The Washington times., 1920-08-15

A new stage luminary Is rising
above the dramatic horizon in the
person of Helen Hayes, who will ap'
pear at the National Theater tomor-
row night in the title role Of "BAb"
in a comedy based upon Mary Rob-
erts Rinehart's famous stories and
written by Edward Childs Carpenter.
There has ben no more human girl
character created that that of Bah,
with her almost unholy faculty of
getting into scrapes, and wriggling
successfully out of them, and there
will be keen interest in seeing this
wholly delicious adolescent in the
flesh For this role George c. Tyler
has done the almost unheard of thing
Of taking a girl from a reigning sue
cess in New York. where she has
created nothing less than a dramatic
furore. and placing her in an untried
part.
Helen Hayes Of this city Is the girl.
and she is a Bah in real life, being
only a sub-deb herself, not yet out
Of her teens Miss Hayes created the
role OF Cora Wheeler IN Booth Tark-
ington's Clarence" and set New
York to talking, as indeed she did
last season with William Gillette ia
Sir ]. NJ. Barrie's Dear Brutus.'
The comedy comes to this city
direct from a record run or three
months at the Hollis Street Theatcr,
Boston. where its success was imme-
date and pronounced, of it's youthful
star, Helen Hayes" the American said:
Just as Maude Adams is resigning
roles requiring youth as well as imp
ish charm, this young person comes
along to suggest the Maude Adams of
1.-THE Little Minister" of 1895.
Miss Hayes was born in Washing
ton, d. c., eighteen years ago. and
admits that her stage debut. at the
age of six. was not n success. She
appeared at an amateur dancing car
nival. and attempted a sort of Isador
Duncan dance. and flunked. But
then, later. and while still at con-
vent. she played small parts in a
Washington stock company on Sat-
urday afternoons. She was Little
Lord Fauntleroy, and a Prince Chap,
and other things like that but it was
not until she was eight that she real
ly blossomed out.
Her mother, Mrs. Brown. brought
her to New York; installed her in a
dominican seminary, and then got her
a position whereby she could act at
matinees and nights, and yet not in
terfere with her education. She join
ed Lew Fields in the musical produce
ton of "Old Dutch" playing one Of
the children, and her great pal in
that show was the late Captain Ner-
non castle. She remained with this
a year, and was next seen in Mr..
Fields "Thc Summer Widowers." and
The Never Homes"
After leaving Fields management,
she went with John Drew in The
prodigal Husband" but having reach.
ed the awkward age" as she en-
press 1t, she returned to her home in
Washington, and devoted the next
two years to study Mt a convent.
At the end Of this period with her
first high heels, and her hair piled
high. she called on George C. Tyler,
who was IT that time organizing a
company to present "Pollyanna" On n
coast -to-coast tour. That was the
season Of 1917, and the following year
she played in "Penrod" at the Globe
Thester. New York, after which Mr..
TYLER loaned her to Mr.. Gillette for
the dream-girl in the Barrie play.
In the meantime Edward Childs
Carpenter had made n dramatizatio on
Of Mary Roberts Rineharts Bah
stories, but he could not find any ac-
tress that he thought suited to the
role OF the subdcb until he saw Miss
HAYES in Dear Brutus." He sought
out Mr.. Tyler and asked II he could
have her for the part Mr.. Tyler said
that he promised her to Booth Tar
kington for clarence" and there the
matter stood for a season.
Arthur Hopkins owned the dramatic
rights to Bah" and Mr.. Carpenter
went to him and asked him " he
would use his influence with Mr.. Ty-
Ter to let Helen Hayes play Bah.
There was an awful lot Of red tape
about the matter. for Miss Hayes had