Life — February 1, 1917 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

SSS SSSSSS SSS “WE REALLY SEEM MADE FOR EACH orHER” and most remote villages in the United States. If he can attract persons of edu- cation and taste in the larger cities by some unusual features, so much the bet- ter. But he is absolutely bound to please the crass multitude the country over or face bankruptcy. That is the reason that, no matter what the theme is, who the actors are or how high-sounding the name of the manager, the moving-picture play or spectacle is always disappointing. And that is why, in spite of its present commercial importance and the magni- tude of its financial side, there seems to be no artistic future for the moving-pic- ture play. LD times came again to the New York stage at two special matinees given by the New York Center of the Drama League. The Drama League is an organization with branches all over the country. Its utility hitherto seems to have been limited to getting persons to listen to other persons talk about the theatre in a high-browed way, regardless of whether the talkers had any real knowledge of the subject of which they were talking. In the two matinees the New York Center provided a unique entertainment of some practical value, Thanks to the professional managers, producers and = RIE artists who produced extracts from seven plays of different periods, the audiences were enabled to get a sort of bird's-eye view of the development of American stage methods during more than a century. The Drama League has the credit of an unusual and difficult achievement. Astor —"'Her Soldier Boy" with Adele Rowland and ‘Messrs. Clifton, Crawford and John Charles Thomas. Outside of a sugges- tion of triviality in its references to the Belgian situation, an amusing and. tuneful musical piece. Belasco —Frances Starr in “' Little Lady in Blue.” Hiarking back to the days when Rng. land had real sailors sailing wooden ships. Wholesome, pleasant and well acted comedy. Booth—Last week of Mr. George Bernard Shaw's “Getting Married.” Clever satirical comedy aimed at matrimony as practiced in England, and remarkably well presented. Casino—Anna Held in ‘Follow Me.” Brillian-ly mounted girl-and-music show with the star giving elaborate exhibitions of what not to wear in the way of costumes. Last week. Century.—" The Century Girl.” Big girl and-music show of not surprising merit. Cohan and Harris's. Captain Kidd, Jr.” Very pleasant and well performed little come- dy with fetching touches of sentiment and rural humor. Comedy.—The Washington Square Players. Bill of four interesting playlets. of different types, performed in orga fashion, Cort—" Upstairs and Down,” by Mr. and Mrs, Hatton. Good production of fairly di- verting, but not entirely wholesome, farcical comedy’ dealing with what purport to be epi- sodes in: Long Island society. Criterion.—Julia Arthur in “ Seremonda.” Picturesque staging of versified tragedy. Well staged and interesting. Eltinge.— "Cheating Cheaters,” by Mr. Max Marcin. Comedy of crime, very well done and with a number of surprises. Nora Bayes in musical matinees. Empire-—Maude Adams in Barrie's “A Kiss for Cinderella.” Fancitul comedy with the star asa slavey Cinderella. Very British, but amusing. Forty-fourth Street—" Joan the Woman in moving-picture demonsiration, with Geral- dine Farrar as the star. The spectacular pos- sibilities of the play camera strikingly demon- strated in battle scenes and the sainted Joan of Arc given a moviepicture heart interest, Forty-eighth Street. — “The Thirteenth Chair,” by Mr. Bayard Veiller. A_problem lay, ‘but not of the usual type. The prob- fen is to find the murderer in a well acted crime melodrama. Fulton.—""In for the Night,” by James Savery.""A farce which, properly speeded. up and blue-pencilled, should be very amusing. Goiety.—" Turn to the Right,” by Messrs. Winchell Smith and John E. Hazzard. Very diverting farcical comedy showing that there is fun, if not virtue, in the reformed criminal. Gtobe—Laurette Taylor in, The Harp, of Life,” by Mr. J. Hartley Manners. Well acted and agreeable drama, interesting in spite of the fact that it is a preachment against the danger of sex-ignorance to the young. Herris.—" The Yellow Jacket.” Very pic- turesque drama, done, and well done, in Chinese style. Hippodrome.—" The Big Show.” Ice and water carnival with Annette Kellermann as the star of the latter, also spectacle and ballet. Knickerbocker.—Mr. David Warfield in re- 183 It was valuable to the stage writers and producers who saw it, as showing many things to be avoided by the purveyors of modern stage entertainment. This chance to view by comparison made some playgoers grateful that they were not their own great-grandfathers. Metcalfe. vival of “The Music Master,” by the late Charles Klein. Humor and pathos in com: bination in an interesting comedy, and with the star in a famous réle. Liberty.—" Have a Heart.” Very up-to- date and well presented girland-music show. Little-—Closed, Longacre.—Mr, William Collier in “ Noth- ing But the Truth,” by Mr. James Mont- gomery. A very laughable and well-acted contemporary comedy, with the theme an effort to prove that there is a, way to, make a Wall Street man consecutively tell the truth, Lyceum.—" Her Husband's Wife.” Excel lent cast in revival of a not brilliant but pleasing American comedy. Lyric-—Last week of “A Daughter of the Gods." Annette Kellerman the | shapely heroine of rather silly movie-drama, but with some delightful Jamaican land and water scenes. fanhattan Opera House-—“The Wander v" adapted from the German by Mr. Ve‘Samuels. ‘Notice late Marine Elliott's. —Gertrude Kingston two plays by Shaw and one by Lord Dun- sany. An interesting bil) with a good com- pany of players. Playhouse.—"The Man Who Came Back,” by Mr. J. E. Goodman, Interesting atid strong drama, well acted and dealing with the career of @ young American who almost, but not completely, went to the dickens, Princess.—Nazimova in “'Ception Shoals.” The peculiarities of the star given full swing in a somewhat tiresome sex drama. Punch and Judy—Closed. Republic, — “Good Gracious, Annabelle.” Diverting. light farcical comedy with clever lines, well staged. Shubert—" Love 0’ Mike." Musical play right-up to the minute with a clever company and Mr. Jerome Kern's tuneful music. Thirty-ninth Street-Emma Dunn in Lady 3," by Rachel Crothers, Natur comedy of old age and poverty, but well done and amusing as well as pathetic, Winter Garden.—" The Show of Wonders.” Elaborate girland-music show with a little higher appeal than usual to the understand ing of the t. b. m. “aS You Like IT” comicbooks.com