The sun. [volume], November 10, 1918, Section 4, Page 4, Image 34

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

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OULIA SANDERSON
W " THE CANARY V
By LAWRENCE REAMER.
T"S ARELY has a mechanical aid to drama conducted itself with such
propriety as tho model of the wireless gun- which provides the
novelty and therefore the most interesting scenes in "The Long
Oath," which ia on view at the Thirty-ninth Street Theatre. Sttch aids
to theatric effect are, like the more capricious animals, likely to disap
point their authors in critical junctures. Then tho innate cussedness of
all things inanimate may assert itself in a way fatal to7 illusion.
But none of these untoward events marked the debut of the wireless
fun. Tho model had been well rehearsed. It swung in one direction
and another, covered alike tho just and tho unjust in its range, and
eventually blazed away at the alien enemies with human discrimination.
80 "The'Long Dash," so far as its gun is concerned, met with complete
success.
Thcro arc other interesting elements in the play, and as-n work in
spired by the war it stands high among the melodramas. There was at
the first hearing an inexplicable tendency to giggle among the 'spectators
which was not altogether the fault of Mr. Dixcy, although his disguise as
an Italian electrician would have moved the most serious person to
audible mirth. There was other unexplained laughter of the sup
pressed and nervous kind inspired by some quality in the play which
made its strongest impression on those seated in the rear rows of the
theatre. But as blond hair dye and chewing gum were the predominat
ing characteristics there, and the snickering seemed of the kind likely
to emanate from a source addicted to such cultivated habits, it may not
b significant.
Henry E. Dlxey Is so In the habit of
surprising his admirers that their de
light In his easy and skilful perform
ance of a foreign spy was perhaps no
more than a reminder of what a fin
ished artist ho can bo. He was suave
'fend detached, sly and Ingenuous, and
a sense of humor lightened all his
tapeechea. But this sense of humor god
Iho best of him later. He had shown
t
ttie spectators what he could do In the
field of perhaps high comedy. Now he
wasigolng to make them laugh when
he had to disguise himself as an elec
trician to learn how the gun operated
Just In the hearty old way he used
to. So his baggy trousers, his comic
crouch and his obviously dyed black
mustache moved the audience to un
controllable hilarity. It may have In
terfered with tho mood of the scene
that MM. Mackay and Mapes had de
vised. But he was funny, really funny.
Bo he had his little triumph In his old
field, whatever effect his appearance
may have had on the play.
Perfect mechanics are preferablo to
poor logic, and (he model of the gun in
"The Long Dash" Is more endearing
as an element of melodrama ,than
.Grant Morris's theory of the world war
as It Is indicated In "The Big Chance."
That thousands of good men have dl?d
or met with a fate perhaps not fo mer
ciful on the blood recking battleflelis
of Europe In order that tho wasters
and vicious may be reclaimed is a
theory too nalve to be considered as
anything beyond tho Inspiration for
the stage, where everything Is pos
sible. It was evidently the work of
Wlllard Mack to put this theme Into a
form that would so mitigate Its .pre
ponderance In the play as to make an
"entertainment." His part of the task
Mr.-Mack has done extremely well.
With no knowledge of the original
PLAYS THAT LAST.
Attor, "Little Simplicity": Be
lasco, "Tiger! Tiger I" Bijou,
"Sleeping Partners"; Booth,
"BeTtalm. Camilla"; Broadhurst,
"Ladies First"; Casino, "Some
Time";. Central, "Forever After"; ,
Century, "Freedom"; Cohan,
"Head Over Heels"; Cohan &
Harris, "Three Faces East";
Comedy. "An Ideal Husband";
Cort, "Fiddlers Three"; Crite
rion, "Three Wise Pools"; El
tinge, "Under Orders"; Empire,
"The Saving . Grace"; Forty
eighth Street, "The Bij Chance";
Forty-fourth Street, "Richelieu";
Fulton, "A Stitch in Time";
Gaiety. "Lichtnin' "; Globe, "The
Canary"; Greenwich Village,
"The Better "Ole"; Harris, "The
Riddle: Woman"; Hudson,
"Friendly Enemies"; Liberty,
"Glorianna"; Longacre, "Nothing
But Lies"; Lyceum "Daddies";
Lyric, "The Unknown Purple";
Manhattan Opera House. "The
Auctioneer"; Maxine Elliott's,
"Tea for Three"; Miller's,
"Daddy Long Legs"; New
Amsterdam, "The Girl Behind
the Gun": Playhouse, "Home
Agiin": Plymouth, "Redemp
Hon"; Republic. "Where Poppies
Bloom"; Selwyn, "Information,
Please"; Shubert, "The Be
trothal"; Thirty-ninth Street,
"The Long Dash"; Vanderbllt,
"The Matinee Hero"; Vieux Co
lombier, "Le Voile du Bonheur"
and "Crainquebille"; Winter
Oarden, "Sinbad."
1 rtu 1
,
ROBERT LEE ALLEN in LITTLE SIMPLICITY."
text, It Is not difficult to conjecture the
changes which it fell to him to make.
Evidently Mr. Mack has kept the first
half of every act for himself. Here
his amusing types of lower middle
class life revel In their natlvo humor.
Admirably drawn they are too, with
naturalness and humor nnd very dis
tinctly presented by the dramatist. Mr.
Mack -enjoys himself during this period
undithere Is no limit to the delight of
thespcctators. Then tiie collaborator
eliminates himself and for the rest of
the acts the characters of Mr. Morris
proceed to expound hltf theories as to
the value of the great world war. Some
times as at the close of tho second act
Mr. Mack cannot resist the tempta
tion to enter the dialogue again, and
wo have Mr. Meehan's amusing ex
planation of his desire to get Into the
struggle.
Nobody who sees "Tho Big Chnnce"
will fall to wonder when Mr. Mack Is
going to put Into a play all his skill
In characterization, of the lower types.
It all rings so true. It Is bo spon
taneous In humor, so strong with the
tang of Us milieu that unusual quality
of this kind ought to be preserved In
a drama that has other values not
frittered away as It was In "So Much
for So Much" without tho skeleton
that will preserve It for tho public
longer than any of theso scenes have
hitherto been kept alive.
There Is an element of snobbishness
in the native estimate of Clare Hum
mer's plays. If any foreigner had
worked out for himself a technique so
At
'It- .'
i3
"2
FRANCI.NE LARRIMORE
tn " SOMBTIMB "
exactly suited to his talents there
would bo no end of fuss about It
amonr those who fish only In foreign
waters for all that Is precious In stage
literature. The new technique of
Sacha Oultry has been liberally bally
lwofd from this critical quarter. So
far us thin Wln3lng novelty has been
. locally dhclubed, tho recipe might be
said to comprise one hour of talk nnd
twenty minutes of a sublimated "nig
ger" act, as that obvious style of hu-
, mor has come to be called In the
theatre. Of literary quality there can
of course be no discussion wjien the
lexi HitiH into igngllsh through tho
poltxhod medium of Seymour Hicks.
Miss Kummcr'fl talents have so well
precipitated In "Be Calm, Camilla,"
that the chemical elements now seem
N 1
heatees
TABLE OF FIRST NIGHTS.
MONDAY The Playhouse: "Home Again," by Robert McLaughlin.
Vieux Colombier: "Le Voile du Bonheur," by Georges
Clemenceau, and "Crainquebille," by Anatole France.
TUESDAY The Belasco Theatre: "Tiger I Tiger 1" by Edward
Knoblauch.
THURSDAY The Shubert Theatre: "The Betrothal," by Edward
Maeterlinck.
FRIDAY The Plymouth Theatre: "Hamlet," with Walter Hampden.
SATURDAY Henry Miller's Theatre: "Daddy Long-Legs," by Jean
Webster.
successfully blended for all time. The
fortunate Arthur Hopkins, who pos
sesses in Miss Kummer a real artistic
assot, has done well to be patient
through tho sag of her powers which
"Tho Rescuing Angel" Indicated. The
present play is In the first placo al
most continuously witty. It happens
rarely that the listener can truthfully
say to himself that ho has read more
amusing passages In the evening papr
than ono of tho characters has Just
spoken. Such an observation would In
one or two cases be Justified. But the
text crackles with fun.
And It all relates a story which even
the most humble disciples of Laura
Jean Llbbey would reject as too stale.
All the skilful dramaturgy of a SarJou
could not mako the fable of the poor
little girl run over by .1 millionaire, who
then nurses nnd marrleR her, anything
but trite and rather absurd. So Miss
Kummer, disdaining all other, relies
on her own technique. She tells her
story In such an individual fashion
that not until the third act has the
audience any knowledge ns to the
Identity of this young woman. It
knew from the first that she was poor,
younir and nrcttv. Miss Kummer em
broiders this little Action with her own j
wit, tho humor that arises from tho 1
characters of the droll men and women
she has selected for her play. The
result Is a method which while it may
be a' little one Is all her own. It Is
the method moreover which best re
veals her qualities to the world. So
there Is no cause for anything but
gratitude at a play so original and so
refreshing In lta novelty as "B rwm
Camilla."
THE NEW PLAYS.
WILLIAM A. BRADY will pre
sent James Whltcomb Riley's
T T "Home Again," a four act 1
comedy, by RobertMcLaughlln, adapted
from the Riley poems and stories, at
the Playhouse on Monday night, No
vember 11. Many of tho famous Riley
characters will be brought to life in a
coherent story. Tim Murphy will be
the Uaggcdv Man; Maclyn Arbuckle,
Doc Towmcnd; Forrest Robinson,
Doo Blfen; Charles Dow Clark,
KQUlrc llackin$; Ervlllo Alderson,
Jeff Thompion; Harry Redding, J7HI
iitrrtaah Antoinette Walker, i'alloiCB
77iomjson, and Marie Taylor, .lmtt
Marv,
In addition to these there is another
character which should bo of especial
Interest to all those In whoso, hearts
James Whltcomb Riley nnd his work
holds a place. This character Is Jim
Johnson, and his story Is that of James
Whltcomb Rlloy. Henry Duffy will
play Jim Johnson, V
The French Theatre du Vieux Co
lombier will glvo Its first double bill
for this searon. The first, "Le Voile
du Bonheur," a Chinese play In one
net, comes from the pen of Georges
Clemenceau, Premier of France, while
the second, "Cralnqueollle," written In
three tableaux, Is tho work of Anatole
France.
"IO Voile du Bonheur" was first
produced at the Theatre de la Renais
sance In Paris on November 4, 1901.
M, Galllmard of this organization, on
his recent trip to France, secured spe
cial permission from the Premier, who
has for many years been a patron anil
supporter of the Vieux Colombier in
'THE SUN sbNDAYi
ROBERT EDESON and VIOLET KEMBLE
COOPER in ' THE LONG DASH Z.
Paris, to produce his play and make
an English translation.
In "Le Voile du Bonheur" M.
Clemenceau gives expression to his
contempt for tho frailties of mankind.
and shows what an elusive thing Is
happiness, it deals with Chinese fam
ily life.
In tho Belasco Theatre on Tuesday
evening David Belasco will present
Prances ,'Stnrr in "Tiger I Tiger'" a
new play by Edward Knoblock, tho
author of "Kismet," "Milestones." "My
I-ady's Dress" and Miss Starr's former
artistic dramatic triumph, "Marie
Odlle." "Tiger! Tiger!" Is said to be a love
story of fanclnatlng appeal. Tho cen
tral figure provides Miss Starr with
one of the strongest and yet most del
icate characters she has ever essayed
during her brilliant dramatic career.
Mr. Belasco has surrounded Miss
Starr with a strong company of play-
MADEllNb CCLMAR !nHOME A0AIN
ers for 1 the presentation of "Tiger'
Tiger!" Including Lionel Atwlll. O. P.
Heggle. Wallace Ersklno, Whltfard
Kane, Thomas Louden, Daisy Bolmore,
Dorothy Cummlng nnd Auriol Lee.
Thursday night next will see tho
long promised Wlnthrop AmfH pro
duction of Maeterlinck's "Betrothal."
After many weeks of prepsratory ro
hearsal tho sequel to "The Blue Bird"
will be shown for the first time on any
stage nt the Shubert Theatre on No
vember 14. It was Wlnthrop Ames
who introduced the first Maeterlinck
fnntnsy to the American public at the
New Theatre In 1910.
A enst of over eighty people will
take part In tho production, which
calls for twelve scene, and thoso have
been made from designs by Herbert
Paus; u special musical uettlng has
been compored by Eric Do Lamarter,
and dance have been arranged and
rehearsed by Isadora Duncan's pupils.
Among tho principal players who will
appear In the play are Edith Wynne
Matthlson, Mrs. Jacques -Martin, The-
NOVEMBER 10, ioifit.
A.E.ANSON and BERTHA KALICH
1 11 - X77
I rib iiuui-c :
1 vfi mmmmmmwMfmmB:mimm
. PRANCES STARR,
tn " TIGER ! TIGER ! "
resa Duncan, Grace do Carlton, Inda
Palmer, Ethel Brandon, Flora Shef
field, Boots Wooster and June Walker.
The Shakespeare Playhouse, Frank
McEntee director, presents Walter
Hampden In "Hamlet" ns the opening
attraction of Its second season of mat
inees to be given next Friday after
noon and Saturday evening at the
Plymouth Theatre. Walter Hamp
den's Hamlet was the most Important
disclosure of the first season of the
Shakespeare playhouse. Mabel Moore
will play Ophelia. Others In the cast
aro Albert limning. Charles A. Ste
venson, Churles WebMer, Harry Ir
vine, Alma Kruger, Mary Hall, Flor
ence Wollerson, Joseph Whlttemora
and P. J. Kelly.
Henry Miller nnd Ruth Chatterlon
will appear at Henry Miller's Theatre
Saturday evening In a revival of Joan
Webster's comedy "Daddy Long-Legs."
Miss Chatterton was seen for ono en
tire season at the Gaiety Theatre In
this play and Mr. Miller has appeared
In It In various cltiei throughout the
country, but not In New York. Mmy
of tho members of th original com
pany will appear In tho revival.
A. H. WOODS'S BIG CHANCE
Betwixt the feverish and ambitious
playwright passionately setting down
his thoughts In the seclusion of the
library and the actual production of
his completed work there aro moie
slips than betwixt the proverbial "cup
t
V -
MAQY BOLAND
tt'A WOMAU XPCA'eVCg
and the lip." Witness tho case of
"The Big Chance" at the Forty-Klghth
Street Theatre, which came to pros
perity by a devious and nnluoui pnth.
Wlllard Mack, coauthor of tho play
with Grant Morris and the man next
to A. H. Woods primarily responsible
for Its success, writes its history In
this way:
"'The Big Chance' Is a successful
r'
. iyt
mumnri
New York play because of the cour
age of A. H. Woods. I have had ex
perience In many games of chance.
I have plnyed faro In Dawson, and fan
tan In San Francisco In tho old days,
but I never found a man so ready to
act nnd plunge on his convictions as
A. H. Woods.
"I mention this because I believe
that the fundamental quality of man
agerial success la this kind of courage.
It Is the lack of It that keeps about
two-thirds of tho hits produced In
New York lying In the cobwebs for
indefinite lengths of time until some
manager, with more courage than the
rest, comes along and takes a chance
on It.
11 'The Big Chance' was written
originally by Grant Morris, a news
paper man and playwright of Balti
more. Mr. Woods, to whom the play
was sent, recognized and appreciated
tho literary value of the original
story, but Baw that In lta then form
It was not fit nor ready for the
theatre. He sent for me and asked
me to read It. I did so, and agreed
to put It in what I considered the
proper shape for the theatre, prac
tically rewriting the play,
"When your manuscript Is ready the
second difficult phase of production be
gins, and thut is assembling your east.
Usually your cast requires as many
changes as your script, because the
most difficult thing I know of Is to And
actors free from theatrical manner
isms and professional tricks. Since
tho types in the play wero easily
recognizable human, every day peo
ple, this kind of actor was the kind
we wanted to avoid. Mr. Woods
finally secured the cast, and we took
the show cm tho road, where it met
with the reception that Is accorded to
nlno out of every ten hits a cold
and frozen one. The Big Chance'
fared possibly a little worse than tho
average, because It Is eminently nnd
distinctly a New York play. me.m
by this that there are a hundred little
touches in it that New York will
grasp but which mean nothing to the
provincial theatregoer. Tho result of
our tour wan that 'The Big Chance'
looked like anything but what Its title
suggests. It might be well to men
tion here that the most freezing re
ception accorded the play was received
nt tho hands of tho Philadelphia
critics. Everybody lost faith In the
play but Mr. Woods. As an Illustra
tion of the acumen of the average
New York manager I should llko to
nay that the various producers who
catno to see the play out of town with
a view to putting It In their theatres
thought It was doomed to complete
and dismal failure.
"At tho last moment after our New
York opening had been announced we
were compelled to make a change In
the leading role. We were fortunate
enough to secure the services of Mary
Nash, and again were scheduled to
open In New York at the Thlrty-nlnth
Street Theatre, This time the cast was
ready, hut tho play was not. It needed
the little Intimate touches which the
New York critics later said contrib
uted so much to the success of the
play. Again the date of the Nw York
nrenlng wan changed as well as the
theatre, and we Anally arrived at our
full dress rehearsal on Sunday, Octo
ber 27, at the Forty. eighth Street The
atre This was one day beforo tho
opening date. When the cup was so
near the Up another difficulty arose,
and It looked as though a third post-
Hightsjf
i-IPI PKJ
MENKEN
. dttd WILLIAM INGERSOU
xn " threb wise rooLS f
ponement was unavoidable. Cyril
Kelghtley, who played one of the prin
cipal roles, became disgruntled at the
billing, hi dressing room and various
other little matters. Mr. Woods re
lented hia attitude, and so did I. The
result was that Mr. Kelghtley was told
that he could either forget his personal
grievances for tho good of the play or
do whatever else m chose. He chose
to walk away.
"There waa then nothing left for us
to do but to close 'The Big Chance'
temporarily or to get a substitute who
would bo ready to play the part on
less than twenty-four hours notice. Aa
author and stage director of the play I
was thc only ono who knew the part
well enough to undertake it at such
short notice, I had one rehearsal on
Sunday and another on Monday, and
wo opened Monday night to what I
shall consider my greatest personal
success both as an actor and as an au
thor. Finally, It is worth recording
that our Flay was kindly received by
even our most facetious critics."
AN ACTEESS-PLAYWRIGHT.
Jane Cowl, playwright, Is less
known than Jane Cowl, actress, which
Is not surprising when one recalls the
fact that three or four yenrs ago
Jano Cowl, actress, w.xs a well estab
lished star, whereas the light of Jane
Cowl, playwright, had not yet shown
the faintest gleam In the theatrical
firmament Success In any theatrical
line proclaims itself and Is pro
claimed more quickly perhaps than In
almost any other Meld, but Miss Cowl
admits that "LIlaaiTlme," which first
brought her and her collaborator, Jor.e
Murfln, into the public eye as play
wrights, did not represent her first
efforts as a dramatist.
"For some years," she said in tho
course of an Informal chat in. her
dressing room a few nights ago. "the
playwrltlng virus had been working.
I could show you If unfinished things
were not so deadly uninteresting the
scripts of innumerable playa planned,
begun, but never finished. I do not
believe that they represent wasted ef
fort, for It was through these prelim
inary excursions into the art of play
writing that I gained a certain amount
of technique.
"The fact Is that my work as an
actress made demands to tho xclu-
I slon of other Interests. I would find
myself In the midst of writing n
script with a new part to learn, and
tho pressure of rehearsals and the
New York opening on my hands, so
for the time being playwrltlng had lo
be abandoned.
"That Is ono of tho reasons why I
found collaboration so valuable. I do
not mean to nay that Mrs. Murfln's
cooperation has not boon most Inval
uable in many other ways, for she is
EDITH WVfJNP MiTTU 1 ru
I to TKe JMuckjcL" 1
I .STvu.Lc.rL TkcaTT-,.
a woman with ldr-m. who wiltew 1:U
liantly, nnd we work ver ympatliou
cnlly torether; hut I have f..im.l it
advantageous lo havo n. pacemaker,
wj to pe.il. Iu lollalratlon tlu-n, Is
a mutual obligation Involved. When
I was writing alone and the pressure
of other duties becamo too great I
could shunt my playwrltlng aside
without any twinges of conscience,
but when you are working with some
one else, whoso Interests aro ns Im
portant as your own, It Is another
matter.
" 'Daybreak,' the second of rur plays
to lo produced, was In reality thn first
one that we wrote tOKether. It wmld
havo seen tho footlights n year earlier
than it did If I had been willing tn
play the leading part In It, but the
rolo was similar to several In which
I had previously appeared, and I had
made up my mind to do something
entirely different. 'Lilac Tune,' subse
quently written, provided mo that op-
WALTER HA.MP?EN
as HAM LET tn -the
SHAKKSPBARa PLAYHOOSe
" PBRFORMANCBS .
portunlty, and waa the first of our
plays to be produced.
"Information Pleaso,j tho- comedy
In which I am now appearing at the
Selwyn Theatre, waa planned at about
the same time, and, contrary to gen
eral opinion. It Is not an entirely ficti
tious story. As a matter of fact, the
real life happening whloh suggested
the atory of 'Information Please was
featured In a first column first page
story in the New York newspaper,
and I think some record of It might
be found In such London newspapers
aa wore not disposed to suppress tho
facta on account of tho prominence
of the people Involved."
"Do you prefer acting In your own
plays?" ehe was asked.
"Certainly not," answered Miss Cowl
with emphasis. "It so happened that
both 'Lilac Time and 'Information
Pleaso' provided mo wltri the means
to appear In roles different from what
tho managers had been offering me.
and, moreover, I am keenly Interested
In playwrltlng; but as an actress mv
responsibilities are greatly lessened if
I am appearing In the work of an au
thor other than myself. It is bad
enough to face a New York first night
audience as the leading woman In a
new play, but when to that Is added
tho nervous strain of author, I ossuro
you that one's state Is not an alto
gether enviable one, Then, too, there
Is the double strain during tho weokn
that precede actual production In New
York, with the Inevitable changes that
seem necessary after actual perform
ance, rehearsing all day, playing at
night, nnd rewriting scenes to bo tried
out at the next morning's rehearsal.
Tho combination generally means
about a twenty hour day of actual
labor. The only thing that makes It
possible Is enthusiasm and love of the
work.
"I am quite frank to admit that I
have no patience with people in my
profession who go around talking
about hov much they dlsllko it.
I love the theatre and the work of
tho theatre. I believe that .t
provides an unlimited opportunity for
self-expression, and the beauty of t
Is that no matter how far ono mnv
go, there Is always a lot of room for
rrowth and Improvement. That Is on
of tho reasons why I always welcome
Intelligent comment on what I am do
ing, whethor It Is writing or actinic.
Of all the arts, acting is the ono in
which the artist Is most handicapped
by tho fact that he cannot, so to speak,
get off at a distance and havo a per
spective on his own work. It is all
too much a part of one's self. Prog
ress ceases the day an nctor or nctrc
no longer tolerates and Invites outsido
opinion."
MONSTER WAR WORK BENEFIT.
E. F. Aibee, head of tho Ke. h
vaudeville circuit and tho United
Booking Offices, will give tho first ft
the monster thentrlcal benefits for the.
United War Work Campaign at the
Hippodrome to-night. Mr. Albee ha
arranged a bill of unusual magnitude
oven at the Hippodrome. In overv
way It w".l bo a notable show Th
star I iiradllners will bo present' I
' ' u programme arranged hy t .
1 severest showmen In America 1
mako the blending and presentit.'
diverse talent a fine art. With ti
best possible material t.i offer M
Mheo han directed that tho programme
present eacli artist In fie Mronges--possible
relation to tho bill.
r
Where the Flays Change
Oliver Morosco will present
Leon Gordon in "Watch Your
Neighbor" at the Standard Thea
tre. Richard Watson Tully will
present Guy Bates Post in "The
Matqueradcr" at the Shubert
Riviera. The '.mart musical comedy hit
"Oh, Boy!" will be seen at
Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre
"Some Time." with Ed Wynn,
Francinc Larrimorc and the re
mainder of the original cast
moves to the Casino.
Al Jolson returns to the Win
ter Garden for a second engage
ment with "Sinbad."
Robert B. Mantell enters upon
the second week of his engage
ment in "Richelieu" at the Forty
fourth Strict Theatre.
BROOKLYN THEATRES.
Ina Claire will appear in the
leading role of Belasco's produc
tion, "Polly With a Past." at the
Montauk Theatre.
"Parlor, Bedroom and Bath"
will be the attraction at the Majestic.
w jmtk t 1
,