Judge — December 22, 1928 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE rn. Austin Strone, having seen “Strange M inert —including the box-office state ments—unquestionably scratched his head a couple of times and meditated thus: “If audiences are making O'Neill wealthy for suggesting to them what is going on in his ¢ cters’ brains merely by means of words, they'll probably make me even wealthier for showing them what is going on in my cters’ brains not only with words but with some very snappy scenery to boot.”” Whereupon Mr. Strong stopped scratching his head long enough to write y Without a Name,” which, from a critical point of view, may be said to be a failure for the simple reason that Mr. Strong’s characters haven't any brains for anything to be going on in. That this Mr. Strong is the most sentimental of our playwrights is already sufficiently known, The milk of human kindness, to him, is a thick, rich cream. He writes characters from the neck down, carefully stopping just this side of the waistline, of course, and centering his activities in the cardiac region. In his latest play he has accordingly caused scenery to be painted to represent the brain of his chief character when it should much more relevantly have been constructed to represent that character's heart. His character does not think; he merely feels. And what he feels proceeds out of the emotional quotient of a sophomore. If Mr. Strong is curious to observe how an inter- esting play may be built upon his fundamental idea, I refer him to the work of the Russian, Evreinoff. All that Mr. Strong has made of it is a Pollyanna story embellished with some trick scenery. His imagination, when it comes to depicting the imagina- tion of the human brain—even the brain of such a sentimental dolt as his protagonist—is decided! feeble. It secms, after having got its initial sugges- tion from O'Neill's “Strange Interlude,” to rest largely in a further appropriation of the tom-tom beating from O'Neill's “The Emperor Jone The acting company, save for Miss Katherine Wilson, displays no especial talent. O of the oldest and most familiar stories of the theatre concerns a horse that appeared in sup- port of the late Beerbohm Tree in one of Shake- speare’s chronicle plays and that, on the opening night, at an important moment in the performance disconcertingly proved that it wasn't housebroken. Poor Tree, trembling with mortification over the contretemps, at the conclusion of the not too well acted play bade of his brother Max some word of comfort. But all that Max would venture was that the horse “was evidently something of a critic.” Tree's horse apparently has a relative in the mule who appears in “Rainbow.” On the opening night of that musical comedy the aforesaid mule emulated his overseas colleague, and, though his criticism in substance covered almost as much ground as Mr. Dudley Nichols’ of “Strange Interlude” and though a considerable measure of it was lodged somewhat in- discriminately, part of it, at least, was just. For if ever a good musical show was ruined by careless pro- duction on the occasion of its initial performance, this Rainbow” is that show. (Continued on page 28) Theatre Digest “The Sacred Flame” (Miller)—A few “Congai” (Tarria)—Helen Men! en ta “A Play Without 3 Name” (Booth) — dull epote but many more that are surely ot dull. “Majer Barbara” (Guild)—My agents report thatthe Guild performance om this ‘occasion is considerably below par. “The Reyal Bex” (Belmont)—A creaky revival of a creakier play. ‘Holiday’ (Plymouth) —A mont amar ing comedy by Philip Barry, very well staged. The Age of tnnecence™ (Empire)— The Mile. Cornell in a weak stage vernon of the Wharton novel of the same name, “tacbeth” (Kaickerbocker)—Revival noteworthy only because of Gordon Cra 8 settings. Mest Immoral Lagy” (Cort) — Alice Brady still looking for a worth-while play. Te Ledy Une" (Little)—Peeble tut ‘a melodramatic yellow-back. “Bima” (Beissco)—To be reviewed. “The Jealous Moon’ (Majestic) — Peeudo-fantastie boredom. “Rainbow” (Gallo)—A go comedy poorly produced “The Wild Duck (40th Street)—As a revival, neither particularly wild nor a duck. ‘This Year of Grace (Selwyn)—The only clever thing about thia revue is the showmanship that has put it over. “The Squealer’ (Forrest)—""Who are ‘Bruce Balderdash, of the United States Secret Service! “Angela” (Ambassador)—To be re- iewed vext week. “Hr, Moneypenny” (Coxmopolitan)— Not to the taste of this doctor. “The Pertect Alibi (Hopkins)—Mys tery & la A. A. Milne. musical Nothing to it. “Tia Pan” Alley” (Republic)—The critical emphasis is 00 the “pan.” “tdarnegan™ (Loegacre)—Jia Tully went around to see what had happeaed t his book. Three minutes later found him In the nearest speakeasy “Treasure Gut" (Alvin)—Dismal fop. “Might He (Vanderbilt)— Equally dismal - ‘The New Moon’ (Imperial) —By way of relief from the omsipresent jasa opera. Diverting musical comedy. “Three Cheers” (Globe)—Will Rogers, sore good leg-work and a very agreeable evening. ‘Animal Crackers” (44th Street)— Enough laughs for two shows. “Tonight at Twelve” (Hudson)—Sex and mystery combined into supine enter- tainment. “On Call” (Waldorf)—Sex claptrap, "* (New Amsterdam)—To be in the next issue. "Hold Everything’? (Broadhurst) — Entertaining leg and larynx sho “Bille” (Erlanger)—George Coban's lines are the feature of this one. “dealousy’* (Elliott)—"She loves me. the loves me not” repeated for two hours by two actors. “The High Read” (Pulton)—Edina Best and an excellent company in a mildly diverting Lonsdale comedy. “Young Love (Masque)—Pretty cheap stuf, badly directed. “Paris” (Music Bor)—Some good tongs but nothing in the way of a play “Litte Accident” (Morceco)—A freah and bumorous little comedy. “Exceed mall” (Comedy)—A stale copy ter playa on the same abject. “The Grey Fex” (Playbouse)—Zero. 18 comicbooks.com