New Britain Herald Newspaper, April 1, 1927, Page 31

Mrs. Insull and Frederick G. Lewis, as they ap- peared in the play called “Dice of God.” This was the role for which Mrs. Insull’s son and other critics thought she was “not tough enough” OME twenty rs ago, when S Samuel Insuli, Chicago public utili- magnate, married a pretty | lys Wallis, a part Gladys Wal- And for a f Gladys soubrette, named of the marital pact lis should not lon quarter of a centu Wallis was unhe: Samuel Insull wa home of the man pot-hooks to power-lines, ¢ lished in Chicag ret son, Samuel Insu! Chicago =ociety, Mre, Samuel Insu er, was shocked last ement of the return wife of its t lettered soc fall by the annot to the s ge of the action and pt 1 magnate, its head. The preliminary peated when large, blac ter’s announcing “Mrs. Insull’s Season” blossomed all over the city. Tongues acked. Mrs. Insull was tired of being only Mrs. Insull. Her hus- band had a life of his own, and here the name of an opera singer or two She was going to have a lit- on of her own. As has been said, tongues clacked, but on the opening night of Mrs. Insull’s ap- pearance at the head of her own reper- company, ciety was th shock was re- -lettered pos- mentioned. tle self-express toire gowned in its be jewels, to welcol plaud, and to watch with curious eyes the expression of the white-haired, rubi- cund Sam Insull, in the third row, with his son. Mr. Insull had beer dead set against the project, goss But he smiled affably, even when his wife made stage- love to another man, applauded gener- ously, and made tactful replies to glow- ing comments after the performance. gues stopped for a time, but when 'r two months and a half of operation, announcement made that Mrs. Insull’s theater project was to terminate on January 15, they broke out again. Gossip in theatrical circles was that Mrs. Insull's repertoire theater company had been operating un- der a thousand-dollar-a-day deficit. Gossip in social circles was that the wise and canny millionaire, who had risen from stenographer to magnate, and who also knew something about art and temperament, knew the venture would be a “flop,” but thought it cheap at a reputed $200,000 loss, if his wife is cured of her desire to be &n actress. Whether she or not, only time will tell, but it is b:lieved that Mrs. Insull will give up her project to establish “a per- manent dramatic organization for Chi- cago to offer worth-while plays that will enlist attention on its merit: The Studebaker Theater was leased by Mrs. Insull’s organization for five years. The sum of $80,000 was paid for the lease, and the rent was 885,000 a year. When the notice of termination of the 1926-7 season was made public, it was announced that the company’s season will begin again next October. ip said. The clacking tc was This, too, was regarded as doubtful along the Rialto and among Mrs. In- friends. That the pretty little lady, with the dark eyes and the beautiful teeth, has spirit and grace, her audiences do not deny, nor that she acts her part well. But they ) 1 rcks that magnetism, that charm has a pulling power across th footlights sull’s is a mechanic tress,” said one eritic. e goes through her part with spirit and charm, but it remams a part.” Mrs. Insull’s opening production was “The Run away Road.” Her personal triumph lacked nothing arently, with many re- calls, floral tokens, much applause, laughter, and out in front her smil- ing husband and frankly adoring son. An awning and a red carpet from curb to ap| responsive antrance,a masses of flowers added to the g: note. Although the audience was made up of the cream of Chicago and Lake Forest society, friends of the Insulls, it came, too, as critical body to be And it llis Insull’s That “shown.” wis won by Glady: epirit and cha wa, vember 1 After the first night, the audiences were fairly good, and Chicago soclety became accustomed to having pretty Mrs. Insull dash away from teas or luncheons for a rehearsal, or refuse din- ner invitations because of an 8 o’clock curtain. It became accustomed, too, to her empty box at the opera, particularly conspicuous on the opening night, when Mr. Insull, as head of the Chicago Civic Opera Company, was an important figure. But when the second production ap- peared, “The Dice of God,” things did not go so well. Young Samuel Insull jr., scated in the front of the theater with his bride, the former Adelaide Pierce, and his father, unwittingly summed it up “Oh, mother’s not tough enough,” he commented, as he watched his mother go through her role of a Paris gamin. He was right. Mrs. Insull wasn’t tough enough. She wore her short, perky checke - skirt, her sleeveless satin blouse, her gamin-like hat with the quills stuck through, as she might have worn costume. She wasn't really Marie, the street gamin. uerade & And Why Her Husband Is Believed to Think the $200,000 He Spent on Her Try at a New Stage Career Money Very Profitably Invested Boxes in the Chicago theater which Mr. Insull leased at great Vhen, a short tin expense for his wife and her “\“““ mays i mcement was theatrical company e that S »:M\Ilhv in which Underneath the clothes of M was still pretty, petite Mrs. Samucl In sull, so at home behind a silver tea-urn m so gracious in her own drawing-room on Lake Shore Drive, with the bronze of Duse on the table and the antique Chi nese chests in the hall. As the play sprogressed and Mar: gamin-like ways were tamed by her lov for Jean, the more real. She sh don, and the eritics wvho wanted to be most kin acting z to do. aimi good . well ¢ What 1 s ven- a fad, nor it an effort to e and 1 | ; ive that ire you society-actress becam theater. t cniertainment, wed fire and aban our goa “I have be sked how T} ened to 1 can only an- thing to her could only say tha venture wed a real talent for anted to de ni for the sake and paint I believe in s Hospital building fund. ally turnad to t She was a “hit,” and the actress who ¢ . My bad be.i carried off from the footlights return , throug £ Copsright, 192, by Jonnson Feaiures, lme ed interested, and I won- rst-class professional organi- go and for € public appeal. the Repertoire Theater Com- an Illinois corporation, was organ- ized and the fine Studebaker Theater taken over for a term of year. the Stuc ago would Thus it came “In appearing at nal exploitation is furthest fr mind. The ensemble prese play is what counts and not whether I, or nmember of the company, ave the chief role. The idea got abro first that we were going to do freak Of course, that is not the case er, per- m my ation of the are hard to get, plays that the Il go to see, but that is the sort I trust I am broad- appreciate that the stage fe to be interesting, is not sufficient reason to dram- vulgar things of life—a at we are after. ded and - reflect real | hat atize the low anc tendency 1 am sorry to see creeping into the Americ the T, “The average man or woman wants to go to the theater to be entertained—not shocked. 1 hope our enterprise will be understood by Chicago theatergoers and that what we do will merit their roval.” banded Jan- And in the final summing up of her efforts to start a permanent repertoire company, she is given credit for producing playwrights The fi Mrs. Insull’s company uary 15 and returned to New York among other things, the plays of two new play, “The Runaway Road, iretchen Damrosch Finletter. r of the famous Walter Dam- The second play, “The Dice of was by James Joseph McGinnis. And Samuel Insull, one of the mpor- men of America, who was once Thomas Edison’s office boy, and who now Mrs. Samuel Insull, the rich and fashionable society woman, whose attempt to re- sume the stage career she abandoned when she married was far from the success she hoped id transit system, ts grand opera, f a handful Many other wealthy husbands prob- ably would be glad to spend as much or more in order to cure their wives of their desire to express their ar selves on opera or in a Iptor’s stulio, ought that Mr, Insull was ple for other restless ging his wife’s theat- have changed their ¥ now real that he was as ited in handling this e is in handling s. He seems to e victor by pretending f and backing Mrs. with princely generosity T ‘nsull and her high- any of yers ended their the stage or in grand nter's or s settin, bad e women by encou itions admit s When ried c again next fall. cied that this was only a on her manager’s ouragement of playing large banks of vacant will make another at. back” as an actress. disheartening than the poor attendance were the comments of he critics who kindly but frankly Y woman’s limita- 1ess for the roles she fompt to Even more nted out the ns and her un attempted Of course, Mr. Insull's lease of the theater he provided for his wife still has that's a trivial wealth. Per. pened to Mrs, Insull’s venture, some other millionaire, with a the. ally ambitious wife, will take over the lease. four years to run. B matter for a man of hi in view of what