Evening Star Newspaper, May 4, 1930, Page 59

'&;I_"heater, Screen and Music Part 4—16 Pages WINNIE LIGHTNER:- /7 “Hold Exer+h l'hq'f”‘ C HARLES (Buboy) ROGERS and UEAN ARTHUR-/rr DELAIDE! HIBBARD- National Players *>0ung Eagles” Falace Scerefrom ~ INGAGH L RKO. Keiths Gentlemen of the Press Department. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The National Theater Players have reached the halfway mark in the season announced and has demonstrated its capacity for casting both new and old plays. A highly appreciative public is facing with considerable protest the theatric Sahara which threat- ens to ensue when the National Players have completed the sched- ule as announced. * % ¥ % ‘The regular road season has been prolonged by the appearance in repertory of Walter Hampden, who compelled the highest admi- ration, not only for his personal craftsmanship, but for the ac- turate literary taste demonstrated in his selection of material. It would be a misfortune for the modern theater to have missed his “Caponsacchi” and perhaps no less a privation to have been without his” artistry in that re- markable mddern mystery play, “The Servant in the House.” An- other reminder of the imperish- ability of Sheridan’s genius will be provided by an all-star cast in the Tapid transit tour of “The Rivals,” which touches Washington, D. C., for one night only on Sunday. * ¥ Xk % As the approaching Summer Pbromises leisure, sometimes an unwelcome leisure, to player folk, there is one department of the drama which goes on forever, toil- ing over the type keys and spin- ning yarns—the press department. Not all these yarns are fiction. ‘The best of them solve the art of impressing simple, indisputable facts with reference to program, prices and personnel with as much literary facility as may be available. The sensational press agent, who seeks to subordinate a plain tale to his aspirations in the arts of fiction, remains uncon- vincing. * % % x The serious side of publicity promotion is exemplified by the announcement of a new organiza- tin which will take its place among those which have labored in large degree apart from the standardized methods system of production. Arthur - Ryan takes ug the task of promoting the new Philadelphia Theater Association with an enthusiasm worthy of so distinguished an enterprise. He makes the statement that it was in Philadelphia that the first pro- fessional theatrical company of which America has any definite record was established. This will possibly be chnllenged by Virginians, who claim that it was ‘Williamsburg which gave original welcome in the New World when the crew and fnssenger list of the Charming Sally arrived, after be- ing rehearsed on shipboard by William and Lewis Hallam for , the presentation of “The Merchant Beau Stratagem.” The top price was 10 shillings, not so much cheaper, after all, than the price lists recently announced since the theaters have consented to study the purses of an audience and take it into their financial confidence. * X ¥ x A performance of “The Rivals,” with a distinguished ocast and a brief engagement, asking only a few dollars:for orchestra chairs, is an evidence of that conservatism which distinguished the theater in some of its most important as- pects immutably through the centuries. * %k k ¥ Some of the choicest spirits that attune themselves to the key of theater publicity in the rhythms of the printing press are recalled distinctly. ~Always their mission to magnify the splendors of others, they have left scarcely the reminders to be found in a pho- tograph. Only pen pictures, in some distinguished instances, are available. X % % Marcus Mayer emphasized his own personality in a manner which caused every editorial de- partment in the country to feel that when Marcus arrived a week or two in advance, the big show had already begun. Welles Hawks, who wrote gratis for the press, but with goodly reward from man- agers for every type of entertain- ment from Charles Frohman com- edy to the Ringling Circus, was a soul of gentlest sympathy, and he left books that caused him to be remembered for his undisguised love of a life of hardship and re- sponsibility, which, in the course of mortal destiny, he had for- saken all too soon. The question was put to him, offhand, “Whom do you regard as having inherited Marcus Mayer’s high silk hat?” ‘Without a moment’s hesitation, he replied, “Si Goodfriend.” Good- friend was a personality of con- centrated elegance. His neatly trimmed beard contradicted the impression that all persons con- nected with the theater were, by some unwritten. law, expected to follow the example of the actors and go smooth shaven. * % Xk * One of the most distinguished publicity men was Bram Stoker, whose novel, “Dracula,” recently became one of the most conspicu- ous successes of book shelf and screen. He contributed the pol- ished English to be expected in the announcements for a British star who prided himself, as Sir Henry Irving did, on the theater’s mission in preserving purity of language. Augustine Daly was a dramatic critic, which means that he also was, in a sense, a pub- licity promoter, but guided rather '* of Venice,” with the farce “Lethe” as an afterpiece. Marylanders have not hesitated to credit the claims of Annapolis with being ioneer in theater bufldlnf in the %MM States, and one of its , early revelations was a play re- cently seen here in revival, “The by his personal idealisms than by mercenary motives. Referring to hats, David Belasco has always worn pretty much the same type of high-crowned hat that Daly |fi invariably favored. Willlam Win- ter was an idealist, who wrote su- perlor to hire, mdb.%nulm- get for much ill-mannered sneer- ing because his standards of ex- pression were so high that they could not be eclipsed in rivalrz, or even imitated. Both of these men were unswerving in devotion to a particular idol, Ada Regan. * X X X One of the best of the theater’s ‘publicity men, Leander Richard- son, was, in a remote manner, re- sponsible for upsetting the almost classical assumptions of theatri- cal discussion. One of the kind- liest of men, though capable of incisive comment which did not flinch from giving pain when it seemed deserved, nor from ac- cepting it in retaliation, left be- hind him a memorable picture, that of a ' broad-shouldered, square-faced man engaged in dic- tating a letter to be syndicated to the general press, and patiently spelling out one word after an- other to a typist, who was ob- viously without experience. Yet the rare tact of the man pre- vented her from suspecting that she was not doing quite as well as the average in her profession. It was Richardson who brought Alan Dale with him from London as an assistant and launched him upon a career which puffed dig- nity to the winds and made sheer smartness the almost universally accepted standard of critical as- piration. Alan Dale was never a press agent, excepting for him- self and at that he was unsur- passable. * kK X% One of the writers well known for books, yet perhaps most lavish with his talents in keeping a ped- estal well polished for a dramatic idol, was Paul Wilstach, the voice of Richard Mansfield, as it spoke into the printing press. He sought as thorough a contrast in his more recent activities as could well be imagined. His book, “Potomac Landings,” at first slow in mak- ing itself appreciated, now holds a valued place on the shelf of every library that gives space to the history of this part of the country. His present congenial occupation is that of providing suitable literary expression to ac- company some of the resplendent illustrations in the works issued by the National Geographic So- clety. His brother, Frank Wil- stach, was one of those who be- come well known in the pub- lisher’s offices as in the playhouse. He devoted years to the compila- tion of a work entitled “Book of Similes,” which drew patronage not only from the scholarly, but also from the careless fun seeker, who read the title casually as “book of smiles.” He and C. P. Greneker, distinctive as a pub- licity man, with talents as an ex- ecutive, were long associated in the Shubert offices. * k * X Wilstach was associated with A. Taxen Worm, one of the most bril- liant and deflant men who ever wrote for or about the theater. He was the antithesis of Charles Emerson Cook, who, during hi services with Belasco, fortifled hl?h intellectual polish with un- faltering suavities and courtly deference. Worm, a short, square- faced man, knew that people did not like his name, the heritage cestry. He made did not care of man- for a certain abru fike Ehat, ner. He made is | Wrong - With ORMA SHEARER A In*The Divorcee Columbia when they heard that Miss Bar- rymore had labeled them “rock ngth, SSalitiis aaskien faay stres st y, grandeur and per- manence, indicated that Miss Barry- more had reversed her former opinion of the local actuaries and was recog- nizing them as what they are. “Rock man!” How solid it sounded—an ob- ject to cling to in time of peril or a steadfast foundation in a neighborhood of shifting sands. At last, we thought, Miss Barrymore has discovered that we are impregnable, immutable, unscale- able and prudential, topped by warning lighthouses " and fortified with heavy guns. Dangerous only when dashed against, sat upon or fallen off of, and as protective to the drama as Gibraltar to the motherland, we were pleased that Miss Barrymore had given us her accolade as such. But Miss Barrymore did not mean the term “rock men” in the way we had hoped. In an interview she said with “a smooth loathing” that New York is “infested with a lot of terrible men who write.” “No one used to pay any attention to them,” she continued, “but now you pick them up in dentists’ offices. I call them ‘rock men'—you know what I mean—the things that creep out from under the rocks after dark. But managers listen to them and their impertinent wise cracks. One or two of them ought to be shot at dawn!” Why, as Miss Nora Bayes used to say, why wait till dawn? We had an op- portunity to excuse our existence last year by appreciating Miss Barrymore's Dlays, “The Love Duel” and “The King- dom of God,” but so lost were we fn admiration of her acting that her drama_ seemed false by contrast. So they did not get along. In Detroit, Newark, Chicago, Washington and other capitals uninfested by rock men the entertainment prospered. They were performed 84 weeks from coast to coast to receipts ranging upward from tidy — too. In childhood he had been the playmate of royalty, and knew diplomatic relationships down to the finest measurement. Why he chose to be even-the highest sal- aried of press agents instead of adopting a career in public life, no one could guess. Perhaps it was due to the defiant nature which found pleasure in compelling peo- rle to welcome him !finmu on he terms which he hi f chose to lay down. The title “highest salaried press agent” was after- ;nrd acquired by the late Will A, age. LL the New York drama critics A felt complimented last week * ok ox % A modern press agent who is willing to accept his just share of hard-earned publicity is Ray Henderson, who has told the world in fine rhetoric.of the mer- its of many of the most distin- guished stars. He writes an article for the Billboard, entitled “What's the Road,” and brings relief to many friends, as they find him concentrating on this rather abstruse line of spec- ulation, instead of setting up poor old Francis Bacon as a rival for the fame of Shakespeare, only A 2T ly as e were a “prop” always in storage .to be brought out when nn(::a. nd CHESTER MORRIS - STANLEY SMITH ‘and " JEANNETTE LoFF-/n *King oftazz” Rialto P Ethel Barrymore Talks By Percy Hammond sums to large amounts. What are known as the box-office “takings” made new heavy-weight records in the show business. It is not surprising, there- fore, that Miss Barrymore refers to New descripts that lurk in dark places until some one uncovers them and they scamper or waddle out into the night. They bit and nibbled at “Abie’s Irish Rose” and Mr. Skinner's “A Hundred Years Old,” as well as at “The King- dom of God” and “The Love Duel,” all of which made both money and Ppleasure. But sometimes, Miss Barrymore, we are the other kind of “rock men.” The theater’s magic makes it possible for us to lead what has been referred to as the dual existence, to_be now the Collossi, then the lizards. We are “rock men” of the bigger type when we like “Journey's End,” “The Green Pastures” or the performances of Miss Barrymore, but our objections to “The Love Duel” and “ Kingdom of God” are ver- minous. In my capacity as an insect I still claim that both of Miss Barry- more’s last year’s plays were shoddy. * K ok X% EARS ago, when George White was beginning his career as a rival to Mr. Ziegfeld, he worried me by his effrontery. Where Mr. Ziegfeld whis- pered it, Mr. White said it out loud, and a Ziegfeld suggestion became a fact in & White revue. If the ladies were nude in the Follies, they were naked in the Scandals, and it seemed that they would go on and on until the City Hall or the Federal Government would be forced to interfere. The theater is now triumphant over law and order. No re- strictions are put upon the taste and conduct of the stage, and a clown can tell your girl a soiled joke in public and make you like it. Mr. White's new show is called “Flying High.” It is one of the best things of its musical comedy kind in Broadway—brash, beautiful, hick, urban, dirty and popular. The girls who dance in it are the prettiest of the coryphees, young, agile and more than usually melodious. They are dressed, of course, in Mr. White’s most expensive method, which, they tell me, au{:nrdx cost and is amenable to taste. Thungl; I have seen a thousand “Fly- ing Highs” in my time, I liked this one of Mr. White's as well as any. Its story is just another scissor-and-glue thing, pasted up and put together in a way that must make Harry B. Smith and the better oldtimers writhe. But it has Oscar Shaw as its grinning hero, Bert Lahr as its clown and a chorus which is the best that Broadway can provide. The heroine, Miss Nell Brinkley, and the villainess, Miss Dorothy Hall, are all that, as Frank Sullivan might say, could be desired. The show is a bang— a rich, swift, dauntless performance, planned cunningly for Mr. White's Broadway. a0 Cadets to Sing for—Pnthe. Fm HUNDRED _midshipmen, accompanied by the United States Naval Academy Band, will be heard in mass singing of “Anchors Aweigh,” the famous Annapolis song, in an Audio Review. Terry Ramsaye sent Tom Ho- gan, director, and two sound camions down to Maryland to record the event, arranged my Marvin McIntyre, Pathe editorial representative in Washington. ‘The cadets assembled before historic Bancroft Hall and singing this song were first brought to the sound screen in Pathe’s “Annapolis.” York’s drama critics as noisome non-| AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday Star, ‘WASHINGTON, [AGE and SCREFN D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 4, 1930. Q &efle 7¢Dfl7 W LoLA PIERCE - Gayety Father of Many. 'ROM an optimistic press agent comes a startling report. Says the gentleman: “George Irving has been the father of pretty near every star in pictures.” Then he hastily adds: “In “The Divorcee,’ he is the father of Norma Shearer for the first time.” All of which seems to indicate that George Irving is to be again a father in this latest starring feature of the heroine of “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney.” Male talent in this revelation of mar- riage rupture is to be enhanced by Con- rad Nugle, Chester Morris and Robert Montgomery. e Reaay for Warm Day!. TKE Fox Theater management re- fuses to acknowledge that “Spring is here” applies only to the open air. It is going to be quite as “Springlike” inside if the ice-cracking machine does its job within the portals of this mam- month sound emporium. And the list of coming attractions should certainly make the Summer months indoors just as delightful as on the open road. ‘Take, for instance, the imminent talkies that are lurking just around the corner. “The Golden Calf,” featuring those two inimitable comedians, EI Brendel and Marjorie White, will be with us at the end of the week; “High Soclety Blues,” with Janet Gaynor and Charlie Farrell taking care of the love pressure area, comes after that, and then in quick succession will follow such looked-forward-to features as the second edition of “Fox Movietone Follies,” “3 Sisters” and Will ers in “So This Is London.” All of which should be rip-snorting, sure-fire, rib-tickling fun. “Song of the Flame." FXRST NATIONAL'S mammoth pro- duction, “Song of the Flame,” which is scheduled for Warner's Earle ‘Theater the week of May 9, is said to parallel in pictures for the sound screen the giant spectacles of the silver sheet in the days of silence and for the first time. Literally thousands of extras, mostly singers, were engaged for its gigantic choruses. Alexander Gray and Bernice Claire sing the principal roles and are supported by Alice Gentle, “famous opera singer”; Noah Beery, whose bari-~ tone voice has been dedicated to the villain's role, music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin and the glories of technicolor, for it is all-colored and a crowning example of the union of sound and colors. ‘The operetta was adapted bach and Hammersteir's well known stage achievement, and was directed by Alan Crosland. “The Caveman” Canceled. (QWING to_ the protracted iliness of George Bancroft, production of his next picture, “The Caveman,” has been canceled. Suspension of this talking production, which was to follow his re- cent vehicle, “Ladies Love Brutes,” has been announced by B. P. Schulberg. At the same time Schulberg made known that Gary Cooper has been se- lected to play '-hehleldinz role in “The from Har- Spolers,” to whicl originally assigned. has been in charge of adaptng the Rax' Cooper, L) wor] adventure is to direct ' Motor, Aviation and Radio News The LIGHT of +he WESTERN MEDONALD™= Teopy Joyck- “Master of Ceremomies” Palace MARCELINE. GLEN ECHO PARK. EXT Saturday, May 10, will be a “red-letter day” for the kid- dies, and grown-ups . too, for promptly at 1 pm. Glen Echo Park will open wide its gates in welcome to the thousands who are always on hand to enjoy the new out- door season. The big free attraction this season will be a magnificent electric fountain, displaying its colorful water sprays every night. These sprays will flow from a series of jets electrically oper- ated, and form various designs while in operation. They play up to a 25-foot height. It is the only device of its kind ever installed in or near Wash~ ington. Dancing in the large ball room will be conducted every week night from 8:30 until 11:30, with music and spe- cial features by David McWilliams’ band of 11. A new ride feature this year is a giant Ferris wheel. Others are the Caterpillar, Carrousel, Old Mill. Aeroplane Swing, Whip, Skooter, Derby Racer, etc. Another new attraction is & golf playing device, the players using regulation golf clubs. More than fifty general amusements will be in operation in the park, with many smaller ones of interest. Parking in the special area this year DAY srd KENNETH MEKENNA-/7" Temple Towwer’ r—'—‘bx Outdoor Amusements. will be materially reduced, and tne Wi Rallway & Electric Co. will operate a special street car service to and from the park. SEASIDE PARK. SEAS!DE PARK, the modern amuse- ment resort at Chesapeake Bea which opens May 24, is built a litth distance back from the water on | ground immediately facing Chesapea! ;Bay. It is a location readily accessible from the Chesapeake Beach Rallway smtmm and the motor road from Wash- ington, |~ 'The old buildings constructed over the water have been removed, except the snb hoube‘," which Wmmflnfl. pooAl - ance pavilion, = swi an other amusements are being prepared by 100 workmen, and excellent progress is reported. The work is being con- ducted by a nationally known construc- tor of amusement gnrh. to have most of the concessions ready somewhat in advance of the opening date. Parking for 1,200 cars will be pro- vided at the park, it is announced, ana there will be more amusements than ever. The swimming pool will be 80 by 100 feet, with flood lights. Eventually a boardwalk all the way to North Beach will be constructed. IF George Gershwin has had a spec- tacular career as the father of “jazz” symphonies with interpolations of the “blues,” so has one of his most famous compositions. Created at a time when there were myriads of doubters who wondered and then applauded, the “Rhapsody in Blue” has been played by probably. every orchestra in the coun- try and in every home either through the radio or the victrola. Certainly its transfigurations and gyrations through our native music halls has been ex- traordinary. Now it takes another jump and lands itself in the talkies. Certainly “The King of Jazz,” Paul Whiteman’s first picture, now hustling them into the Rialto, has handled it with new genius and turned it into a startling dramatic representation, with a background of pastel scenic grandeur that is striking, to say the least. Three distinct shades of blue make up the settings and the costumes, and as if Paul himself and his orchestra aren’t enough, there is a music kK glant piano at which five musicians make themselves merry. All of which Kln_g_i gf Jazz. “jazz” away along with the mothballs and the winter furs, it is encou: - or discouraging, as you will—to find that this primitive type of music is being rehashed with such splendid re- sults. Just a sniff of such melodies as “It Happened in' Monterey” should quicken the most insistently obstinate heartbeat, and make one realize that music and Mr. Gershwin and . ‘Whiteman are budding as pleasantly as the pansies clustered around the roots of Mr. Washington’s monument, Films of Byrd Expedition. THE first print of “With Byrd at the South Pole,” the motion picture rec- ord of Rear Admiral Richard E. leramen, Willard Van der Veer and Joseph T. Rucker, who a companied the Byrd party, were fe at the Ritz-Carlton as the first mem- return. . goes to prove that the popularity of this on forever and ever, just as uld—and don't miss ! Incidentally, inasmuch as the current season has been threatening to pack