Evening Star Newspaper, April 27, 1930, Page 51

AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sundwy Star. WASHINGTON, D. C, | Theater, Screen and Music Motor, Aviation and Radio News Part 4—14 Pages SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 27, 1930. ' JOHN BOLES an LAURA LA PLANTE - /2 * Caprom of “Hhe GuardZ GEORG BEN HENDRICKS - /n “LschesL ove Brutes” Earle T /A\Gl E an SCREEN ROMATNE, CIALLENDER- /\la‘lfi'onal Pla&yers CorLiss PALMER - V4 '-'D'_amaqe_g ':fbu/s‘" i+ ot — Rialto As Playhouses Come and Go BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. In the process of playhouse evo- lution now going forward so visi- bly, there is much that has been fossilized in inquisitive recollec- tion, as well as a great deal at present adjusting itself to new environment. Washington is pe- culiarly interesting in theatrical history which has not had the benefit of precision in research and compilation, largely because a few outstanding-experiences in theater establish the viewpoint and seldom permit an individual to attempt the colossal task of general survey. * ¥ %X % The name Ford was one trans- mitted from Baltimore into com- manding importance in Washing- ton theater lore. It is associated with the Lincoln tragedy, which caused the late Edwin Booth, sensitive because of the part his brother had taken in it, to for- sake his stanchly loyal admirers in the Capital City and compel them to use special trains to Bal- timore in order to enjoy his matchless art. The collapse of the Ford Theater building a good many years ago emptied it of all reminders of the great tragedy of real life which made it known'the world over. ‘Where now the poulterer plies his honorable, though scarcely artistic, vocation at Louisiana avenue near the Market, stands what was long known by the same name, Ford’s Theater. It housed the most distinguished perform- ances and was a favorite place for school exercises in the early Summer. It had one of the few auditoriums which shared with Pike’s Opera House in Cincinnati and Albaugh’s in this city the distinction of success in persuad- ing audiences to climb flights of stairs. No other playhouse in ‘Washington has more thoroughly lost its old identity. * o % X To the northward, on Ninth street, the Strand Theater marks the spot where originally stood Herzog’s Museum, which pro- gressed in its idealism from the display of physical eccentricities to a home whose classical aspira- tions were announced in the change of title to “Academy of Music.” Its sky borders afforded the illusion of shelter alike to Shakespeare and to Harry Blaney melodrama, the latter more nota- ble for its trick effects in scenery than for its felicities of rhetoric. 1t had a brief season in vaudeville wi the name of Hashim was set fleeting competition with at of P. B. Chase, and where this city had its first glimpse of Montgomery and Stone, two young blackface performers clad in suits of green billiard cloth, extraordi- nary in their accomplishmen but then regarded only as a cleveg pair of dancers. They stand out in memory even more vividly than Richard Mansfield himself, who, when he used the Academy stage, suited his own fancy as to the se- lection of plays, but always gave “Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde” on Sat- urday night, sure that whatever the vicissitudes of the week had been, this hair-raising thriller, es- timated then not much more highly than “The Bat” is now es- teemed, was sure to keep the av- erage right and the balance on the proper side of the box office ledger. * k % % Back across the Avenue, where the President Theater now main- tains a highly moral but unprofit- able vacancy, was the old Co-|walk mique, at mention of whose name the country boys in attendance at the market would grin signifi- cantly, because such burlesque: or- ganizations as Lydia Thompson’s B Blondes and Rose Sydell’s Beau- ties afpeared there and set the pace for variety costumes which no pictorial magazine would ven- ture to reproduce, excepting the Police Gazette. It was afterward known as Kernan's Theater and took on the title “Lyceum,” laying a_claim to classical distinction which it never succeeded in de- serving. Its entrance was for many years on Eleventh street, and in the very early days of Washington, when it was known as Carusi’s Hall, entertained many gatherings of social distinction. F street is a comparatively re- cent theater thoroughfare. ‘Met- zerott’s Music Hall stood with its entrance on Eleventh street. A building crash there is hardly memorable at the present day, ex- cepting as it gave rise to a bit of jest that reasserts itself con- tinuously and has even been made the subject of magazine comment on its enduring fascination for popular fancy. A zealous young reporter, making his way among the debris, indifferent to the fact that his personal circumstances enabled him to be well dressed be- yond the usual standards of his calling, ruined a pair of trousers. His valet—for he was of the en- thusiast type that practiced re- porting for love of the art—looked at the ruined garment ruefully and declared that he could not get_the spots off. “Have you tried ammonia?” he|Ch: inquired of the valet. “No, sir,” was the quick reply. “I hasn’t tried ’em on me, but I sure dey’ll fit.” This_little story has remained through the years bright in recol- lection, while far more ponderous ts, | followed by the achievements have _been forgot- ten. When Met: t's Hall was bia Thea- ater d Seene F#om WarTer HAMPDEN:/1 * Caponsacchr” Polis: ANITA PAGE sns ROBERT MONTGOMERY- & “Free ond Essy i Palace/ Marion in Billie’s Role. ACK in 1915, when Billie Burke, after a season on Broadway, was touring the country in one of the best of her farce successes, “Jerry,” Marion Wells had definitely abandoned the mud pie industry in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, .and had begun to perceive that those funny looking creatures in trousers and un- combed hair were “boys”—*“the opposite sex” as she viewed them, growing older. Marion was 10 and, at that age, evinced only the usual flair of youngsters for ‘“make-believe.” Her bent was toward the ballet, for from the time she could firmly she had been trained in dancing. Tomorrow night at the National Theater, Miss Wells will essay Billie Burke’s role in that self-same piece, a iece, which, being broad farce, seems to bear no date. peak of a career ahead, finds Miss Billie Burke still in the flush of womanhood, emerging at ter on the same spot, with the extra advantage of a new F street entrance, the greatest players ap- feax‘ed there. Maurice Barrymore n this theater, while playing in “The Right of Way,” reached the melancholy decision that his re- splendent career must be ended. A return to the Pennsylvania avenue trail which many old- time statesmen have marched, some of them with more convivi- ality than caution, finds the thea- ter known as Poli’s awaiting the fate of annihilation to make way for Government improvements, a fate which the present owners are striving to postpone. As Albaugh’s Grand Opera House, its entrance was on Fifteenth street, where a maze of fire escapes now gives it from the distance the appearance of a cclossal bird cage. And the theater has housed some of the rarest songsters known to opera or concert. For a long time the letter “A” was etched on the glass of the front doors. It was as- sumed by many that it stood for “Albaugh,” but it was placed there by a man named Allen in com- memoration of a managerial su- premacy. It became “Chase’s” and realized the dream of P. B, ase of making vaudeville a style of entertainment which should be as a matter of habit re- ferred to as “polite.” Chase estab- lished himself successfully at what later became B. F. Keith’s Theater. A few steps away is the Schu- ben-nelucoi also };i‘o‘:gt:ed lln lthe program of _arcl ural im- provement. Its greatest historic times out of retirement, but only for an intimate touch with the profession with which she and her husband, Florenz Ziegfeld, have always been identified. Proving, if anything, that kids grow faster than elders grow older. The Jerry role is not entirely strange to Miss Wells. Twice before she has_essayed it, the last time in 1929, in Louisville, with the Brown Players. There the critical compendium was al- together emphatically for her. In pe- titeness and coloring, it may be said there is a remote resemblance between T the two, though most of Miss Wells’ ad- mirers claim for her a more striking resemblance to Irene Castle. However, it is not required that a successor in a role resemble, facially, the predecessor. Suffice it to believe that, in this par- ticular part exploiting a willful young miss who maneuvers two love affairs, Miss Wells will give her utmost. There is, also, about this Jerry char- acter, a particular appeal for women, since it deals, not alone with love, but with a fine array of garments dear to a woman's heart, riding habits, pink peignoirs and modish gowns. interest lies in the fact that the site was occuPled by the homes of James G. Blaine and other dis- tinguished Americans. The National Theater has seen many other playhouses come and go. It has been immutable in policy excepting for the decision that the word.“new” should be dropped from its title. Many ob- jected, feeling that it would be almost as reasonable to attempt to leave the “New” off New York. An up-to-the-moment innova- tion in the way of forward devel- opment is the employment of the Fox Theater for a short season in concentrated brilliancy of grand opera. When it burst with daz- zling illumination on the F street scene a very few years ago, it was predicted that it would realize the destiny it has fulfilled with so much splendor as a temple for the theater’s highest art. oo WDARNER B Such Fox Spring Openings GLEN ECHO PARK. 'HE management of Glen Echo Park announces the opening of that re- sort the afternoon of May 10. As in the past, admission will be free. ‘The entire park, it is announced, has been thoroughly renovated, the rides made “peppler,” new “dips” added to the two big coasters and new attrac-| tions and stunts installed in the mid- way, the big fun house. A new fea- ture installed this year is a giant ferris wheel. Other rides are caterpillar, car- rousel, old mill, aeroplane swing, whip, skooter, derby racer. ‘The big free attraction for the sea- son will be a magnificent electric fountain. Dancing in the large ball room will be conducted every week night from 8:30 until 11:30 with music by David McWilllams Band of 11 musi- clans. Parking in the special due:edthh year have been materially re- luced. CHEVY CHASE LAKE. ANNOUNCEMENT has been made that Chevy Chase Lake, suburban dance resort, will open for the season, Wednes- day, May 7, following closely. the closing of Swanee ball room under the Earle ‘Theater. ~ Closing dance sessions of Swanee for the Spring season will take pl:é:a‘ Saturday and - Sunday, May 3 and 4. Meyer Davis dance music will again be the featured attraction at Chevy Chase Lake. Both upper and lower pavilions will house big syncopation units. Carnival and vaudeville nights and novel events will lend variety to the amusement programs at the e. Scenic beauties of the lake are being enhanced by landscape gardening. Stage and Screen Attractions This Week. POLI'S—Walter Hampden in “Richelieu.” Tomorrow evening. NATIONAL—“Jerry,” by National Players. Tomorrow evening. GAYETY—“Rarin’ to Go,” burlesque. This afternoon and eve- ning. FOX—“Such Men Are Dangerous.” This afternoon and evening. PALACE—“Free and Easy.” This afternoon and evening. EARLE—‘“Ladies Love Brutes.” This afternoon and evening. R-K-O-KEITH'S—“Ingagl.” This afternoon and evening. METROPOLITAN—“Mammy.” This afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—“Puttin’ on the Ritz.” This afternoon and evening. RIALTO—"“Captain of the Guard.” This afternoon and evening. LITTLE—“Dam ed Souls.,” This afternoon and evening, Y XTER-= lerare Dongerous” WESLEY | Eopovy- | ‘Was+ter Qr/’ ” 177017185 Pa!ace, 5 JOAN DBENNETT- ' onthe Ktz - lumbia Warner Baxter's Disguise. WAflm BAXTER'S metamorphosis in “Such Men Are Dangerous” is sald to be so complete that even his best friend can't recognize him. This is not an advertising gag for a certain hygenic company. Mr. Baxter, in fact, is said to have fooled his own grandmother and other members of his family’s personnel. How- ever, in spite of everything and every- body, he has not been able to escape the careful eye of Elinor Glyn, who claims that he has that intangible “It” quality more than a dozen or more of Hollywood’s smoothest sheiks all wrap- ped up into one. And thus does the star ' of “Lombardi, Ltd.” erstwhile Broadway success, and “In Old Ari- zona,” the first outdoor talking picture, cling to one of his most valuable assets; for as long as Mme. Glyn can recognize him, what matters if the rest of the world passes him by? [ — Herk Is Here. AMONG those seen on the broad aisles of Washington during the past few days has been I. H. Herk, president of the Mutual Burlesque ition, with his assistant, itt Callahan. ‘These two promoters of pulchritudi- nous burlesque revues have been in con- ference with Manager Jimmie Lake of the Oguuy, who assured them that this year as Francis Williams would say, “bigger and better than ever.” However, to make things even better, Mr. Herk has announced that his weekly shows will be augmented by outstanding stars plucked from the spot- light of other Mutual shows. Flavin Wins the Prize. medal for the best play “written by an American during the past season” has been awarded to Martin Flavin for “The Criminal Code” by the 500 members of Theater Club, Inc. ‘This dnm‘: of pflsgxw}lfib which wn; supposed to come ington an then mysteriously collapsed en_ route, was one of the most popular plays in New York. Previous that have won award l.nclug:.!.mlg’l ‘Wite,” “Capon=- sacchi” (which theater lovers of this | somq chance to see under 's tutelage at Poll’s), and “Sireet Scene,” city will have a ‘Walter ““Coque this | sile HELEN PACHARD tand RUTH ARDELL- (S?Ff:;e) i What’s Wrong on the Road? “’rfl! death of the spoken drama,” which periodically we are assured is close at hand, says Ray Henderson, popular advance agent, “is due in part, we are told, to the commercialism of the legitimate theater, which has all but crushed the flowering art of the drama and the actor. “We are also asked to believe that before some order was brought out of | by the chaotic business conditions in the American theater, actors and producers lived in a blisstul heaven of estheti- cism, wherein only the good, the true and the beautiful mattered and the sin- ful dollar was ignored. The palmy days, gone beyond recall, are mourned and in their stead is the institution of today, which slowly but very surely must die— strangled by the profiteers. “All of which is more than absurd. the theater today is in more of a recarious condition than it has been several decades, it is but repeating what has hngpened several times in its history. In fact, even now it is not at S0 low an ebb as it has reached in the past, for public indifference or antag- onism has completely closed the doors of the playhouse in other eras. one.may depend on the insistent law of g\;‘mly and demand and the economic lan York caters, broadly :Enkzn( to floating population w] is standard and frequently of vulgar pref- erences. Too much is thot audience. draw crowds outside of. New York. ~And so, while the road may be in & difficult position at the moment, it is more than evident that the trouble is not public indifference so much as the methods of the theater itself. There are ample grounds for asserting that the public is as desirous of Spoken drama as it ever was, but there is also ample proof that the public, hav- ing for years been educated to what is worth giving time to and ing money on, is a wise public. “When producers, who sit in New York and do not know and take amag- ingly little troul “The public today shows evidence of | being as keen to see the spoken drama as it ever has been. “Take, for instance, the Stratford- Upon-Avon Players, who this year made their second tour of Canada and the United States. ‘Without a star, without 'fi‘: nfl: of an ldclgx;':wwn to the nub; at large an a_repertory , this company had the de- lig! experience in many places of weekly receipts w] would plenie" e hea¥t of any manager of a musical comedy. WE; is this writer's opinion that the road could he brought back to the le- gitimate theater .nl.a men with real com- mercial sense daring would hold of the situation. “The ncroft tips take | and Flelds is 15 as facturer of any staple merchandise, road will be as it once was—the real balance side of the theatrical ledger.” Rough Gents in Film, prize ring lost & pair of hard- slugging, heavy-weight = gladiators when Geor Bancrott and Staniey Felds decided to devote their talents motion picture acting, judging from the fight which they have in “Ladies Love Brutes,” now at Warner's Earle Bal tips the scales at 195 pounds heavier. takes were ne in scenes when the two battlers too interested in fists SRt s S Ives e audible pict: Before the retakes the decided to insure their safety guard railin cameras. ha mcu:a in mn'z"ot fimrm' e is supposedly one ummmm'-m of the most filmed. Py