Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 77

Drama Critic Compares Theater of 1917 with Today FIANCEE OF DRAMA CRITIC Notes of the Theater Then--as Now--Escapism Was Principal Idea By Cecil Smith. Precisely 25 years ago tomorrow evening woman sitting In seat K-27 in the Auditorium theater was shocked out of her concentration upon a performance of "Dinorah" by a sudden jet of gaseous flame In the "Jason," Samson Raphaelson's latest comedy, will be presented for the first time in Chicago Wednesday evening by the Aors Company of Chicago, 218 South Wabash avenue. Last season in New York" Jason "achieved a moderate success, but its road prospects were not thought certain enough to warrant sending the original company en tour. The plot concerns a New York dramatic critic who learns about the human side of life, and incidentally decides to reshape his critical standards, because of association with an enthusiastic young playwright who bears an unmistakable resemblance to William Saroyan. The Actors' company performance will be directed by Minnie Galatzer.

Arthur Peterson will play the title role, other important members of th? cast will be Arlene Friedrich, Sam and Tony Palma. The play will continue for several weeks, with showings on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and aisle, right beside her feet. The flame spread 'over a patch of carpet, and the woman burned her shoes as she tried to stamp out the fire. A guard, stationed at the rear of the theater, rushed down the aisle, picked up a flaming, smoking length of gas pipe, carried it to the outer door, and hurled it into the street Inside the theater people rose to their feet and started toward the exits. With great presence of mind, Cam paninl quickly stopped the opera, and led the orchestra in "The Star Span- Sunday evenings.

gled Banner." A panic was averted; Katharine Cornell's stellar revival Galli-Curci was summoned to the stage to repeat the national anthem, complete with interpolated high B-flat, and the performance was there of Chekoff i The Three Sisters," which was to have opened a fort v. night's engagement in Detroit tomorrow, is not ready yet The pre after allowed to continue. than 500 times. Her chief contributions are the lament My Man's Gone Now," and the spiritual, Doctor Jesus." Josephine Hull, who appears as Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace" at the Selwyn, played Penny Sycamore, the amiably mad mother in "You Can't Take It with You. Other plays in which she appeared within the last few years were "Fata Morgana," "Craig's Wife," "Fresh Fields," "An American Dream," and "An International Incident." She is the sister-in-law of Henry Hull, the actor.

0 Jean Adair, Abby Brewster's sister Martha in "Arsenic and Old Lace," made her first New York appearance in Jules Eckert Goodman's "Mother," and has chiefly played mother parts ever since. She was Ina Claire's mother in "End of Summer" and EU sha Cook mother in "Ah, Wilder-ness!" After these and other mother roles she was finally transformed into an aunt by Dwight Deere Wlman, who gave her the parts of the spinster aunt in "On Borrowed Time and John Alexander's aunt in "Morning's at Seven." She is again Alexander's aunt in "Arsenic and Old Lace," he being the nephew who imagines that he is Teddy Roosevelt If yon look hard enough you can find an ex-Chicagoan in almost any cast it seems. In "Junior Miss," at the Harris, there is Dan Barton, seen as one of the callow youths who pursue "lovely Lois," the older sister of Judy, the Junior Miss. A graduate of Lake View High school and the Northwestern university school of speech. Barton obtained seven years' radio experience in Chicago before going to Los Angeles, where he appeared in Max Reinhardt's productions of "Squaring the Circle" and "Beyond the Horizon." James Bridie's "The Black Eye.

produced for the first time in America, continues thru Saturday night except tomorrow at the Goodman theater. A character study of a young man who, like Jenny in "Lady in the Dark," "couldn't make up his mind," the script Is full of whimsy and efforts to be epigrammatic Kay Uncompleted. Now that Clare Boothe has been elected to congress, she will probably not have time to finish her new play, "A Happy Marriage," based on Helen Hull's novelette, "Snow in Summer." The bombing of the Auditorium, miere has been deferred until Nov. 30, in Washington. New York opening will take place the week of Dec.

14. The middle west will not i. a celebrated near catastrophe of 1917, was sufficient proof that the nation was see the production until, after the at war and that enemies were in our midst But if you go back over the playbills of November, 1917, to study I ri -1 ff A1 New York engagement Loretta Fischer, the "straight" partner of Ceng Sheldon, the banjo In "Arsenic and Old Lace, at the Selwyn theater, Margaret Joyce, a former Chicago actress, undergoes many a tribulation because of her engagement to Clinton Sundberg, who appears as dramatic critic sensational debut In New York, array of shows in Chicago was large, playing buffoon in "Priorities of 1942 the Er lan ger theater, was born In the. Logan Square district of Chicago, and attended the Nobel grammar school and Carl Schurz High school. altho it represented a shrinkage from played for the first time in Chicago with Frederick Stock and the Chi cago Symphony orchestra.

The im earlier years. Twelve standard and reputable legitimate theaters were operating regularly, in addition to pact of his appearance was neatly summarized in The Tribune's head 3 I i i such grade A vaudeville houses as the line the following morning: "As to Palace and the Majestic, and a hand Heifetz, Tes: It's True." When she was lMHm the amusements offered to the Chi cago public, you would find a striking parallel to this November 25 years later, in a nation once again at war. Then, as now, not a single theatrical attraction bore witness to the country's belligerency. The theater was an agency of escape, and mostly of light diversion. War and its problems belonged in the front pages of the newspaper, and not on the drama To be sure, there was a serious slump in theater attendance in November, 1917 a circumstance that is not paralleled in 1942.

Sam Gerson, then associated with the local Shubert enterprises, had the theater man's usual omnibus of explanations ready; The new war tax on admissions, the Liberty bond drive, uneasiness in the stock market war economies, mental depression caused by allied reverses particularly in Italy at that moment and, probably the truest causes, bad shows, and shows that had outstayed their welcome. But the war could not close the theaters. It took the influenza epidemic of October, 1918, to bring about that cataclysm. Compared to the 1942 count the I she began to Brnno of Hoiirwooa ful of stock company and little theater projects. Under Campanini the opera moved study dancing at raow.j Not all the entertainments of a ahead to new artistic splendor, par a local conservatory of music, and by the time she was 14 she had been tlcularly In the French repertory which was the chief glory of the first given charge of large class of pu years of aur resident company.

Galli- pils. Her stage debut took place at quarter century ago are worth calling to mind. Runs were much shorter then than now, and the rapid turnover brought a surprisingly large number of plays to the 12 theaters the Diverse? theater now the Cen tury, as one of eight Chicago girls in a chorus line with Lester Lane's Curct In her second season, sold out the Auditorium every time she appeared; Raisa had now attained preeminence as a dramatic soprano, and opened the season with Mascagnfs within the single month of November. vaudeville act, This job led her ul In -one of his Sunday drama col "Isabeau," an opera based on the tlmately te New York, where she subsequently advanced her career by appearing to Flo Ziegfeld'a "Whoo story of Lady Godiva, which the Tribune reviewer dubbed "The Ride of pee," which starred Eddie Cantor. Vaudeville umns the late Percy Hammond commented that the month had brought a remarkable confluence of stars to Chicago.

Otis Skinner was having great success in Booth Tarkington's "Mister Antonio. Fay Bainter languished in a Japanese fantasy called the Valkyralsa''; and' Lucien Mura-tore brought romantic fervor to the French tenor parts. Later on, for a brief period, she was straight woman for Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. She has now been the stage partner ot Sheldon since 1931; and from 1933 to 1940 she New that the Studebaker has been (Menial theater. Count Basle, who answers to the regal title of "Jump King of Swing," "The Willow Tree." Mary Nash had restored to its position as one of the city's leading legitimate theaters, it was married to him.

persisted for months In "The Man i la interesting to recall that this Adamant Ere," a play with music Who Came Back," upon which Hammond cast aspersions at every adapted from Sardou's in which Grace George won acclaim tunity. Joseph Santley seemed to have taken permanent tenure of the in 1907, is said to be heading toward house was reopened, with 1100,000 re-decorations and improvements by Andy Rebori, on Nov. 1917. William Gillette in Clare Kummera "A Successful Calamity" was the attraction. The remodeled theater got a good notice in the paper, and Gillette La Salle in the musical, Boy." Chicago within the next few weeks.

leads his jiving band on the stage this week. The show includes a "rhythm awing review," featuring James Rushing, Earl Warren, Jo Jones, Moke and Poke, and BUI Bailey. Basle's famous rhythm section includes Jo Jones Under Eugene S. Dryden's regis, the Annie Russell was chilling her audiences, in The Thirteenth Chair." production opened at the Curran thea A. H.

Woods "Parlor, Bedroom, and a distinctly bad one. ter in San Francisco last Monday, with a cast including Fred Stone's Bath" a lineal antecedent of the ijji current "Good Night Ladles" fea tured Florence Moore, but gave lit VIOLINIST Coot BmIo. youngest daughter Paula, Rex Mai-ley, Barry Norton, Norman Varden and Fred Essler. Francis Edwards wrote the adaptation of the text and tle prominence to a newcomer named Helen Menken. Another young actress, Estelle Win- wood, was complimented by Ham mond for her contribution to "Why Henry, Holt wrote the score.

The accompaniment is played on two pianos. Dryden, the producer, managed the American tour of the Salzburg Opera Guild in 1937. Marry? She makes you think," he wrote, "no difference how comfortable your domestic affiliations, that there may be something In what Dorothy McGulre, heroine of the she says." Ruth Chatterton he also CHICAGO PLAYBILLS COXTIKUNGt Good Night, Ladies," farce by Cyrus Wood, with Buddy Ebsen and Skeets Gallagher; Blackstone theater; 32d week. Maid la tko Ourb," mountain comedy by Claire Farrish; Great Northern theater; 10th week. Junior MIm," comedy by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields, with Lenore Thomas, Lois Wilson, Harry Ellerbe, and Eddie Nugent; Harris theater; ninth week.

Forgy aai Ben," folk opera by George and Ira Gershwin and Du Bose Heyward, with Todd Duncan and Etta Moten; Studebaker theater; third week. "Priorities of 1912," variety show with Argentlnlta, Lou Holtz. Willie Howard, Hank Ladd, and Bert Wheeler; Erlanger theater; third week. Anenle aid Old LaeV comedy by Joseph Kesselring; return engagement with different cast Including Boris Karloff, Jean Adair, and Jose-phone Hull; 2d week of present engagement; 14th week tn Chicago. COMING Claudia," comedy by Rose Franken; return engagement with different east Including Dorothy McGulre, Frances Starr, Donald Cook, and Olga Baclanova; Selwyn theater; opens Nov.

29 for four weeks. The Eve of St. Mark," war drama by Maxwell Anderson; coming In December. This Is the Army," all-sold ler musical show with score by Irving Berlin; Clvlo Opera house; probably opens Jan. 4 for two weeks.

Imlf la tho Dark," play with musts, by Miwii Hart and Kurt WellV Marring Gertrude Ijiwrem; pitiluiWf oix-ns at the CKIc.OiH.-ra liotiho Jin, 18 ftY8 found to his modified liking in Come Out of the Kitchen," which he de "Claudia" company arriving at the Selwyn theater Nov. 29, will leave the cast of the play after the Chicago engagement of four weeks, in order to begin work in Hollywood upon the screen version of the play. In order scribed as "an attractive example of the picked or nosegay drama, fragrant pretty, and arranged." to retain her services for the length And so the 1917 theater seems to mmm -m nil i i i I i in I of the Chicago booking, producer John have been blithely escapist albeit on the drums, Walter Page at the base fiddle, Freddie Green twanging the guitar, and the count himself at the piano. Chicago theater. Last week's stage show, starring the Andrews sisters and Will Osborne and his orchestra, is held over for a second week.

ticking's Vodvil Lounge, Betty ReUly, Pan-American singer, goes into her third week in a show which also includes Nino Milo, impersonator; Prof. Backward, "student of the Duffleld sisters rhythmic singers from Texas; the Four New Yorkers, and Chet Roble, pianist Stratford theater today only, Blackstone, the eminent magician, is headlined in today's week-end stage show. The famous Hindu rope trick is part of the entertainment 0 Kialto theater. Marie Cord, named the most beautiful girl at tho New York fair, is seen at the head of her own company, In her own rhythmic dance, "Marie's March Slop." Her know includes Btinklo Fields, JShortie McAli4r( Uwbby i-'ojo, lima Vgelee, und ethers. Golden had to persuade the Hollywood studio to put off filming the story, since the current theater shortage in Chicago forced "Claudia" to wait longer than originally intended before coming here.

considerably more Interesting to the historian's imagination, at least than most of what is offered currently in Chicago. The movies, too, were doing their share of diverting Ruby Eliy of the Torgy and Bess attention from the war. During the month of November such historic items were on view as Theda Bara In "Camllle." Mary Pickford In "The Little rrincess," Annette Kellermann in "Daughter of the Gods," and Mar guerite Clark In another of Mary company at the Studebaker theater, may ask for a leave of absence from the cast when the 1912'43 season Is finished next spring. She is thinking of appearing in "Alda" under the ninnagerlul auspices of Mark Uyron Jr. Already Miss Kly, who was in tho original "Forgy nnd Hess? production (is wi ll os lhe prckeM etora-tlun, bus sung Sercnu's inutile mute Roberts Rinchart's Bab stories, Bab's Burglar." The biggest concert event, perhaps, Tha Tvtrn of the Biimarck noitl ti foa-luring ht violin and orcKttira of Edith Urand.

of all 1917 took place -m when JuMha iUifHi, fichli from his.