Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-12-21
THE SAVING GRACE" I'M VELVE d HE
THE ~PLAYGOER'S
WEEKLY TALK
Ubsercations on Plays and
Z PhofopIays of Interest to
PhiladeIphidns

k<DHILADELPHIA, meet Mr., Maude.'
"A Al great many of our ~playgoers
WI protest against the redundancy OF
aq.Eintroduction to the great English
NJ actor. for did they not meet him ir
ksflfmpy and don't they remember
b how+. But, come to think of 1t, 1t Is
rafher hard to recall just how Mr.
NuIffde looks when not in character. OF
cd4irse. there rave been many photo
e4Hphs. but they somehow do not inn
prtss like a view of the man or the
stage. And when Mr.. Maude made his
hrst and only visit to Philadelphia 1t
WAS In the role of the aged Grumpy and
sn;no one could tell how he really looked.
A H1t, next week, in "The Saving Grace
IN will be his own middle-aged SELF at
thR@Broad.
~ was strange that Cyril Maude
slittld have held back from appearing
outthe American stage for so long. His
Z Rnaat popularity in England surely must
hrrfe convinced him that he could meet
liEHwise with success in this country.
When he did come to America about
ftrc years ago it was TO bring with hiel
aeifst of plays which he had better left
at3 home. In one of these, THE Second
iutaCommand,' It could not be said he
dfdsvery we'll. John Drew had appeared
M ifl1fhis r. G. Carton play and 1t never
was a great success In this country.
t Eventually, in desperation, Maude
hahed out the manuscript of Grumpy"
and when he put It on in New York its
recaption was a triumph. For about
two years he continued to win friends
In "Grumpy," and since then he has been
playing in America just about as much
as In England.
SskIAMING a play is a very serious
In matter" says George w Lederer,
Who is overseeing the production of The
Velvet Lady," which will have its
premiere here next week. Lederer, who
= will be recalled for his excellent work
With THE Land OF JOY" brought with
him from England the reputation of a
veteran producer Of musical plays. NO
one autho in a hundred knows what to
call the plays he writes Mr.. Lederer
went on. The best he does is to tie a
brick to its neck before handing 1t TO q
lanager for production.
f'sWhenever a play has been handed
10 ne I have invariably closed my eyes
on the title page. not caring to be pre-
niaturely prejudiced against the play
itself because of its eXasperating title.
If the play pleased me | tore off the title
page and produced the dialogue portion
with a title l would procure by listen
ing to an audience leaving the theatre
after the performance of some successful
play and 1 was pretty sure to overhear
several suggestions for n good title that
would prove the salvation of my authors
dialogue.
w can name many plays that have
failed because of the authors selection
ofetitles. And 1 can tell of renamed
plays that were revived and ~prospered-
RETAINED with titles that ~playgoers them
selves had unconsciously suggested.
= T Velvet Lady is a renamed
play. an adaptation of Fred Jackson's
clever farce, A Full House It had not
failed in farce form-the only trouble
<rnr that ifS nlnf was ton hiU for II rNp
work. We thought the plot merited a
change of treatment as we'll as change
of little. So the plot has been given a
musical-comedy treatment and the title
altered to The Velvet Lady"
H7HE coveted place in the Belasco
llimeiight has fallen TO another ac-
tress. Ina Claire is the young woman
whose destiny hereafterpis to be linked
withe of the famous producing man.
a8tf. She will make her first Philadel-
phia appearance in a straight dramatic
role christmas afternoon at the Garrick
Theafre. where Belasco will present his
comedy hit, "Polly With a Past"
Two seasons ago Mr.. Belasco visited
TIM Ziegfeld "Follies" to hear Miss
Ctnlre, who, he had been told, was ridi-
cullng him cruelty In a smartly satirical
heie song entitled Poor Marketable"
Ht,m nave liked 1t and he must have
fixsd the singer, too, for he subsequently
engaged Miss Claire for polly With a
PastT.
dnsthe Belasco play she has the role
0ff an intelligent young woman the
daughter of a mid-western clergyman.
who waits on two young bachelors, irked
as they are by nothing In life except the
rdkings of a love-sick chum. Polly
kiinws her French and is working to
coa<inue her musical education in Paris.
she Is persuaded. because OF her &C
-IAAyt.l..,n 20 iTnnnrGnnnNn a No
wifching French siren, fill with envy the
iu5ifferent young woman and bring her
rot terms. From here on the demure
4 mad modest Polly Shannon becomes
pkulette Badly, the French enchantress,
n 3ransition tina affords Miss Claire full,
esxspe for the display OF those initiative
N tatents which nave won her recognition
n IN fhe past. Associated with Ina Claire
ia The play are Cyril Scott, II. Reeves
smith. Herbert Yost, George Stuart
b Cfifistie, Thomas Reynolds, Louise Gal
ldWay, Adah Barton, Betty Linley
Frzncls Verdi, Lloyd Neal and Inei
ssbring.
yXTtIEN you were a little child yor
w probably played house with moth
fIsR naore than a set of toy dishes and
n small broom, or built wonderful snow
forts behind which protection o re
pulsed the enemy" when he sought Il
o1st you. But you were only playint
ard using your imagination. In tn,
case Of tie very small child 1t was tn
<ata mother who used the little toes u
Illustrate her poetry of the five littl
plgs that went to market. calling agail
upon the juvenile imagination.
fThe casual theatregoer as a rule |
obliyious TO the skill entailed in tn
echnical directors art as displayed II
tie matter of backgrounds. The chill
readily believes that sheets from moth
cts bed represent the walls of a hous
Of some really fantastic setting, an,
then when grown up Is asked to believ
At the theatre that larger pieces o
fdtgslin. or canvas stretched upon woode
flames represent anything from fiowln
water TO solid masonry and the region
btIoT to the heavens above. 1t is ar
otftr case OF taxing his imagination.
fChlef opponents OF the art of mag
nttlsn In stage settings belong 10 tn
ntaVer schools Of scenic artists repre-
stnted by Max Reinhardt, Joseph Crbai
Robert Jones and the many artist
whose work has been show in conneC
ton with the several amateur THEATRES
productions which have been presente
M here and in New York. In the famou
Bklasco realistic settings the vetera
~ piDducer leaves nothing 10 the imagins
fien. a virtue which may be considere
~tiNeakness when the audience forget
~ function and fallsN to talking abor
tltt Wonderful cornstalk broom in tn
c6rner. to the detriment of the pla
itfAlf.
when Glacomo Puccini wrote his new
est 0ne-act opera. 'Suor Angelica i
Incorporated the representation Of
. .LLM VA aM-- =