Evening Star Newspaper, March 1, 1933, Page 25

From the Front Row Reviews and News of Washington'a Theaters. By E. de S. MELCHER ! Paul (“Scarface”) Muni Would Like to Do Comedy. 0,” sald Actor Paul Muni, 6 they wouldn't have me in that kind of role. Can you imagine me doing & Charles Ruggles? You probably can't. Neither can they. But I should like that. Yes—a com- edy role. part in & Noel Coward play, for instance. A light, gay char- acterization. I am so tired of being _ wrought up. You have no idea how these ‘Scarface,’ fugitive roles have gotten me wrought up. I'm just like this now” —he clenched his hands, his jaws seemed to tight- en, and he sat bolt upright on the hotel sofa looking grave and & trifle worn. Then in another minute he was smiling, looking very cheerful under that mop of thick black hair (slightly grayed from his “Counsellor- at-Law"” powdering). and discussed the theater world with a twinkle in his eye which makes you believe that is belief in his own comedy powers is well founded. Mr. Muni is an actor worth talk- ing to. He is more than an actor— he is a philosopher and something of a wit. He will tell you one min- ute about the “theaterless theater” which he plans—a Utopia, without scenery and doors (doors bother him), and in which there shall be nobody but “hundreds of Ruth Drapers.” And in another minute he will be jumping up to see what the message at the door was, whistling to his wife (it might be a code in which he is sayin “Can’t go out now—the press has got me cornered”), and then relaxing sud- denly and airing his hopes and his ambitions, which have to do not with becoming the world's greatest Ham- let,” but in doing everything he has to do “perfec 5 He would like to do comedy, not be- cause it would be a new experience for him and just a “lark,” but be- cause in the old days (he has been on the stage for some 25 since he was a “wee bairn’ a pretty thorough training in it. The role he enjoys most having ed Paul Muni. stage duction in which his characteriza- tion was that of a man who got a laugh out of everything in life—who found humor tucked away in a cor- ner of even the deepest eragedy. That is Muni, too. He is Scar- face” ane minute, the “Counsellor- at-Law” the next. and suddenly he will blossem out with a grin which is 8 happy mixture of the child, the humorist, the philospher and the genial commentator on the theater and its function. He does not like talking about his brother and sister actors. “It isn't up to me to say whether they are good or bad,” he says modestly. e Muni will be delighted when he can shave off his mustache. “In the meantime, however,” he says, “it is doing me geod. No one recognizes me this way." That is true. No one would think of Scarface with a mustache. The cinema world thinks of him as clean-shaven, with a long scar down one cheek, a giant dia- mond stickpin, suits that are pinched in at the waist and a mouth that ly down at the corners. personality as you talk to him is curiously magnetic. At first he shy, almost too modest. u realize that this is something of a calm before a storm—that hg is thinking deeply— and in another second he is sitting back, his eyes off somewhere in a distance, his face tense, his eyebrows slightly puckered, his manner vital and his words full and deep with meaning. You might call him an intense dreamer. is dream of a “theater- less theater” is an indication of this. He forgets, however, that the theater 1sn’t overburdened with Ruth Drapers and that there aren't a fistful of Munis. “The trouble with the movies is, he will tell you, at every one is trying to copy some one else. They all want to see that you fit in other people’s shoes. You must be either a Gable, or a Barrymore—or somebo like that. What I want alw and alw —and he became momen- tarily tense about this—*is to be my- self. No matter what I do—I want always to create a role as I see jt— not the way some one else sees it.” THEH ECET CO:s La Petite Electric Dry Cleaner & Washer works just like magic! $3.95 Only 40 to Sell You can dry clean dozens of non-washable articles. La Petite is quiet, efficlent, safe and sanitary. Portable, com- pact, convenient . . . weighs only 10 pounds. = Complete with 6-ft. electric cord. (Pitth Floor, The Hecht Co.) Tomorrow: ‘Munt |likes the moyles—for a time— but the stage is first and foremost with him. He will do another pic- ture for Warner Bros. in the Spring. But He doesn't think he would be any gopd as a movie director. Un- like Actors Leslie Howard and Eva Legallienne, his talents don't seem to fit that way. “Actors I could manage, but lights and film prop- erties—never,” he says. * k% K It is true'that he doesn’t want to be starred—that he signed his film contract with a clause in it provid- ing that he should only be “fen- tured.” His name never appears above the play—always just below. A few years ago he was starred, but it didn't seem right to him. “It doesn't do you or the play any good—it doesn't do any one any good.” Muni is 37. He is not so tall as you might imagine, but well built. He might be a boxer. He has played thousands of roles. “I've even played in musical comedv. Yes. I sang and I danced. ‘Maytime.’ Do you remember it? Well, it was translated into Yiddish And I was the young man init. Yes, sir.” From musical comedy to old men roles, to “Scarface,” to “I Am a Fugitive” and “Seven Faces” (re- member when Muni appeared in person at the Fox a few years ago?) this is the “Counsellor-at-Law"—the man who was voted one of our first actors last season—whose work, particularly in the fugitive Tole, marks him as an actor of force and an actor of imagination. Muni's personality, like his acting, is strong, too. He has his likes and his dis- likes. He thinks Noel Coward is the most brilliant person in the theater today. He likes Mae West. “After all, say what you will,” he said yester- day with another twinkle in his eye, “she is/ always herself. She is Mae ‘West. What more can you say of an actress?” Washington's Players “A SCRAP OF PAPER.” ‘HE Bartfield Players’ offering of “A Scrap of Paper” last night at the St. Stephen’s Parish Hall proved a choice bit of light and hu- morous entertainment. Real acting ability and the effective use of make- up more than offset their youthful ness. Although the presentation their previous plishments in the the matter of diction, the actors showed promise of overcoming this obstacle. Howard Whitfleld as Prosper Couramont developed the lovable and yet mischievous masculine lead with poise and reality. Mlle. Su- zanne de Ruseville, Janet Weideman, portrayed the fun-loving and self- sufficient rich gifl with true zeal. Jean Smith as Mile. Zenoble and Willlam Austin Davis as M. Brise- mouche were foils that acted as surprisingly necessary ahs to the others and in a manner that was as natural as it was amusing. Kath- erine Bishop, Bryon Fields, Helen Briy James Rauls, Edna Mae Miller, Carl Carlson, Mary Etta Cal- lahan and Deane Bryant completed the cast. entertainment by two radio stars, Elmira Kahn and Ray Robinson, was provided between the acts. 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