The Washington herald., 1920-03-14
In New Xork's PLayhouses
By GILBERT SELDES

New York, March 13.-If you were
to read in these more than accurate
columns that w. II. Dougherty, the
famous American actor, made a tri-
umphant return to New York after
a long series Of years in moving
pictures and religious spectacles.
you would probably say that the
linotype machine had slipped sew
eral cogs. But facts is or are facts.
In full. Walter Hampden Dougherty,
known to the Stage by the first two
thirds OF his name, and a brother OF
Paul Dougherty, the painter of sea-
scapes, played the name part In
George Washington" last Monday,
and played IL superbly. 1t was after
a particularly trying session in Cali
fornia that Mr.. Hampden returned
to the East and went up to Maine
to visit his brother. Both he and
his wife took particular pleasure in
what would ordinarily be called the
vilest of weathers. Fog and mist
and rain and sheets of cold spray
were the pleasures of earth to these
people, who had just come back
from so much sunshine that they
could hardly bear another day of 1t.
l remembered this episode when, at
the end of the show. Mr.. Hampden
spoke briefly but with tremendous
heartiness about his joy at coming
back to the stage.
can't say that he came back
with a real play. but then Percy
Mackaye doesn't claim that. George
Washington is ballad-drama
which means that a series of con-
secutive. more or less, episodes are
carried forward by series of bal
lads which set the tone of the
piece. There are well-known things
like Yankee Doodle" and others.
such as THE Raggle- -Taggle Gyp-
sizes" which are a joy to hear.
George Marion sings these songs
quantity and entertainingly, and
most of the show goes OF with a
deal Of pep" unknown before in
Mr.. Mackaye's writings. 1t is rather
funny that the first scene OF the
piece is a longish explanation OF
why no one has written straight
drama about Washington and
sounds like an apology for Mr..
Mackaye. Perhaps that is why no
curtain speech was made by the
author, giving rise to the remark,
quite audible in the auditorium:
Percy shall not speak tonight
Among the figures of the New
York stage, the managers usually
keep in the background. Their au-
thors and their actors may know
what good fellows they are. but few
managers have achieved the thing
they pay press agents for, namely,
publicity. David Belasco is, of
course, character. You can still
hear the story of the milk-and-pie
lunch, and the pennies he gives
to his actors at rehearsals IL they
are good boys, and so forth. Quite
another type of manager, who is
rapidly becoming a character, is Al
II. Woods U really ought not to say
Al II. Woods, because. since he
dropped the four-sheet melodrama
he has become A. II. WOODS. ESQ.,.
Mr.. Woods leaps into fame as a
great name changer for plays. 1t
Is said that he has never produced
a play under it's original title. Now
he is on a new track. He Is chang
ing the name OF his boat. for Mr..
Woods Is sailing to England. there
to rival Gilbert Miller as an Amer
lean producer. And the habit Of
having no habits about names is so
ingrained that he has already
shifted from three steamship lines
and has taken bookings on five ves-
sells. 1t is expected that at the end
Mr.. Woods will do what he always
does-go suddenly down to a wharf
and take a ship as such, wherever
II goes. He buys his toothbrush on
board.
If / weren't already heavily
prejudiced in favor of the new
monthly magazine which bears the
name of The Dial. I should become
a propagandist for II, because II
has published a very charming and
illuminating article about vaude-
Vile. Vaudeville Is the one thing
on the American stage which Is
really American. circulating from
one end of the country to the other.
A hit discovered in Des Moines Is
seen in San Francisco and Boston
and Philadelphia and New York in
years time, and thereafter -