Judge — December 8, 1928 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

JUDGE a Craig has had in’ it. omethin; ) they have hitherto be y be ure George Tyler production of “Ms: icfly noteworthy for the share thd more to drat eved. into an extended essay on Dr. Craig's ar cheth” is at Gordon It isn’t a big share, un- fortunately, for Craig has contributed simply a few s for settings and is big enough to give Ameri stumes, but, even so, it ans an inkling that there atic backgrounds than This is no place to go I assume that you highbrows who devour this magazine are sufficiently familiar with at least the clementals of : it. But this may yet be the place to reiterate that, has its if you wish to at the Kn The difference is the difference betwe | drik Willem Van L | decent fellow, C i] pretation of dram | —mere felt has been ing. That | through designers who . themselves bee | wherever there is a | enough to boast a men’s washroom with open plumb- | nfluence in many cs hav use of a vainglory that has impelled in the estimable Gordon of Genoa, the modern theatre reatest genius of scenic design and that, ample a snifter of him, an evening kerbocker Theatre will do you no harm. between C rn Am on, who, nevertheless, is a very ig is the pioneer in vital inte in terms of settings and their properties; the others—some of them skilful enough y rattle their little shiny tin sheets in an effort to cuckoo his thunder. ig and his followers » Vespucci and Hen- The influence of Craig theatre modern ses has been filtered defeated both it and i them to distil it through monkeyshines of their own. the stage than any But, corrupted or left unadulterated, it has done more to realize the potential strength and beauty of alogous influence in its time. GEORGE JEAN NATHAN One regrets that Craig himself did not come over here to supervise and direct this “Macbeth.” Then we should have had something, my boys, to. talk about! But we may, none the less, be grateful for small favors. A sample, after all, is better than nothing. So run around to the Knickerbocker, sinile prettily upon Impresario Tyler as you pass through the lobby, and pleasure yourself with an education in some authentic scenic art. s like “Hotbed” rrr looking at } Days,” products of Prof. George Pierce B. le, it am's. factory at Yo a relief to go to something like W. S. Maug! The Sacred F ” ich, what- ever its defects, is at least a play written by some- one who knows something about the writing of plays. Dr. Baker may, for all Lam aware, know what sound drama is, but he has certainly kept it a secret from the boys and girls whose class-room compositions have recently been shown on the New York s “Hot- bed,” by one of these boys, contained some good available dramatic material, even if it did rest largely upon the theory that young people feel the sex im- pulse only in Spring; but Papa Baker's instruction to the aforesaid boy contrived to turn out a play that was as full of holes as a high-school football line. And the same thing was true of “These Days,” confected by one of Papa's girls. Both these campus plays were plays only theo- retically. Neither exhibited the slightest knowledge of sound di tic craftsmanship; both, the moment their interesting themes were stated, proceeded quickly to (Continued on page 2 ™ Prof. “These Days” (Cort)—Via. George Pierce Baker, to the sto “The Squealer”? (Forrest )—Pr melodrama laid in Charlie Wong's evil Boobiarnus tat Twelve” (1 t by Owen Davis. jacbeth” (Koickerbocker)—Gordon Craig's scenery is the item here. ‘The Sacred Flame” (Milter: An Just _w ly pro ild)—Why didn’t the Guid revive “Asdrocles” instead? “The Wild Duck” (47h Street)—The Actors’ Theatre will probably go oa re- it every year now ‘Treasure Girt (Alvin)—The dullest musical show | have sen in ages. “Tin Pan Alley” (Biltmore) —L all my time looking at the Mile. Coil fo Halt al you mach about the pla. | nit (Longacre)—The made into gimcrack | Hol drama. Theatre “Might Hestess” (Beck) —""The China ry” in a night-clubd town Trunk Myst eetting. Obstreperous imbecility “Young Love" (Masjue)—Assiduoously and amateurishly dirty comedy “Little Aceideat”® —(Moroseo)—The droll fable of an impromptu baby and ite deeply concerned pater. “Paris” (Music and Madame Bordo wise Lifeless play “The War Seng” (National) —Pretty terrible. The Grey Fox” (Playboure)—Just tas bad, The Jealous Moon" (Majestic) —Jane Cow's latest. To be reviewed next week. “Rainbow” (Gallo)—I'll also tell you of this one then, fred” (Erlanger)—George M. Coban frolic. ‘Animal Crackers” (44th Street)—The est of this seasoa's music shows. —Some good tunes give life to an other- Digest “The High Read” (Fulton)—Suave “Exceeding Small” (Comedy)—Iodif- banality even more suavely acted. ferent play about the stereotyped poor “A Man with Red Hair” (Garrick) — Youn married couple. A one-act Grand Guigaol thriller drawa. “The Yellow Jacket” (Coburo)—Re- out to three acts. vival. Agreeable pastime, “Three Cheers” (Globe)—Will Rogers “deal (Elliott) —Two characters converts this one into a good sh: in search of drama. “The Mew Moon” (Imperial)}—A mo- “Blackbirds” (Eltinge)—A really good sical comedy with a number of attractive red show, freab and lively. This Year of Grace” (Selwyn)—Ab- surdly overestimated revue. “The Front Page” (Tunes Square) — ‘The most amusing farce of the year. “Gentiemen of the Press” (45th Street) wright might have made something of it. “Bima (Belasco) —To be reviewed. “Whoopee” (New Amstertam)—Same bere. jLoareational niaenaal play full of “ hy — ‘familiar material AciA Play Without « Wame™ (Booth) speveir"’ CVantarbils) A poor pla but it has several scenes that are wort! your attention “On Call” (Waldorf)—Drivel of the worst sort “Show Bost” (Ziegfeld)—Ove of Prof. Ziegleld’s tastiest “The Age of Innocence” (Empire) — And also bere. “Hold Everything” (Broadhurst) — Conventional but entertaining and wiggle show comicbooks.com