Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-23
THE PLAYGOER'S
WEEKLY TALK
Observations on Plays and
Photoplays Seeking Fauor
in Philadelphia

.XIyITH Thanksgiving now less than a
NV week removed, it is altogether fit
ting to ask, What has the Philadelphia
playgoer to be thankful for?" In the
Arst place, there Is the strategic retreat
,af the "fiu" at a time when the theatri-
raj season seemed on the very verge of
! Nebacle, not to mention the nerves of
4he chronic theatregoer and the pocket
books of the managers. Then again we
f1p be thankful for the visits paid us
by the Barrymores, Ethel and Lionel,
Rnd by Guy Bates Post in The Mas
~uerader," and for the light they shed
1fpon season quite dismally common
place. And at this very moment we
aee grateful that the coming week will
Witness the return to Philadelphia of
snch splendid actor as Otis skinner
in one of the best of all his vehicles,
THE Honor OF the Family" and for the
opening Of another member of the "Oh"
Bchool of musical attractions in the
form of ''Oh. Lady Lady, and for
1Penrod," dramatized from the popular
stories by Booth Harrington.
fTyHE return of Otis Skinner in his
II artistic success recalls the remark
able versatility of this actor as revealed
by the wide range of plays in which he
sias courted and won public favor. In
Ihe old days he was known as one of the
best of the Shakespearean players. At
Grst he was member of Augustin
Daly's company and through his asso-
ciations with the famous members of
that organization laid the foundation for
his later-day successes in the Shake
ppearean roles. At one time he played
With Lawrence Barrett in George II.
Boxers "Francesca da Rimini' and to-
sgother they achieved a great success.
Then he became a star on his own ac-
,pcrd and ran the gamut of the Shake
sspearean roles, In which he excelled as
- reader of verse. Departing from
Shakespeare again he played the role of
s1rancois Villon in "Villon the Vaga-
6ond." and then won approval In an
:, s,hdaptation from Stephensons prince
Otton" and In the French play, The
harvester" by Jean Richepin. Reviv-
ing the Boxer play in which he had
starred with Lawrence Barrett, he un-
-t1ef-took to take Barrett's part and was
Rewarded with a brilliant success. Next
ne appeared with Mrs. lie Moyne and
Icleanor Robson in the Browning play
Elm Balcony" and handled the intri-
cate verse Of Browning with great
ciarity. Shortly after this Skinner
Threw Shakespearean blank verse to the
winds and embarked upon a series OF
Scornedy and character plays allowing
.;nirnself to be diverted, however, into the
perious plays 1.-The Duel" by Henri
14avedan and, around the same period
unto THE Honor of the Family" an
1adaptation from Honore de Balzac's "A
rBachelor's Establishment" In this
. sproduction, which it will be the privilege
scf the younger generation of Philadel
2phia playgoers to witness here Monday
2Sklnner was at his very best. A little
later he achieved an even greater popu
elar success In "Kismet." He was las
aseen here In Booth Tarkington's Mr.
yAntonio.'
Otis Skinner grew up in the classics
but In later days became discouraged
and disillusioned, and elected to follow
more closely to the popular tastes
lOthers have drawn characters more
Ak{jifuily than he. but he excels in his
.fnastery of diction. His home, as IL
.8enerally known, is at Bryn Mawr
~uhere Mrs. Skinner, the Maude DurbaI
.0f the stage. takes prominent part II
>ths activities of art circles.
rfANE is reluctant to speculate as t.
~ the probable success of Edward A
Hoae's dramatizaton OF the popular
'Fenrod" stories from the pen of Bootl
YArkington. AS general rule. how
&ycr, II Is only rarely that a play mad
from q successful novel or series o
Sforios finds more than lukewarm favo
with the public. The instances of grea
. poDularity are comparatively few in tn
l4at few years, and some of the produc
iNE managers have been reluctant L
naserd their money on book plays, n
matter how popular the story may be
On the other hand, there have been bi
keerfns from dramatizations of success
I r c1l books and stories. notable case
, 1&inK "Get Rich Quick Wallingford
4 ana more recently "Pollyanna," whic
1g,ns had great vogue.
~ ~ The chief reason for the failure of tn
te@ * play has been the inability I
,sfef the characters of the story I
- :tage and preserve the personalitie
r't' Rave attracted the readers OF tn
. fk< Edlfo When a story has had nation
7oc.r naddfslation II Is but natural tina
sen cepsmersr has formed asmind pictur
>2is ~ "A Ms Is likely 4