The sun. [volume], February 24, 1918, Section 2, Page 2, Image 18

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920

Image provided by: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation

                
THE SUN, StiNDAY; FEBRUARY .24, 1918.
lew Plaus for the
Ttteatre WeeK
i
W HM III
EMILY STEVENS
FUTURE "
By LAWRENCE REAMER.
. tirt"-i is ... , .., ,
OLMJ a woman at this Mage or
civilization's progress bo com-
jwlied merely In order' to make I
facst man of the' futher of her I
an ho';
child suffer the mortification of enter
ing any such medlreval state as matri
mony? dr must she In order to defer
to t some mossgrown social conventions
marry the man s.he proposes to flvo
with In a stato of so much greater
Independence that not a cent of
his $2,000 a year shall necessarily
be! expended on her? These two prob-
lems are suggested In plays' thut'are'l
Jut now offered to the most en-
llvlilnArl Mnu tif f linntritiTOprM mid
making their appeal moreover with
.,,,-,-t, t ,u. i t
Uer over the public demand for enter- !
talnmeut which must depend on con
ditions, far removed from its own
octal .'experience.
Writers for the- stage who are In
spired by the influence of G. B. SUur
are numerous now. When a man) wlTO
hah sat for years under H'.ays of all
kinds and witnessed the success and
failure of so many delilwrately elects
to adopt the formula of narrative en
livened by smart talk as his own there
must bo a good reason for' such a
eeurse. n cannot altogether be that
BUch plays are easier to write than I
those which really make some defer-
enee to a recognized science of drama- Simpler subjects and o".der methods
turgy. They may be less difficult to ( are evidently too outmoded for the
create, but there Is no adequate com- ng minds wllcll ar ,llrect01, to Ule
pensatlou In tho end for the outlay of i , . . ,,
lmo and trouble In comparison with n,catr of ,,,e ,rcsP,,t wPtlon.
the rewards or the playwright so for- might bo suggested Incidentally that
tunate, as to combine subject and form. I the foi inula of goo J pluywrltlng does
As a concrete specimen of the kind of I "ot vary, from generation to genera
popularity iwHslble to a play of brll- Hon, whatever the opinion on that
liant talk, one need take the case of subject may be. and what won in the
no more remote production than "Mis- , days of Sardou Is certain with appro
alliance." Nobody would be so misled prlato alterations to suit the present
as to pronounce this bit of talk the ' times, .to exercluo its potency as of
boat of even tho second best brand of ( yore. Hut the playwright of the ai;e
Shaw. It was played at tho Uroad- !s disdainful of a subject that Involves
hurst Theatre by an expensive group ' Uny theme less audacious than the
of actors for some five- weeks. marriage of a heroine to the father of
BBBjiPPBi gggggj i ir"5BBfRi,v. titagT"!. - Jt''f fjjjp jLilmKtifwr i
BjBajjBEtV . 'gggggmmgmfl I I I IBPvHjKS BSafffiL.' i" "141 f g dt1ggggggsltsggstk m
' I
in "the madonna of the Hi II IBHniHUIPIHnoHIIMlBBHBMINl
Then after a few representations IB
other clttu Mr. Favershsm dislanded
,he com()any, Pew r,prtl,entotions in
pthpr rlt'p.s nrc the ustiiil xnmm.-irv iif
the Shaw dramas after they depart
from New York.
Of course. Maugham Is about as
destitute of any knowledge of writing
for the stage as Shaw. It Is one thing
tn lir. flir. nltthnp ,f twnt ttttlo t..lv4
like, "Caroline" mill another to write u !
play on the subject of the satiety of the
attainable which shall appeal to some
thing more than the ears of the audi
ence. It is rather less difficult to
write the essay, a anybody who hns
attempted tlio, composition of a play
ran well understand. The late Hubert
Davies and of course Stanley Hough-
i tun. who wns rather more original
I voi tn,ul D;IV0' although they
'.did not approach Shaw in the brl'.-
llanrv f "toKe r In the abundance
of his Ideas, kept as closely a he
to the tityle of dramaturgy according
to which his drama are Cushioned.
Obviously ;theri j no other form
of playwrlttng that appeals to the
young writer of the day. Audacity
'of Idea, so much smartness of dia
logue us possible, occasional sketches
of character It is to theso phases of
the drama that tho youthful writers
of the day turn. Evidently any other
school of theatre Is altogether too old
fashioned to appeal to the men who
a"" entering tho Held as playwrights.
lw" tMpQgES ih, M gfi?gCgZrr "StCIC-A-BED" . y j(V "THE MASTER" K C l3 HT LEV in 7WEL OFF CHANCE JT lj J
her child merely to add a look of coit
venttonal respectability to the poor I
man.
Hut there are playwrights with
other Ideas and managers who tako
less modern views of th subject.'i
which appeal to the taste of audiences
to-day. There Is u certain old fox In ,
New York, jurt as there used to be a
certain one at Murly-le-Koi. That par
ticular fox earned his name not only
through the skill with which he wrote
nuccessful plays through so many
years, but by the unfailing insight
which he revealed in selecting tho
subjects in which the public was In
terested at a particular time. When
the subject of the foreign spy w.is In
the air "Dora" was given to the
Ftage, when divorce Interested rails
"Divorcons" illustrated Its lighter
phases to the amusement of the whole
world, and the first Intimations of tlx
powers of anarchy In Russia brought
out "Fedora." In this way did the fo
of Marly gain ills title.'
The other fox our own fox, that is
ha hN habitat In West Forty
fourth street, although his trail is
spread Just now over the whole of the
L'nlted States. He doesn't allow him-
iel to he diverted to thf conslriero-i
lion of such questions us to whether
r not insurgent young mothers should
l ignomlnlously compelled to mairy
the father of their children or whetner
ihc stale device of matrimony should .
lie forced on young women who much .
prefer to allow tho objects of their
affection to gain their fullest udvan-
PLAYS OF THE WEEK.
MONDAY Thirty-ninth: Lee Shubert presents William Hodge i:
"A Cure for Curable," by Earl Biggers.
Gaiety Theatre: KUw ft Erlanger present "Sick-a-Bed," a
farce by Ethel Watts Mumford.
Metropolitan Opera House: Helen Moller and her pupils give
a matinee of dancing.
Lexington Theatre: The Masks, Inc, begins a stock season
in "When Rogues Fall Out" .. ,- v- s
tagc- as scientists than to accept them
as husbands. No, the fox of the Be
lasco 'Iheitre believes there are other
topics In the world that are Juet na
Interesting and much more permanent
In their power to entertain tho public,
which does not ever crave a new sen
Mition hoi 1' the mouth or the last cry
of Hro.ulway sensationalism.
If ono may Judge by hi success,
thero aro many different kinds that
make up a world. He ought, however,
to be eminently satisfied with his own
prosperity during the past few years.
There must undeniably be a public for
the audacious d-ama of the new writ
ers who see in tho theatre place for
neither technique nor morals, succean
ful us this school may seem. It there
were any icitson for doubting that
there Is such a piflillc there would lie
reason to question the slyness of the
fox of Forty-fourth street: and noth
ing could shatter our confldenco in
that wisdom.
There wjs one important difference
between the first showing of "The
Copperhead" at tho Phubert Theatre
the other night and the usual condi
tions under which f-uch enterprises are
launched in,tt)istrlty. IKere were no
ujuowartl accid'ejts. No1? scenery fell
over' rfnd .no fuVnlture broke down.
TTtefe we're' no Idjbd sounds of c.irpcn
tertnic from the wing nor were there
any calls for physicians from the utage.
On the contrary, the play proceeded
Just us its promoters had intended it
.should, and the result was such an
Uncommonly smooth performance that
the audience, accustomed to the UMial
mishap., sat In pleasant satisfaction
at such an unprecedented state of af
fairs. For there have been many troublous
first nights this winter. Who will
lorget '.'The Wooing ot Eve," with
such au amount of carientering go
ing on' behind the scenes during the
second act that Miss Taylor was al
most In tear, while the wise mem
bers of thd audience wondered If the
stagn manager hud nt such a late
hour taken up the hopeless task of
supporting Mr.Manners's dramatic con
struction from the outside. Hut noth
ing so foolhardy had been undertaken.
At the ftrrtt representation of another
gorgeously poor farce theio was not
only the subsidence of n platform, but
a pair of broken legs was udde.l ti
the other financial liabilities occurred
on that fateful evening. Miiyl that
financial lo.s accounted for tho ltn
rovement that followed. Managers
are sensitive to such reminders.
At the Empire Theatre "the other
night the audience had tho sensation
of being In Stamford, Wilmington, At
lantic City or some, other outlying cen
tre of civilization and art, in which 1
1 tho inunagerH take their first chances ,
with the' masterpieces later intended
for toe entertainment or mo metropo
lis. Rarely has i play been put before
an audlenoo so carelessly 'prepared as
was "Tho Off Chance." And It was
a play of the kind that could 111 tol
erate much care and preparation.
THE WEEK IN THE THEATRES.
KI.AW A ERl.ANC.Elt will pre
sent "Slck-a-Iod," a new
farcical comedy, by Ethel
Watts Mumford. nt the'C.jiety Thea
tre to-morrow night. The play tells
the story of a dashing young explorer
who returns front' Africa to find his
nunt suing his uncle for divorce. Ilk
Is eagerly awaited nit the only wittier
who con swear to the defendant's phi
landering in Spain. Now, the young
I explorer has been Indulging In u llttlo
flirtation with "auntie." who Is very
much younger than "uncle," and he
'fears that if she is once free he muy
I have to marry her. So to avoid going
on the witness stand he readily con-
. nents to pretend to he 11JV Then tho
play goes on to reveal how ho fnlls In
I lovo with his pretty nurse, and she
I with him and how the aunt and uncle
nro finally reconciled.
i The piece Is produced under the di-
LUBHIIIIH. m- HfflglcccccK.
LAURETTE TAYLOR
iction of Kdgnr MucOrotror and It
will be anted by Mary Holafid, Edwin
Nlrinder, George I 'arson. Charles K.
Evans, Dallas Welfnrd, John Flood,
Mary Nawcombo, .lulla Ralph. Frank
Connor. David Uurton. Edward O'Con
nor and others.
l.ee Shubert will present William
Hodge hi "A Cure for Curubles" at
tho Thirty-ninth Street Theatre to
morrow for the first tlmo. The play
comes to New York after more than
half the reason spent Biiccessfully In
other cities. "A Cure for Curables" is
a comedy In four acts, written espe
cially for the stur by Earl Derr Rig
gers and Lawrence Whitman and sug
gested by Corni Uarrls's short atory
of the same name.
In "A Cure for Curables" Mr.
Hodgo plays tho role of a young Ken
tucky physician who has inherited a
rest cure sanitarium from' an uncle.
There la a provision In the will, how
ever, that tho young physician must
effect ten cures within thirty day,
else the title will pass Into other hand.
When the physician atrlves to take
charge ho Is met with a storm of op
position, aggravated by his vigorous
refusal to dlsj ense medicines and
drugs to the inmates. Thero Is not
an inmate, he maintains, who cannot
be cured with a i.lmple doso of prune,
but the order ar.frers his patients and
they te to leave the institution in a
body. Hy a series of devices and In
sistent pleading hit manage:; to pre
servo most of hl.i patients, but nt last
they il-elde to leave. Then Mr. Hodge,
us the physician, realizing that only
three days remain in which to makn
good on tho terms of the will, fools
his "incurables" into curing them
selves, winning '.ho title to 'the sanl
turlum and the pretty daughter of a
wealthy patient In the bsrgaliv
In addition to Mr. Hodge the cost
includes Clare Moore. Ada C. Nevll.
Adelyn Wesley, Can-on Davenport,
Ceorge I.und, Edith Sh.iyne, Franchon
Duval, Charles E. Verner. Harold
Vhlte. Edward Woim, Oeorge Iturr,
Clarnueo Rellalr, IloU'it Wayne.
Frodei ick Stronu'i llrlgham Roycft,
IN "HAPPINESS "
David Marshall," Joseph Weber, Jur.ei
H. Lewis, James C. MaluJdy, Arthur
E, Sprague and Fort Record.
On Monday afternoon Helen Moller
and fifty of her pupils will appear st
the Metropolitan Opera House, lotho
accompaniment of the Orchestral So.
clety of Now York, under the leader
ship of Mux Jacobs. Miss Mollrr ar. J
her troupe will give a programme of
Oreek dan.ee and interpretation nf
musical masterpiece. The Metropoii
tan Opera House appearance of th
I joung American dancer mars an tm
l portaut step In her career, ttnaMli.g
her to prosei.t for the first time on a
largo cale the result of her last f
jear in New York. Mia MnlUr cairn
from Wisconsin to study pisno and
singing. She then became a atudirr.l
of duncing. When she appears .it the
Metropolitan Opera House, tho t '!:!.
backgrounds against which the ilum
ers tnovo and their draperies will t
of her own creation.
"When Rogues Fall Out" desci.tfl
as an "epic of the underwit 1,1 " from
the pop of C. W. Hell, coauthor rl
'Tarlor, Redrooni and Bath" at tV
Liberty, will have Its first perfn-m-mice
on Monday in the Lelnst'ii
Theatre. Oeorg D. Grundy's prodn.
!ng company. The Masks, inc., sill
make Its debut under the direi lion nt
Hartley Cushlng, the well known ii
rector, who also Is general msnasv
of the new corporation. The. csjt ii
headed by Grace Carlyle and Norninr
Uackett, and Includes som populu
players. George Orundy Is well kno-n
lure as the originator of the rwicint
Carnival, one of the most snceeii
I'lnMltutionn In the entire company H
' has secured a lease on the I.tmnftot
Theatre, and thero for a time TV
( Masks, Inc., will present plays t!ut
, huve made a Broadway hit and n"
vehicles which, if they prov tu
fui, will shortly be put on Hn.i'l
the original company, The M.ii.
Inc., however, remaining nl;i"-
tact.
"t t ' 1 ' I I I Sm P