New-York tribune., 1920-09-28
New Cohan Production Be.
comes Spirited and ANUS
ing After a Long Stretch
Dreary and Slow Paced
THE CAST
By Haywood Broun

Back IN the Gays Whcn ne naQ seven
keys Mr.. Cohan seemed TO arrive at
his destination with considerable ce-
lerity. There is much more fumbling
at the lock in The Tavern" which
was produced at the George NJ. Cohan
'""heater last night, but belatedly and
llietiy the door which leads TO Bald
pate swings open. There comes time
when it is too late to mend. For our
part, when MIR. Cohan eventually hit
his stride, at approximately 1o:30, day
light saving time, We were moved not
so much to amusement or admiration
as to ask, what delayed you?" 1t is
humorous play which takes the devil
Of a time to reach it's given point 1t
is trick in which the magician brings
out the high hat before he has caught
his rabbits. In fact, one is asked to
count them before they are hatched.
On the program the play is at
tributed not to George M. Cohan, but
to Cora Dick CAN'T, but it has been
pretty generally reported that the
original manuscript has been very
thoroughly. done over by Mr.; Conan.
We were given to understand from the
out-of-town reports that Cohan had
followed the method which he en-
ployed with such success in "The
Royal Vagabond," that he had taken
somebody else's work which was meant
in all seriousness and sa:rlzed 1t.
This was to be, we were Informed,
mystery play reduced to absurdity::
Unfortunately the satire is released
only late in the second act. Up to
that time the theme seems to be
much more slowly than that. There is
no such rush of incident as animated
"Seven Keys to Baldplate" until an en-
tirely different mood has been pretty
definitely established. Cohan seems
to have plunged ahead without quite
being sure what he intended to do and
to have trusted that inspiration would
catch up to him. 1t has, but he gives
it quite chase. He seems a bit
blown-and certainly the audience is
by the time succor arrives.
The play is further handicapped by
the fact that Arnold Daily is quite the
wrong person for the leading role. 1t
is bad enough that character after
character must inquire "Who is this
young man." when it is quite evident
that it is not young man, but a
middle-aged actor in blond wig, and
even worse that Mr.. DAILY should be
asked to sing snatches of song and to
dance. With each thump it seemed as
if another nail were being driven into
the coffin of a romantic character.
the Vagabond should be person of
great physical agility and charm. We
do not think that even person in a
play may be expected to win something
like love at first sight merely by maxi
ing faces at young lady, as Mr.. DAILY
did last night. We are perfectly aware
of the fact that Arnold Daily is an ex-
ceptionally fine actor, but he must run
ten times around the park each morn
ing for many day before he can again
become romantic figure in a costume
play.
Much the best performance is that
of Spencer Charters as William the
hired man. Alberta Burton is agree
able and William Jeffrey is effective.
The play is laid in nameless time
during the age of highwaymen. 1t con-
Germs the surprising adventures which
take place at tavern during the night
Of a great wind and storm. There we're
times when we should have liked to
hear less of the storm and more of the
lines, and others when it did not mat
ter much. In the second of the two
acts, as we have said, there is q stretch
in which a number of amusing and in
genious twists are introduced with
commendable speed and precision. This
Baldpate spirit is not maintained to
the end, even after it has been at
tanned. The big surprise of the even
ing is conventional. 1t is always hard
for US to keep the secret of trick and
mystery plays, for our motto is sieve
and let sieve, but we feel no particular
compunction about Cohan's secret, be-
cause it is not much out of the ordi
nary. The mysterious stranger turns
out to be merely mad, which will serve
to show that "The Tavern" is no such
masterpiece of its school as Baldpate.