Life, 1926-04-29 · page 23 of 42
Life — April 29, 1926 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page reviews contemporary theatrical productions for a general audience. The main text discusses several plays: **"Love in a Mist"** — praised for its refined cast (Madge Kennedy, Sidney Blackmer, Tom Powers) and gentle comedy, though acknowledged as somewhat artificial. **"Glory Hallelujah"** — a disappointment. Despite a promising premise (Bowery hotel residents confronting the world's end via solar eclipse), the play falters after its strong first act, devolving into confused plotting about "sex-impulse" and religious themes. **"Pinafore"** revival at the Century Theatre — praised for good voices and choruses, featuring Fay Templeton. A sidebar notes an 1829 patent for "partly-made dress shirts" that predates modern ready-made clothing. The reviews employ theatrical insider humor and gentle mockery typical of Life's drama criticism—appreciating competent performances while critiquing lazy or overly ambitious writing. The cartoonistic elements appear decorative rather than satirical.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
This Week OU may be certain of one thing about any play with title like“ 1 a Mist.” written by Amelie ("Prince ) Rives, and with a cast aded by Mad ly, $ Blackmer and 7 It isn't going t v A more dulcet-toned ld be hard to find, « tter-mannered. ‘They . together with Miss Innescort and Miss John, who support them, very nice people. The betray hite-lying damn,” be ver merits the performar actors the MISS, KENNEDY. with in the way nes, rms miracles and makes v« te comedy tant little gesture here, or there a murmured protest to her- elf, pract clinchin lepartment’s title as the gentlest and most effective of our comediennes Mr. Blackmer appears to much the best advantage we ave ever seen him, and Mr. Powers, in spite of having t be sparklingly Italian, plays at least one scene so well that you forget that he is part of a thin, artificial little comedy Incidentally, it seems to us that, begin with “The First Fifty Years,” Mr. Powers has very nearly qualified for his M. A. in the art of make-up. Some of our dramatic schools might do well to establish a chair from which he might divulge some of his secrets in this field. For they are secrets, if we are to judge from a maj fellow Equity-members. ONE of the great disappointments of the wanit was “Glory Hallelujah,” the play by Thomas Mitchell and Bertram Bloch which was scheduled to take the town by storm, Based on the tremendously dramatic supposition that the inmates of a Bowery hotel might one day find themselves confronted with the End of the Wo freezing-up of all forms of life owing eclipse of the sun, the authors got only as far as one of the most thrilling first acts we have ever seen. From then on all kinds of sluices were opened, letting in confusi at, life, the Beast master of a dying ich among men ¥ t a little inhib faction to be derives vival comes from the audience to the theatre since the last ( Templeton, 1 herself been erected on the ‘ave and melodious crew to renew your faith in everythi > ormance of “Pinafor OX the souvenir program of advertisement comicbooks.com