Judge — May 21, 1932 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE THE * THEATRE 48. of George Jean Nathan | : ee ‘OTHER LANGUAGE” at the out to be morbiferous duds. In the the newer and more vital American 4 ‘A Booth The turned out to third place, it is hard to work up any — stage. Among these defects is the almost everyone's surprise to interest in the theatre when the author's plainly obvious transcript | be one of the best plays of the year. nights turn balmy and young men’s of a Jewish family but her conver- No one had heard of Arthur J. Bec fancy lightly turns to thoughts of sion of it into one not Jewish. An- hard, who presented it and who now Bock beer. And in the fourth place, other defect is a somewhat common- shows himself to be an excellent whenever a whole lot of hammering place long colloquy between the | judge of play manuscripts. ‘0 one on backstage before the curtain young husband and wife, at the be- ) had heard of this same M. Beckhard on an opening night—and a yinning of the cond act, on the as a stage produc who now shows whole lot went on in this case—it is subject of mar re. A third de- himself to be as nearly competent a a pretty good sign that the produc- fect is the dog-eared device of the one as we have hereabouts. No one tion n't been properly looked introduction into a tightly bound 4 had heard of Rose Franken, the after and that maybe another week and narrow-minded family group of author, who now. shows herself of scenery rehearsals wouldn't be a a young woman alien to it in breed- i dramatist of uncommon talent. bad thing. ing, nature and imagination, a de- \ one had heard of such actors It was thus that the boys ap- vice fami to the drama in a Wyrley Birch, William Pik proached the play with their thumbs hundred and one plays. But above ent Hamilton, Hal K. And it was thus—if the these ws the rest of the play Irene Cattell, Herbert Duffy and prevailing belief as to the way they proudly lifts its head, It combines Maude Allan who proved themselves conduct their subsequent findings tenderness and cruelty, humor and ? excellent in some of the réles. And had any sense in it—that they might tragedy, implication and forthright certainly no one expected that any well have been expected to uncross truth into a work far above the play so good could possibly show up their thumbs just long enough to — general. around the first of M turn them down. But what hap- The minor roles, occupied by In word, every was floored. pene I answer the question free actors I have already listed, What is more, the occasion provided of charge. What happened was that = mirably filled. Dorothy Stickne: all such persons as believe that one and all—including your little too, save for slovenly speech now critics are often prejudiced against sweetheart—they found the play to and then, plays the young and a play beforehand with some ve be a highly meritorious one romantic wife of one of the tasty material for reflection. We raved about it in terms customa Babbitt sons of the family con- crossed. the d- the critics, including your beloved, reserved for bad poetic dramas. vincingly and understanding! Mar- prejudiced against the enterprise What the Mii nken, i yaret Wycherly, however, acts the beforehand? I should say the: worthy girl, h mother as if Ibsen were waiting to were! Take it from one who knows, shrewd and truthful a family stud take her out to supper and Glenn they dragged themselves to it pretty as our American drama has di Anders the husband of the Stickney reluctantly. True enough, the out- closed, That she knows her immedi- character in a periodic disturbing of-town notices of the play were for ate materials inside and out is clear, falsetto, John Beal is good as the the most part so bad that they hada and t e knows how to write is misunderstood boy whom the alien H feeling it probably would be pretty just For a first play, this young wife alone understands. 1) good, but isastr dept job. It deals with to put it mildly, la thrice-familiar stuff, true enough, the first place, as I have said, no but with a Rice-like appreciation of Meese brass bands and propa- one had ever heard of anyone con- details and a Kelly-like gift for hit- ganda plays, however bad, gen- nected with the exhibit and, twenty ting off character in sharp little erally have one thing in common. times out of twenty-one, when you’ve — strokes, Miss Franken has converted They are, if only for the moment, never heard of anyone connected it into something newly automatically nd superficially stir- with an exhibit the chances are that biting. Neither Rice nor ring. That is, if the tune they play it will not amount to much, here and there in the pl: touches the recognition. A propa- ticular], il end of as worked more. skilfully. sanda play is one of the easier forms In the every one of the defects which prevent the pl of dramatic composition for this plays produced by these unknowns taking its place in the categ reason. A share of its effect is in the last two months—and there fully commendable drama, but on the Teady-made before it starts. have been a lot of them—have turned whole it is a worthy contribution to (Pege 28, please) alive Kelly 4 comicbooks.com