New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-03

YER since the day Bill Shakespeare
a and Dick Burbage became majority
q stockholders in the Globe Theater and
got the London public where they
wanted it, it has been the proud prerogative
OF the stage to hold the mirror up to nature.
Shakespeare himself got away with lot of
that stuff
But it is an even pleasanter if somewhat
more psrilous pastime to hold the mirror up
to your neighbors. Done in an absolutely in
formal and care-free manner, it is apt to land
you at the nearest First Aid Station. But
managed with the more or less privileged
methods OF the stage, it may be negotiated
quite smoothy-ndeed, with the neigh
bors themselves joyously helping out the
process.
The central idea, of course is the COM
munlty play, that constantly more popular
form Of entertainment in which a group of
people get together to write and act some
thing about the place where they live and
the people who live in it. Everybody is sup
posed to help if only to shift the scenery or
contribute rosette toward the costumes
Then. everybody having become party to
the conspiracy, the playwright, local product
though he be, feels considerably freer to dis
cuss his immediate surroundings.
In Forest Hills Gardens down Long Island
way, which Sinclair Lewis called-oh, what
difference does it make what Sinclair Lewis
called it! Anyway in Forest Hills Gardens
(please accent the Gardens) they discovered
the fun Of the thing several years ago 1t
began in small way in small park. with
mighty small expenditure, and gradually
grew through the seasons, until now the COM
munity play, presented the Fourth of
July, has become a really important institu-
ton with real tradition back of it.
There are no bylaws book of rules or
that sort of thing. But the people who live
there do insist on doing it themselves to the
last detail. And time passed they learned
to do it SO we'll that folks from other places
began to say they were pretty darned good at
it. Other communities have borrowed their
plays, and some of these fellows who write
learned books about neighborhood develop
rent and village advancement and all that
sort of jolly rot have got their trail. Even
few regularly enrolled, hard-boed dramatic
critics, the kind who live only to repe the
idea that every typewriter contains at least
one good play, have condescended to be vague.
ly aware of what is going on in the classic
please do not print this Classy" Mr. Com
postor) groves of Olivia Park
More or less encouraged, therefore, by these
symptoms of appreciation, the simple villagers
have gone into the matter rather thoroughly
this year and mean to spread themselves With
big cast, an ample orchestra a well-oiled
committee, steered by Mrs. George Smart, a
we'll filed treasury and balanced producing
organization which calls itself The Garden
Players they have made all preparations to
discuss themselves and the place they live as
completely and soul-satsfyingly as you please.
A pleasant feature of this years cast is the
number of children selected to portray mos
quitoes. This insures the mothers vote at
the outset Harvey T. Warren, an overseas
veteran, is the director in charge, and the