The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-16

while on the Transcript. But he was
never the same man afterward. He es-
capped from Boston very much broken.
Since then he has been tolerated. but !
understand now that he has fallen SO
low that he does nothing but Greenwich
Village and Shakespeare"
That's the undertaker's stunt we saw
last week. Well, if he's gotten down to
that, God help him. And yet-say"
His bright, mechanical eye cleaned
reminiscently. The first-nighters were
beginning to come back. The angel in
the box revealed a pair of ncipient
wings. His friends had sprouted them
on him during the intermission. They
had told him that the costumes, which
has cost him all of s7OOO were built for
endurance as well as speed, and would
last the season, and that the show was
good for at least $500 week
"Sayr' repeated my friend, that dame
that did the song and dance just now
was pretty good But why did she need
so much help? The first time she did. it
she WAS all alone, The second time She
was Joined by couple of others; the
third time more. They couldn't stop
coming. She ought to be used to doing
a thing like that alone by this time
remember when 1 was boy, and went
in swimming in the canal, l didn't care
after a while who saw me that way"
Years ago some genius invented song
in which, after the first stanzas, the
singer is gradually Joined by others who
came lettering and Sinking in from the
wings until there is no standing room
left on the stage. Then they all sway
back and forth like the mourners at
Mary wilkins Freeman funeral. Now,
no theatrical manager who produces
musical comedy, dares depart from this
rule"
After the show was over and we were
going home in my master mechanics car
he burst out with:
"I'll say that was a good show. They
were touched up a little too much in
places, and if my wife smoked cigarettes
and went through jinks that there'd be
trouble in the house I've just bought
1t was some music, too. The man who
got that up"
Nobody knows who writes musical
comedies, 1t isn't good form to know"
We'll, whoever he is, he's up to the
minute. Now that other gink, Shakes
peare, he's gloom. Yet l heard you
say he's some boy"
"TIe was" | faltered.
'Well, what I'm getting at is this: |
want to learn something, now that I'm
on easy street. And I amt so sure
know as much about this thing you call
dramatic art as L might. I know an en-
CINE, but | don't know play so we'll
can see that now. Yet plays good
deal like an engine. All the parts have
got to fit and you've got to keep it oiled
up. Now this lad, Shakespeare. He amt
so bad as thought, now that l remem-
her it. Some of his talk was better than
it seemed at sfi-st. What he needed is
pep-and jazz. This other lad and he
ought to get together. They might pull
off something big"
''Ill speak to the dramatic critics about
it," said, solemnly.
what do these guys know-h they've
never been out of New York;
"Well, they go to all the first nights
They see tragedy, comedy, history, pas
toral, pastoral-comical, tragical-histori-
cal, tragical-comical<lis
And they read about them all the time.
My mechanical friend rolled his cigar
over to the other side.
80 that's what ails en- he said. Il
knew by their looks they didn't know
anything No, sir, yiu can't get 1t out
OF books. You got to make EN- yourself
Think of me knowing about an engine
just by reading about it out of book!
And he chuckled rapturously.
(Copywrighe, First Century Press,