Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-24
AMUSEM ENTS
NATIONAI-"Genius and the
Crowd -

Washington theatergoers. who made
| the pilgrimage to the New National
Theater last night to see George NJ.
| Cohan's latest production. Genius
and the Crowd" a comedy by John T.
Mcintyre and Francis Hill. expecting
to see and hear a farce comedy with
| musical attachments. got it-with a
difference. The comedy was there
right enough, and so was the music,
but minus the grand old rag" stuff
with which Mr.. Cohan's productions
in the past have been filled, more or
less.
In the first place. the genius in the
new play is real genius. the kind
that. by his magic fiddFng. holds the
heart of the world in his hand-if you
get me. And in the second place. the
music that filters through. particular
ly in the second act, is the dreamy.
soulful kind.
which greeted the performance last
night, and the constant laughter. the
audience was well pleased with this
later-day Cohan production. 1t may be
as well to say at the outset that
Genius and the Crowd" is remark
beautifully costumed. Conan shines
all through the American business
man who matches his wits against
the tempermental genius about to
slough off into oblivion because he
cannot stand success.
There is serious theme in Genius
and the Crowd" which attempts
new explanation of the idiocyncrasies
of genius. The genius, PHILIPPE Trava,
la youthful violinist, feels that the
crowd" which gathers around him
with plaudits. has no real love of
hao ,1fj fYI1 nd he 10 oh
to surrender his soul to the haser
elements in his nature. He determines
to throw up his career and seek
peace in a quiet life far away from
the capitals of the world. It's lit
tie bit hard to get. Genius starving
throwing up the sponge with the
world at it's feet is novelty.
Into the breach leaps the American.
Robert Burr, seller of automobiles.
He likes Trava. Thinks him a reg
ular fellow. He has a bunch and
plays it., He's not quite sure what
Trava's trouble is all about and no
one else is either. But he thinks the
genius is in love, without having come
to a realization of that fact. Burr
picks the girl. the right one, and
coolly informs Trava that he is going
to marry her the next morning. Then
the genius wakes up. He discovers
what his real want is. and the fear
of the crowds kidnapping his soul
vanishes into thin air.
AS has been said, Burr is Conan
esque. He may be the brain child of
Mcintyre and Hill, but the hand of
Conan must have had something to
90 with his creation and delneation
Burr gets across. The audience I'M
derstands him. It laughs at him and
applauds him. Frank Otto has the
part. and fills it admirably. The
stubby. high-powered, quick think
ing American is an amusing contrast
to the long, temperamental Genius"
played by George Renavent. who, by
the way. seems to have been born for
the part Renavents characterize
ton of the genius is practically flaw
less.
Others in the large cast particular
~ deserving of praise are Fuller Mel
lish, who plays the part of the old
mender of violins; Marion Coakley,
as Mira Van Ness. the secretary Of
Trava; n. Cooper Cliffe, as Harrison
Lloyd, manager for Trava; Wright
kramer, as Edouardo Barna, the old
singer. who lost his soul to the
crowd; Katherine Stewart, Con-
stance Beaumar and Frank Ross
Particularly picturesque is the
scene in Gaspero's violin shop in the