New-York tribune., 1919-09-18
Drama a
First Is Last" Is Seen al the
Maxine Elliott

By Haywood Broun

Out Of n midfield scrimmage between
ineptitude and bad taste at the Maxine
Elliott Theatre last night there sud
denly shot an actor with bit Of vivid
and we'll written dialogue under his
arm. He carried it we'll and without
OF the evening We do not know
whether the author of this particular
portion OF the play was Samuel Ship
man or Percival Wilde who are jointly
responsible for First Is Last" but
the actor was Richard Dix, who did
we'll last season in William LIE Baron's
short lived II Love You" and much
better last night
This single, stirring minute and a
half OF the play was speech by
piano player from cheap dance hall
who told ohat was left of his dreams.
A speech. shrewdly enough written to-
give some OF the contrast between the
utter degradation of the man who
scrambled for the pennies Of the dance
hall patrons and then went home
drunk and dreaming. For he rest we
can only say that although the play
is not IS bad as Mr. Shipnlan's EAST
is Wcst," it is a contender to be reck-
oned with The hc~o Of the piece
by speculating in garbage. He is the
king Of the rash men and the local
color is faith ul. Mr.. Shipman has
written an entire act in the seeming
belief that as soon as 4 characl er in
a play says FSarbage' any audience
which obcys the rules may be counted
upon to shrek with mirthful delight.
Last night thy didn't shrek
In one respect Mr. Shipman has set
himself a task in which he might very
we'll fail even if he wrote much better
than he has ever done before Moth
ing in the world looks more foolish
than a college boy celebrating except
a full grown New York actor playing
the part Of a college boy celebrating.
And even then it seems to US that a
manager casting an actor to play the
part o young Columbia senior might
have hesitatcd before selecting that
amusing ex-vaudevillian Franklyn
Ardcll If there had been college
coxswain in the play we suppose Tom
Wise would have been engaged. Not
since the days of "Brown OF Harvard
and before has any such middle-aged
group Of roisterers been gathered to-
gether for a college graduation on the
stage.
The play is about Columbia, of
which our only personal knowledge
was gained during attendance at Mr..
Clayton Han ilton's lectures on dra-
to stir any memories. The first act
took place in fraternity house which
seemed to have been coeducational
society. AT any rate. there were g
number Of unattached Young women
wandering about who were known as
"thc girls" Their status was not very
clearly established. Mr.. Woollcott of
Hobart, cou d not account for them,
and there is nothing which we re-
member from Harvard which would
quite explain their comings and goings.
1t may be that we have forgotten, or
perhaps Columbia is much more liberal
III such matters. Isn't it's pres ident
Mr.. Nicholas Murray Butler, an ex
change professor from the Rand
School, or something like that? We
are a little uncertain about it, but
never mind, it doesn't matter.
At any rate, the young men and the
young women meet in the dear old
fraternity house for the last time and
propose to each other, and then the
community spirit becomes so strong