Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-09-27
AND MANY CHANCES
THE PLAYCOER'S
WEEKLY TALK
Dissertations on Plays and
Photoplays Of Interest
to PhiladelphidnS

J. set and the changes for the new week
are not so many As were, of course,
necessary to start theatredom into ac-
tivity after the summers dearth and the
actors strike. There are three new At =
fractions underlined for the so-called
legitimate houses.
Judging by the personnel announced
for the Scandals Of 1919 the For
rest will stage what is as essentially
dancing show as the Pavlowa troupe
or the Ballet Russo, though of DIT
ferent sort of daucing-SOciety, aero
> bstic, modern and jazz, instead of the
pas seul, the pantomime and the chore-
ographic Interpretation of classic or
Slavic composers.
The Walnut will witness the debut of
y new Irish singing star, Barry Nc
Cormick, in Willard Mack's new piece.
f'The Logic of Larry" which is n
comedy, though it does not appear
whether the Milesian hero wears coun
terpart of the Chsuncey Olcott romantic
mantle, to ultimate possession of which
he will doubtless aspire. There is room
for the development of a new Celtic
star. and Mr.. Mccormick has rs good
a chance as any for the stellar hOnors.
Fiske O'Hara has not been around for
some seasons, and Andrew Mack, ap-
pearspces go still further back in the
past. Mr.. Olcott has passed his prime.
and as he is one of the wealthicst OF
acting folk. doubtless he will, before
many seasons elapse, retire on his
laurels aud shamrocks and enjoy well
won leisure. Mr.. Mccormick will be
remembered as a comedian with an
easy presence and quaint drollery,
who appeared In the two local engage
ments OF Turn TO the Right He is,
like an proDer Irish stars. tuneful
tenor.
The other change Of the week will
also stress the two points of race and
newness of stardom. Barney Barnard
win find his name spelt out in bright
lights above the entrance TO the Adel-
NH. "The Hon. Abe Potash will con-
tinue his activities in the line of
Hebrew comedy of the irasciblc yet
lovable type, made familiar in the Mon
tague Glass stories.
Mr.. Glass and Jules Eckert Good
man are the authors of the play which
was originally announced as The Hon.
Sam Davis" though the protagonist
of the title was really Abe Potash
Under different monniker. 1t seemed
that Mr.. Bernard, who created the
part of Potash in Potash and Perl
mutter." Potash and Perlmutter in
Society" and Business Before Plea
sure" wanted TO get away from the
possibility of being considered u one
play star and one-role player and pre-
vailed on the coautbors to give Abe n
different name anyhow. However Abe
Potash would be just as human and
humorous under any other name, even
the rather unhappy, because unsignify-
ing, "Sam Davis, and when Mr.. Ber-
nard got under the skin of the role he
found himself thinking in terms of Pot
ash and speaking in terms of Potash
and acting in terms of Potash. The
people on the Rialto told him he was
making a mistake in changing the
trademark label on his cloak and suit
line, as it were, and other people wrote in
this last we hear from the press agency
department-saying how much disap-
Z pointed they were that he was not
going to do another Potash. The up
shot Of 1t was, finally he said "Oi, Oh !
Let Il be Potash" and what hN been
advertised as Sam Davis" in this city
for two weeks past, becomes ABE
Potash over the week end.
Really it did not make any difference
in the world to Messrs. Goodman and
Glass. They had written a genuine all
wool and thirty six inches wide Potash
and the only change that had to be made
) WIS rubber stamping Sam" nit
ABE" in the script.
II any of you hear an occasional &C
cidental Sam" slip into the dialogue
at the Adelphi on Monday night at
the opening you will know on what
grounds to excuse 1t.
GLASS and Goodman are becoming
VI almost Gilbert and Sullivans or Da
mon and Pythiases in their playwright
ing alliance. "The Hon. Sam Abe Davi:
Potash which, by the way, tells tht
, story, both hilarious and human, of 6
Jewish merchant whose political expert
ences as the reform mayor of a small
town are, to say the least. complicated
both'in plot and dialogue, is their fourtl
collaboration, one of them being "Busi
ness Before Pleasure" already listed
Mr.. Goodman wrote another comedy o
the "1ovable old eccentric" school, 9Th,
Man Who Stood STILL" in which Louis
Mann was the star. Possibly the big
gest hit of this was made by that fin
aetrnss aud former comic Onera star
Mathilde Cottrelly, who will be, by co
incidence, cast in principal part il
.'The HoB. Abe Potash Anothe
member of the cast will be Robert Cum
mings, who will be well remembered her
as ore of tho leading me'nbers of tn
Orpheum stock, and who, in fact
played the king in IF | Were King
at the very first production. He wa
an excellent ''heavy," as the phras
goes. Later he succeeded Frank Keenal
as Sheriff Jack Rance, in THE Girl o
the Golden West when Mr.. Keenal
became costar with Charlotte Walker il
the Belasco production of THE War
rens of Virginia.
FTyHERE was really a good deal O
L reasonableness in Mr.. Bernard's 8 de
sire not to become stereotyped in on
lire of work.
David warfield, after two or thre
seasons each in "The Music Master
and 'HThe Auctioneer,' once had some
what the same feeling. He has sepa
rated his runs in those with other pop
ular plays and has outgrown the sens
Of their routineness. He has snmethin
to say about the situation however. l
seems that it depends on the acto
whether his impersonation will beom
mechanical or not. He has played Simo
Levi, the loyable old Hebrew in eth
Auctioneer." in which he is coming I
Philadelphia shortly, more than 130
timcs--not consecutive, of course.
A few years ago when the Playgoe
asked him about this and similar rec
ords and whether they did not mea
deadening of the artistic, he replied
1.-THE longer one plays a part th
greater it should become in his hands
An che great actors have played certai
roles for very long periods. Irwin
played The Bells OF and anon 70
more than forty years. Booth playe
fTTannlaf, throuahout his career some