The Washington herald., 1920-08-29
New York City
| pIne nre.m Drn.ati.ed.
By o. o Mcintyre.

The Lady OF the Lamp. Safroii
began his theatrical career as an
usher in a Pittsburgh theater-went
before the mast to China and other
countries in the Far East, came to
New York as song writer, ana
of recent years has been dabbling
in theatricals.
He is in his early thirties, and
despite the handicap of a limited
education, is one of the most astute
students of the drama. All of his
spare time has been spent with
books of science, philosophy, his
tory. biography and general litera-
ture.
He has presented an amazing
dramatic spectacle-a play which
is now the most talked about pro-
duction in the city-all by himself.
He wrote the play. the incidental
music, which has some weird
! strains that haunt the audience
| long after they leave the theater;
| directed the rehearsals, arranged
| the lighting. designed the cos
| TUNES and the scenery and. in fact.
| there is not a touch that Is not
his own.
Theatrical records do not show
a similar feat in New York. The
! story is fantastical one, and
/ while it might be presented in as
spectacular a manner as Ben Hur,
Carroll has produced the same
spectacular effect with very small
: ~ In oil
1t is the story of young man
! who visited a Chinese philosopher
in his apartment in New York. The
subject of opium smoking came
up. The hero wanted to hit the
pipe" and before the guests ar
rived for dinner he was granted
his request.
From there on three separate
| plots unfold in an astounding,
gripping fashion. The opium
smoker becomes an emperor and
1 fights to save a beautiful young
girl he has innocently sent to a
Manchu ruler. The last impress
sions he has before he enters the
land of poppy flt into the dream
action Of the play and they fit in
with the awakening in the apart
ments just as the guests arrive for
dinner.
No more skillful bit of stage me-
chanics has ever been witnessed in
Manhattan. Carroll has sounded a
new note in theatrical production
whether this play lives or not is
beside the question, although the
chances are that it will have a long
run.
New York theatrical managers
have followed each other biindly
like sheep year after year. Very
few have had the courage to strike G
out into new fields. They have sub
mitted to the mental and moral dis
cipline of the majority. They have
counted themselves rich merely be-
cause they have counted the golden
hoard OF others.
1t is possible to-admire a mighty
painting without becoming a paint
er. or have Plato at the fingers
ends and ever remain foolish. Car
roll has studied with attention the
works of all the great masters, but
when ne put his hand to fashioning
his own dramatic task he turned
his back upon all of them and faced
only his own original ideas. His
work is a Creation-and not n copy.
He studied the words OF the worlds
: own mind.
heard woman near me tell her
companion that this was her NTH
visit to the play. As it had been
running five nights, this might be
considered a criterion of the shows
future.
The Actors Only subject.
One of the features of Broadway
life in the late afternoon and even
ing are the little huddled groups
that gather at the curbs. They are
all well dressed figures. Each group
has it's one distinctive talker. He
does it all Mods are all that he
) gets or desires. The talker is an
actor He talks. talks and talks.
There is only one subject he dis
cusses-he is talking about himself.
7 There is always seriousness in
the talk and a gravity in the man
ner of the liteners. Most of them
; are waiting an opportunity to talk
about themselves-but they never
get it. The fellow who gets the
:, start holds the floor until the au-
e. dience disperses.
Broadway Crowds New Haunts.
Each month sees a new haunt of
!
popularity. Not long ago it was
delicatessen store with a back
room on upper Broadway where
; they rode in four wheelers at all
) hours of the night. Now it Is a
new restaurant near the Palace.
Little happers with short skirts
and false curls flock there with the
r sportiIy dressed young men. They
all seem to know each other. The
most unusual procedure is the way
r the girls pay their own checks
y The walters never think Of putting
the amount on one check.
The siIIiest Play.
About the silliest play seen in
New York for some time is called
Spanish Love" Yet it is the crea-
tiOn of two well known figures in
the field of literature-Mary Rob-
erts Rinehart and Avery HOpwood
l Even the critics were astoundeo
! that it ever reached the production
5 stage. On the other hand, no one
+ can tell about a play. One of the
best critics in New York judged a
j play that opened last year the most
v stupid he had ever seen. 1t is still
. running and going strong.
smoked Glasses for white Way.
Broadway is becoming brighter
4 than ever. The splash and fig oi
= carbon light. the whirl of incan.
descents, the food of mercury lights
has been so increased during thu
c last six months that many mer
, who walk down the thOroughfart
after the theater wear smoked
c glasses In fact peddlers stant