peten,
reminded of the high practical value
of a good first-night audience. By
the time of the fourth performance
Walter Connolly had recovered from
laryngitis and Joseph Schildkraut
had recovered from nervous indiges¬
tion and première paralysis, and
although there were two intermis¬
sions instead of one, the acceleration
in the pace of the performance
brought the curtain down at a more
reasonable hour. Despite these sey-
eral improvements, the comparative
tameness of an indiscriminately as¬
sembled audience made it more
apparent than ever that Schnitzlers
processionai of sentimental, droll and
ironic studies in philandering be¬
longs to a more elegant era tan
ours; and that Schildkraut's acting
wants the resilience and subtlety of
perception that are necessary to
maintain an interest in Anatol's suc¬
cession of crises. Anatole France
once observed that religion had done
love a great service by making it a
sin. Alas, this irreligious era has
lost a source of constant pleasure.
* *
T is a pity to have "Anatol sin
into pleasant enervation. The pro¬
duction is enchanting. Jo Mie¬
ziner has designed a splendid series
of highly ornamental settings; the
costumes fairly glow and the entr'acte
music caresses the ear with Viennese
magic. Some of the acting is extraor¬
dinarily spirited. Patricia Collinges
scene as Gabrielle has an abiding
beauty that comes largely from the
perfection of her phrasing. To hear
an experienced actress assorting her
phrases, distinguishing her syllables
and pitching her intonations intelli¬
gently is to realize that the harum¬
sarum acting that most current
plays foster is insecurely grounded.
Only fine instruments can produce
fine beauty. Miss Collinges scene is
not the most actable of the six, but
she makes it the most memorable by
the rare device of playing it perfectly.
klus
4.9. Anatol
.
HEMSTREET
96 WARREN STREET
NEW YORK CI
NY American
Regarding the Latest Plays
By Messes. Kelly and Barry
And Youngest by Schnizier
By GILBERT W. GABRIEL.
I can persuade them to go do
I take my text from Byron:
the same.
"We wither from our youth,
Mr. Barry is, oftimes, à quite
we gasp away
magical writer. He
Two plays have
is also a writer who
fallen upon the
can be easily and
Broadway, theatres
excellently acted.
lately from the typ-
And that means
ists of two welles¬
that he is, on the
teemed young Amer¬
face of the foot¬
can play wrights.
lights, a successful
These are Philip
playright. But it
Goes Forth," by
does not mean that
George Kelly, and
he has, this time of
Tomorrow and To¬
of all his times.
morrow," by Philip
written a great or
Barry.
even a good play.
This is a sad and
Some other times
lonesome season.
he almost has.
Plays of any sort are
I see (by those
few enough. Good.
reviews most soberly
even fair, plays are
in favor of Tomor¬
singular. Mr. Mantle
row and Tomor¬
confides to me he is
row) that it is a
feared he will have
somewhat obscure
to call his next an¬
GILBERT W. GABRIEL
play. Mr. Barry has
nual volume simply
"The Ten Plays of 1930-31.
the good fortune to mystify
Theatrical weeklies report that
his enthusiasts. One of them
drama critics will be all resigned
tells me he must have been
and rusticated within another
awed out of countenance by a
year. We are already groping
Biblical quotation at the top of
in the twilight of the gallery
the theatre program. I am
neither a crystal-gazer nor a
gods.
In such an atmosphere of
Bible Rebel, but it all seemed to
sackcloth scenery and ashes of
me to be at least satisfactory
art, therefore, it might beloove
clear. Oughin't it have been?
us first nightly reviewer to pull
Mr. Barry pulis out of its
our shots, to spare that tree, and
Pinero-colored limbo the good
to work with fellow mourners
old statuette of the lady with a
towards the establishment of a
love child. For framework he
National Park for the Preserva¬
uses the Scriptural chapter
tion of Poor Plays and the Pro¬
about Elisha and the Shunam¬
pagation of Second-Rate Silli¬
mite woman, and of the miracles
Elisha wrought to both beget
ness.
I'm sorry, I'm one of an all
and revive her son. A famous
too evident public which prefers
scientist is a guest in the house
no play to a poor one. My am
of a mid-Western millionaire
may go cock-eyed but I'll shoot
and falls in love with his hostes.
until the last clay pipe is down.
as she with him. It is no mi¬
In my far from infallible eye-
acle, this moder time. It is
sight both Philip Goes Forth
plain cuckoldry and fancy words.
and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Years later the scientist is called
back by a stroke of radio to save
look like poor plays.
.
his son from fever and horse¬
back-riding.
Mr. Kelly's little opus about
The language in which this
Philip, a golden lad who wants
legendry is couched is evidently
to be a playright but just
tangential and wispy enough to
hasn't the right, God-given
give off an aroma of parlo
stuff in him, is a tame and an¬
mysticism. Mr. Barry is a past
nowingly tutelary affair. Why
master at polite humors and
the author of such Broadway¬
neat yearnings. He paddles
sized successes as "Craig's wife
through melted pastels. Dim
"The Show-Off" ever
and
the lights, warn the players to
bothered to elongate it from a
keep their anguish down to
moral-coated vaudeville skit
whispers, intersperse with cas¬
can't tell you. Mr. Kelly is a
ual exclamations about the
master of small talk, a pretty
wind, sky and cosmos... and
caricaturist, and his more re¬
lo, beauty is bosh and bosh is
cent plays have made only too
beautiful. Mr. Barry (here's the
successful efforts to confine
bunt truth of it) has a pet's
their tempests within teapots.
license and a playwrights knack
He so worships an effect of cas¬
to put over a completely
he cannot be chagrin
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