Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-18
THE PLAYGOER'S
WEEKLY TALK

!
l. tastes of playEoera. will be the Yule-
tide menu for Philadelphia. Following
| :ho fashion OF doing your Christmas
| shopping early the managers will give
patrons torctastc beginning Monday.
when four OF the holiday attractions
Will come in. The following Monday
! 'har" viii no two new offerings. Of
| immediate advent are some attractions
! familiar 20 PhusdoinhIans. ore OF
these. The Return OF Peter Grimm"
| (Garrick). with David Warheld, viii
conc, after n decades absence, Rs rir-
,Gr,'' n view OF the present vogue OF
the psychic and the other-worldiy.
which were pretty daring subjects at
the time Mir. .Belasco prepared this play.
| ~ Joleon Will return 70 the Shubert In
""nhad,' his extravaganza which had
n run there last season. but many
changes are said to have been made IN
the interim OF continental touring and
Night Boat" docks again at the For
rest. where II was launched for sue
ccssful trial trip; Il was clean n.cut
musico-comedy craft when It left these
and pretty near perfect entertainer,
Will receive his multitude OF friendly
fellow townsmen at the big metropolitan;
his Carnival" one OF the best and
displayed at the Garrick last spring
opening with the Christmas Day per-
| formances
A CCORD1NG to the public prints, the
a Mayor has been looking at some
theatrical entertainments with the re-
suit that he Is shaking a monitory-
and even rninatory-hnger at local
arrangements. who may be relied upon
to pass the good word along to the
producers a
same sources of public information, his
Honor warns that these managers are
Skating on thin ice: He mentions
no names, but those who are pirouetting
on such fragile footing cutting dollar
marks and figure threes. should be wise
enough to know that under thin Ice Is
very, very cold water.
OF course the Mayor has no idea of
turning the local stage into a Sunday
schooI entertainment though as far as
! that goes a revue or extravaganza or
musical show or farce can conform to
such standards vet prove amusing to the
| beholder and profitable TO the box Office
that's been proved often enough to need
| no further debate or demonstration. All
mat is needed 10 cleverness which
| taxes time and effort instead OF salacity
ana sugseBtiyeness. which have become
| IN some managerial minds a short cut to
easy JACK. II they only knew the truth
or the matter, shows which are more or
less Iewd or suggestive are not carried
/
| lcentiousness, but because OF their
| pictorial beauties. varied eccentric
and fancy dancing. easily assimilable
nrimG,S npineSS and individual merits. OF their
principals as entertainers. Much more
! oLteh than not (Rnd we have checked
oH on this) raw" jests or ditties win
scanty applause or laughter. Omitted,
'hT snow would be as big a success.
us perhaps perfectly true that art IL
not caued upon to teach morals, but II
must not Contravene them And Il ia
none OF the function OF the stage or
TES rhS oiner art TO pander 70 immortality.
shouId stir and lift. Even II II Is only
70 amuse. as is the purpose of the at
fractions designed to rest the tired
ousunrss oti',,,'is man who needs esthetic
aoes-the stage can be bright without
| being shining mark for Legitimate
condemnation. breezy without carrying
| Ill smells.
There will. of course, be no .ndeavor
20 dlF0rce the drama from lire-but IL
won't hurt TO separate some OF the in
sssrlor forms OF 1t from night life, and
rom catering by sugsestiveness Of pose
SHu costume or verbal ofrcnsiveness to
IoW or vulgar tastes. In fact taste
| might Well be set up as n determining
| criterion. Even conformity TO tho Iownr
@'n'c%i ca, level tene! OF good taste, would mean
| morals. And that would be n great
Progress away from conscloug com
! merclalizaIio OF the less admirable
traits OF human nature.
| Ihe Mayor probably will not ;vish IN
duplicate the feat Of Cromwell in 1870
! but' come next Tuesday, is the Actual
tercentenary OF the landing OF the Pnri'
thrso thns On hS Ihcse new world shores. The
thTee hundred years Intervening have
| diminished the heritage OF their diat.a,
for art and amusement But the frga
cious years have not meant altopat%o-
corresponding lapsing In their leCa
S'. os Ineir moral spirit with its regard for
essential decency.
. NONE OF the applailse which r,o,k.
- tho audiences approval at var,ou.
| points IN the progress OF the ylsy ia for
! him yet without him there wSui5 ~
much less applause Those WIZ Who q pe pe
| pleased with the entertainment thcv ar
Afforded by an evening at the theatre
El%e him no thought, Tor most of them
know nothing OF his duties or even nS
HIS existence, yet he Is responsible for
the smoothness. or lack Of it, with which
the play proceeds, U"
He Is the stage Snanager
Louis +. SpGulding who acts IN th,t
capacity, for Nora Bayrs' new musical
! play, Her Family Troe" at tho Ivrjc
h&s had charge Of eyerythtng back Of he
curtain I'm" Tor such productions as
"GlorIanna," Little Blue Devil" polly.
! anna" "Florahelia' and three Winter
! Garden productions.
| It Is not possible 10 define the duties
| OF 'Ic stage manager, hC told the plAy-
Go0r. '!or they include something new
/ every performance and. aside from the
| regular routine, II is never the same
| thing twice,
I'D WYNN is 50 much of a fixture
~ that the fact he had to go through
, the usual PAGES before arriving" has
, generally been lost sight Of Wynn Is
, a Phl!adolrftan spent his college day4
here and h'c"me noted as leader In amt
trVr theatr'cnls. A chance netting with
! { pTs" H"y'0n IN 1909 got him HIS hrst
/ professional experience in II repertoire
/ company, After this for six months he
JO'n"d his father In a local millinery
Business, but the stage call was 100
strong and presently he entered vaude-
| vile For years he was The College
Boy In the two-a-day
WTNHIS IS my first professional Rp-
l. pcaranc- in Philadelphia, and am
/ "rJuy,-y every minute OF t." said Mar
. lnri~ I.anhcau. star OF The Sign on
! NE I"or.' the current melodrama AZ
'hn Ad",phI Il have wanted to come
~ 'nis rl'y for several years but you
TtuHot 10 everything you wish TO do,
'.,'u Though you are a star" she addPi.
, - H. rcpurt that had reached her ears
tha, sr" dIsdained appearing anywhere
'Er"ir m Broadway. This rumor had
rstI'.rd sprre support from the fact tha,
4 MISS RaWh"au had not appeared on tn"
/ srage outside Of New York for moro
| than four years. The report purpOrted
'ha' this leading emotional actress con-
1 si'rr"d audiences Other than those Of
( broadway all provincial and not worthy