The Washington herald., 1921-10-30
Dillingham; Returns
To His Trade
By EARLE DORSEY
Despite His Ambition to Produce Drama.
Charles Still Retains Musical Comedy Leadership

nEFoRE very long. unless all signs fail.
n thing will have TO be done with Charles DILL
ingham. Something. OF necessity, will have TO
be done make him stick to his trade Some remedy
will have TO be found for the fellows periodic
drama producing.
Only a week ago. Dillingham; not only pro-
duced the best musical comedy in recent years in
Good Morning, Dearie." but he cleared away all
remaining doubts as to bis outstanding leadership
in American musical comedy production. In this
field 1t is doubtful IL there is any other in
America-unless it be ZiegtsId-who brings his
musical comedy trade similar eye for color
similar passion for vivace and movement.
strong an instinct for the elements that make for
charm and entertainment in the theater.
Dillingham; betrays, nevertheless. all the old
classic ambition Of the comedian to play Hamlet
Periodically. he announces himself through with
musical comedy. Periodically. he announces that
from now henceforth he will invade the sterner
realm of drama. Just periodically, he falls and
cracks his head. and arising.~limps back to the
warmersand more friendly fields Of musical comedy
where he abdes while his wounded pride and
pocketbook heal.
Only little time back Dillingham;
OF hfs periodic toots He maudlinly rambled
through the task OF turning out a second-rate
comedy by Rida johnson Young. called "A Wise
Child" 1t lasted for brief month or two and
then passed to Nrvana. Dillingham;, giving all
the symptoms of a man who has fallen on. very
slippery and cracked his elbow turned back
musical comedy and, in a sort Of passionate
frenzy. turned out not only Good Morning
Dearie." but another musical show for John Charles
Thomas, called The Love Letter" that has been
praised to the skies also.
Frankly II is difficult tell whether Dillng-
hams success in the musical comedy field inspires
his half-baked efforts at drama, whether his
failures in the drama send him rushing back TO his
work bench in the musical comedy factory. Per-
haps after ALL the fellow needs these filters in
drama to give perspective TO his real work.
Wen, let be patient. Clearly stord
"Wise Child" IL only Good Morning,
DeOrie" be the cOnoOmtont. an ri0htthinkers must
Of necessity decry DinOham's IdmeHtdbIe aoeoknes,
for the poine Of the drama, but II the resultant
kotsenjammer brings attacks Of Good Morning,
DeGrse," let the tellov have hLs 0roo!
~ GORGE JEAN NATHAN. the Peck's Bad Boy Of
u American dramatic criticism. has reached the
- conclusion that the eheater large rather
than being overburdened with business men among
the producers suffers. the contrary from a seri-
lack of business men.
Scanning the productions seen here since Labor
Day one accepts the conclusion almost without
reservations In fully six instances since September
the Washington stage has offered plays that one is
constrained 10 believe. no real business man would
assay worth producing.
The first was Marc Klaw's production OF other
Lives" a play that rambled through three acts Of
remarkably stodgy histrionics and reached finale
that left the theater-goer irritably curious to
what II all about The mere fact that il closed
the week it opened here seems TO accurately ASSAY
the almost invisible of entertainment value
the thing possessed.
Then came Dilngham's "A Wise Child" which
took all the aspects of second-rate vaudeville
sketch. dragged out to the regulation 81 length
with settings by the producer Of Good Morning.
Dearie" Unless I avn greatly mistaken. "A Wise
Child" has followed other Lives into Oblivion.
Take Samuel Shipman's In the Mountains" for
instance. Here a slapped together affair that
written for purpose-to get Louis Mann
before the foolights. 1t is perhaps merely just
say that il looked exactly like that kind OF play.
Dispatches say il has been taken of for recastinE
whatever that means.
The ordinary instincts OF the business
gomery and his associates TO cut Chickens" over
the pattern OF Montgomery's previous hit.
Irene" thus bringing an inferior production into
sharp and unfavorable comparison with a musical
show that has served a model for three long
years. Whether not Chickens" overcome
this tactical of its parents remains be
The Shuberts although presumably the hardest
of headed business men in the theater, fire.
quently betray the most lamentable lack of pro-
duction foresight Take the of Phi Phi" for
example. Phi Phi" is another show that closed
here the same week IL opened. though almost any
one could have told its producers that even
Frances White could sustain the erooping tenden-
cies of a musical show thoroughly lacking in the
incidental elements of comedy, entertainment and
music
Last Of all. do~n 10 "The Right
STRIKE" ~hich imported, apparently, TO become
theatrical sdeoht Of the railroad strike aud
which, beginning pith story, lost 1t completely
after the second act In brief, the sort Of play
that "The Elton Case" turned out TO be.
- NE of the most amusing things meets in
the public theater is the effort OF an audi
~ ence to suppress enthusiasm good
work behind the footlights. in order that il may
follow the dictates the horde OF birch wielders
who have risen to Cypress the nation.
The reaction of audience the Gsrrick
last week Lowell Shermans performance in
The Mans Name" is a grimly humorous in
point This Sherman happened to be standing
the gin Juice sidelines when that
orable movie party was pulled on IN San Fran
cisco-a party that resulted in a national adver-
Using campaign for a clutter Of Frisco politicians
and professional moralists.
However, the moral watchdogs of the nation
professed to read a great danger TO the republic
In he Mt affair and they addressed themselves