Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-11-28
new CONAN "SHOW"
TICKLES AND TEACHES
"Hit-the-Trail Holiday" N OF
Only Satirizes But Celebrates
Billy Sunday Gospeller
SLANGY PLAY SINCERE
Diverting and Truthful Mirroring of
Small Town Traits and
Personages

HIT.THE-TRAtL HOLIDAY An American
GGrCo. w George NJ Cohan Suggested BY
NtStEe Middleton and Guy nolton. with Fred
d0rrick ItSstSr.o ItStSro 0' ''"aH Harris TIE
Blu Holiday. of New York Fred NIbio
Eb,,ssh ~ Is. Holden. rector of the johns'urs
Rex Granger the richest man in IoSnsSGrr TiSm ,'"'"
RgSnnrn Grang,r his SON. PurnclI D. Prat,
n'iTT Ir,,.s' Js''on' proprietor Of TIC Amstican
chief craadal head Of the police sOI Gcptr,3snt '
5sd cnslGt. the local szpressman Joseph Aen
sam s'al !nE'. the head barber,
70, Curtis biz assistant. .TnomeS wIliams
a.rs.l lNr b,N about the place. .t... Harold Grau
''0rEe b Hendricks tho moving gclldrs, man,
Edith Holden. the minister's daughter
Mrs Temple iohnsburs widow Iorsns '1si, Atwood
'""'' '"iorcd maid ,..... Jet. Laura Bennett
Mr. Cohan has been too modest entirely
IN labelling his new production and his press
agent has been a bit Of decciver in bruit-
Ing abroad the impression that "ITlt-the-
Trail Holiday" Is a satire on the crratic
Rev william Sunday. Taking them UP
scriatn. MIR Cohau does himself wrong
by calling the piece farce" 1t begins as
very authentic comedy OF manners, turns
To typical farce, mounts TO mclodrama and
winds up with romance. Surely an enter
ta'nment Of many GramaturGlc facets. all
glittering either with action, wit or senti-
ment. Tho new Cohan show ls not take
on on the Rev. Mr.. Sunday: rather It is
celebration Of the man and his manner
isms and mothod-partlcularly his method.
There is no parody OF the gospeler and only
hint Of irony, occasionally as when tho
hero prepares his Y. NJ e. \. address by aid
Of stenographer and encyclopedia. And
even this Is not unkndly.
The play possesses a downright sincerity
running clearly under It's slangineRs that
has been denied by many to the evangelist
OF the tabernacles and free-wil offerings.
Holiday, the Gotham hundred -per-week
"barkeep," who hits Johnshurg, somewhere
In NCw England. TO run toe bar of new
hotel and finally runs the town after chuck
ing his job before he has mixed cocktail on
account OF n conflict with the brewer-boss
OF the burg, does not lay up treasures on
earth. and although he wears several suits
OF sporty" clothes and even top hat has
no fur overcoat. The money he gets from
n film firm for his first posing he turns over
to the sadly depleted building fund of the
local church. That's the kind of a guy Holi-
day is,
A bartender. gifted" at his craft.
turned temperance lecturer over night. is
the hero Of the now Cohan play. II is pop
ularly believed to be tho authors indirect
adaptation OF the BILLY" Sunday charac-
ter and craze" for stage uses.
This effort" is credited by him with
being the working out of a plot suggested
by George Middleton and Guy Bolton But
it is typIcally Cohan as. for instance, in
the passage where Holiday sweeps his
suffrage meeting off ts feet with waving
Of the American flag and demand that II
sing "rhe star Spangled Banner
The book of the play has Cohancsque
keeping up with the times spirit In the
presentation of a character that possesses
novelty. and in giving that parsonage a
Get Rick Quick Walllngford" twist that
adds variety TO eXtraVagant proceedings
All the material that lends itself readily to
Mr. Cohan's hand-the small town. the
barber shop in full swing with one shave.
the office OF the American House, together
with familiar types-has been used with
humorous effect.
There are several admirable things about
the play Mr.. Cohan again evidences his
claim to real consideration as playwright.
The texture of his piece is firmer than that
of any other OF his productions except pos
sibly Get.Rlch-Quick Wallingford." It
marks "A decided advance on "The Yankee
Prince" in which he made his first attempt
TO write more or less real drama. He Is
diverting and faithful to fact In his por-
trayal OF small town characters Possibly
he gains effects OF fidelity through the
stresslng Of superfcialties OF dress, dctlon
or deed but one feels that beneath the
surface are just the animating moods that
belong to the characters, even though there
is little .pretense at psychology 1t is all
clever, maybe merely casual. yet with
sense of reality and a sureness of charac'
terization.
Part of the success Is doubtless due to the
rapidity Of pace with which Mr. Niblo and
his associates carry the extravaganza OF
doings and the patness and pertness OF
dialogue, This allows no time for analysis
in the theater. Mr. Niblo was smart with
out being brash, and always deft and lik-
able His support was capital There were
no players featured" hence there was
splendid team work.
or course. there were two Cohan lett
Star Spangled Banner and
the dig at Providence, r. l. w. X, Nj.