The Washington herald., 1920-09-26
In Neu York Playhouses
By GILBERT SELDES.


The breathing space afforded by
only two openings in one week was
a good thing. For once a reporter
can be up on his work and go back
TO do justice to a few unmentloned
events of the week before. The new
pIavs are Welcome, Stranger,
which played a longish time in the
West, and for which seats selling
one year in advance is not consid-
cred too high claim by the produc-
ers. and one BelasCo's new play
TO- Frances starr. As to that one
year advertisement, 1 suppose It
dates from Monday. which happened
to be the Jewish New Year Also
the play is play about anti-Semitic
prejudice Also it opens on New
Year STANDARD time, not daylight
savinGJ in the first act. As for the
plot, I am told that Aaron Hoffman,
who wrote the play. also wrote or
created the famous quip thus: We
don't allow no Jews in this here VIII
laEe' sure. that's why it's still
village" Arrange that with the best
stun, the simplest and most appeal
ing stuff in the wOrld-goOd old
nelodrama-and you have Wei
come. Stranger George Sidney, be-
ing possessed of two first names in
real life. plays IsidOre Solomon and
plavs him as those who remember
him from The Show Shop" very
well knew he would. 1 omit COM
parsons with the Potash brood, not
because they are unpleasant, but be-
cause they are unnecessary. One
thing might be said for the audience.
Or hOIy-day night an audience OF
many Jews took with calm and for
titude a display OF some of the less
pleasant characteristics of humanity
en- 1bOdied in one Of their own race.
But. of course, they took with the
same COuraG Ge the more cheerful as
poets of the human race, equally
shown forth in one of their own
race. The moral Of the play seems
very much to be that race and reli-
gion do not matter so much in the
contact between decent human be-
ings.
As for morals, isn't it a bit sur
prisinE to find that the theme OF
Genius and the Crowd" George NJ
Cohan's own show. is the desire of
genius to be sweet and clean? Mr..
Cohan's shows have always been
clean as I remember them. He has
a passion for simplicity. But he
hasn't heretofore infringed on the
POllyanna patent and made a song
and dance about it. George NJ. shuf-
fed a bit when he came out to talk.
And that reminds me-
One of the incest of the evening
entertainments herea bouts is the
Midnight Founders atop the Cen
tury, where, after Harry Kelly has
been funny and Rosie Quinn has
pen delightful and lot of other
people have done notable BITS. Jes-
slca Brown appears in a miraculous
dress with a white Persian kitten
where a Gnuff naturally would be
ard dances What the kitten thinks
OF il. I 90 not know. But I like
# PtOwever. that isn't the point
about shuffling, which makes one
think Of feet. and as for feet only
two in this world are famous. Mr..
Chaplin has been resting up at the
Century, and the other night I was
told he was there. just watching the
show. 7 went and saw him not
But as 7 left there was Mr.. Chaplin
entertaining. acting as amateur hat
check hoy. His latest picture is
called The Kid" and if it is any
thing like The Kids Last Fight"
which J once heard Mr.. Chaplin re-
cite. it must be wonderful.
zone" is a psychic play in which
Frances Starr plays two parts.
twin sisters, who though miles
apart. can communicate with each
other iustantaneously who attract
the same young man, who accept
him and give him up-need one say
more? Miss Starr is one of the
Sct-1ssC- who are adored or left in
utter Indifference by most people.
Having passed through both stages
myself I can only record that Miss
Starr is a much finer actress now
than she was in The Easiest Way"
and that she has not progressed in
the manner of the Sabine army:
zone step forward, two steps back
ward" but regularly forward
1 think I broke a house rule at
the Hippodrome by laziIy saunterine
in at about $50. 1t served me
right, too, for I missed, by all ac-
counts, a full evenings entertain
ment. Yet 1 would like to set down
that nothing in three years has
caused me such COnvuIsive amuse-
nent as did Joe Jackson. the tramp
cyclist," as 1 knew him years ago
in vaudeville Now he is actually a
superclown, a marvelously human
and appealing and terribly funny
man. To see him trying to, get rid
of a honking horn. in order to
mount his bicycle is to see a genius
of pantomime. However. I am naive.
When the chorus calmly walked
into the water and without so much
5 shtver or a nod of the head
stepped down and down and down
until IL disappeared. I was thrilled