpretations as Shylock. Miss Ris- of the most popular of his pros writings. Mrs. Field has refused a offer of $7,500 for it Anothi sing document is th: Many letters written by James Whit- | comb Riley to Field also are missing. The two poets were close friends. For | ars Mrs. Field kept the docu- in a safety deposit vault here. Thice years ago, however, they were | shipped under bond to a Tomahawk, | Wis., bank, to be more readily acces- | sible to Mrs. Field. whose home is near Bradley, Wis. Only within recent months has Mrs. Field discovered that valuable documents are missing. | AMUSEMENTS Strange Interlude.” Guild has properly , at a lower scale of Eugene O'Neill's “Strange Inter- one of the important under- ngs of the current Washington sea- and in bringing it back to the ational Theater this week the Guild | accomplishes the twofold purpose of making it available to those who have missed this most-talked-about play and of giving those so_inclined an oppor- | tunity to repeat the experience. For | sitting through “Strange Interlude” is | an experience. Having had it once, the praspect of repeating it may at first ap- pear formidable. But no classic of the theater has ever failed to improve on closer acquaintance, and the embattled “Interlude” long since has won its place s a classic. Those who try to shout it down waste their breath in vain. There are two ways of looking at | Mr. O'Neill’s lugubrious case history of the four human beings he so thorough- | Iy dissects in this play. One of them is to admit that a highly informative volume might be written on the sub- | ject of mud, but immediately to ques- ' tion upon what grounds one belicves that the rest of us are interested | in mud. The other view is that even | mud can be made the subject of an | inspiring_poem, prov al | the hands of the right poet. The first point of view has criticized O'Neill's | masterpiece by hotly demanding by | what authority the playwright takes the | liberty of appropriating as the subject | for a nine-act play certain psychoses | that in polite circies are kept below | stairs, admitting at the same time the | don’s own choice seems to deprive poor Nina of any good that might have been planned for the girl. Nina becomes not merely the victim of a mental shock that might have ex- cused much that followed, but the per sonification of so many unlovely traits that she alienates the sympathy of thy audience in the beginning and perpetu: ates the estrangement through to the bitter end. Her emotions are given fortissimo ~ emphasis, where a more subtle repression would have been more eloquent. Even the sweet calm that fol- lows the interlude retains an undue | potion of bitterness. and dig away—and dig away and dig | away—at the sensibilities and emotions | ence enjoy it, well—the end justifies | beauty to stark ugliness, that has given In her hands | | actual existence of the mental condi- | They were guilty of J ty against | King O'Neill and mmfl;:,:;:nkg. B. M. McK. POLI'S—“Blossom Time.” :.“:mflh operetta, “Blossom ' icl und Romberg adapted so skillfully ‘g?ne of the 600 songs and other melodies of Franz Schubert into a charming entertain- | ment, is making its “farewell tour.” It was presented last night, in what is almost its annual appearance here since it was first produced, before a large audience at Poll's Theater. That dig- nified master of ceremonies of things theatrical in Washington, Stoddard Taylor, made a brief announcement be- tween the acts, mentioning that after this tour the scenery is definitely to be stored away and that this is “positively its last appearance”—at least, for a number of years to come. Somehow, the auditor could not help but have, in S‘pl'e of the “final” quality in Mr. Taylor's announcement, a strong ‘suspicion”—as the delightful Papa ranz of the play would say—that this is a Patti sort of “farewell.” There probably were few in the audience who | had not heard this operetta before, yet there were no signs of boredom. At the end of the performance just as many people going out were whistling or hum- ming the “Song of Love” as have whistled and hummed it after much earlier performances. Probably just as small a percentage of those humming it last night knew that it was the first theme of Schubert’s exquisite “Unfin- | ished Symphony” which they were hum- | ming, as they did after the first prese: provi s one of the most satisfying song “hits’ of a decade. Moreover, when s |one finds a work that has survived as excellent, and if George Gaul permits O'Neill's sardonic humor to become comedy stuff in his characterization of Charles Marsden he can place a lion’s share of the blame on an audience las night that was given to fits of giggling and tittering—threatening at times the nice balance of the play. This may have been due to the presence of large numbers of flappers whom somebody let loose without realizing the consequences. | a musical play so many seasons and still delights, as it did the audience last night, with the balanced pleasure in buffoonery and marvelous music well presented, somehow the bugaboo about radio and “talkies” usurping the place of the legitimate theater seems to as- sume more sensible and diminutive pro- portions. There was, for instance, one man in last night's audience who is an iron- guides grea ofty heights of skeleton buildings. This man had seen the worst side of the war life in France. He was what is typically described as | “completely hardboiled.” Yet he had | seen “Blossom Time” five times. Last | night, at the intermission after the sec- | ond act which closes with the scene in which Schubert 1is represented as crushed by his disappointment in love, this ironworker sought an inconspic- ' | uous corner in the lobby to control tears. He brushed them away with a expression of baffled disgust and ad- | | mitted to a pal that “all five times that | | music hits me just that way.” ‘What monument could be more beau- ! tiful to perpetuate the memory of music by one of the world's greatest | | composers than a work such as Rom- berg has compiled for the pleasure of the people who are living and working today? “Blossom Time” just musn’t be | laid upon the shelf. Another tribute last night to the | memory of Schubert was the awarding | of prizes to two youthful pianists who had won a contest conducted under the | auspices of the “Blossom Time” pro | or young pianists playing Schu- mus Fourteen-ye d Everett | Stevens wi ven first prize and little Pauline Slavin, second. Both received baskets of lovely flowers and certificates to study at the Washington College of Mu: from the hands of the Franz Stutz Sedan . Late model, excellent fin- ish, 4 nearly new Kellys, nice motor; to be sold at a sac- rifice for a client. Inspect or ask for demonstration at PACKARD’S USED CARS Kalorama at 17th DE MOLL'S Radio Department This department is managed by one of the best known radio experts in Washington. of sets are made under his All installations personal supervision, which guarantees perfect service to our customers. Let Us Demonstrate the MAJESTIC RADIO We guarantee our prices to be as low as can be found in the city. Special terms. DE 12th & MOLL Piano and Furniture Co. G Sts. Pianos—Victrolas Radios—Furniture THE FEBRUARY SALE OF LIFETIME FURNITURE ...a tasteful Dining Suite for the family that wants to spend only %195 . . .. Those families who love good taste and good quality, but only desire to spend a modest sum for Dining Room Furni- ture, will be interested in the low sale price of this suite with 66-inch buffet and two armchairs. in walnut and gumwood—$195. Ten pieces in all, Schubert of the play, Knight Mac. Grel?r.nwho sang an excellently. was undgr auspices of radio station ‘WOL. DROWNS AS PLANE d_acted the role It seems the local contest As for the production and the per- | formance last night, both were ad- Crashes Into Building at Hartford Field. too. Nell Jewell as Bellabruna and ' gy the Associated Press. Genevieve Naegele as Mitzi gave the leading feminine roles particularly well They all serve the story of Franz Schu. bert charmingly and make it just as | Service, and carryin easy to see again as it was the first|ark. N, time. tons, Belgian Coal Output. BRUSSELS ().—Belgium's coal out- The existing_ stocks at ‘the end of the same month had shrunk to 280,- 1000 tons, which is equivalent to less h week’s production. | 4> HARTFORD, Conn.. “February 4.- | Pilot €. E. Pridham of Boston, fi a plane for the Colonial Air Tr: here early vesterday. struck a small bui River. dropped into the river. came in too low and the pilot e | tempting to land. DROPS INTO RIVER mirable from every point of view. Chief | Mail Pilot Misjudges Distance and honors_should go perhaps to Henry Lyle, the Franz von Schober; Emil de | Tramont as the jealous old count, and | Robert Lee Allen as the “suspicious” old | | Papa Kranz. The ladies all were good, ying or g mail from New to this city, was drowned when_ his plane ng at Brainard Field, near the edge of the Connecticut The plane turned over and The machine was pulled from the | | put in October, 1929, totaled 2.280,290 | water and the pilot’s body recovered. | Officials at the field said the plane dently misjudged the distance in at- | ANNOUNCEMENT! wc are now doing business in our newly en- larged quarters and are inaugurating a new service. 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