The Washington herald., 1921-01-02

l92Gs TEN BEST PLAYS
By EARLE DORSEY

VuYHEN in the events the
w calendar expires and the theater reaches the
w midway point of the season, it is pleasant
task to take down the files Of the preceding
twelve-month and tread again the pathway of the
year.
One searches, at such a time for the best
plays Of the whole, round year but the trip is
always reminiscent journey and the task is always
pleasant
Let US seek, then for those ten good plays-the
ten best of all plays the Washington theater
has revealed in the past hftytwo weeks, something
less than 200 plays in all, counting the summer
period At January. 1920, year ago today we shall
begin the search.
Not so bad month the theater, January!
"cMama's Affairs" the play that made Rachel
Barton Butler temporarily famous, bossomed in
January. The month St John Ervines
stark and forbidding but staunch John Ferguson"
What a hullabaloo they raised Rachel last
January! A Harvard School of Drama student was
Rachel starving day and famous the next. It
three plays she sold day, think, and
"7dama's Affairs" the first. OF course, Nom"
the one she produced half a year later Just the
opposite of "Mama's Affairs" but Rachel was famous
in January!
it also brought three exclamation points Of
medocrity, Moon the Moon" Trimmed in
Scarlet" and THE Crimson AlibL"
always remember February best for its worst
rather than for its best play Percy Mackaye
/ the poet-dramatist, the builder of bird-masques,
brought his horribly over-rated George Wash
ington" that month Walter Hampden had
spent Of his ready cash the thing and
MackayeS hauteur WaS so tremendous that something
altogether epochal was expected BY the end Of the
week, the Beasco practically empty and George
Washington" lasted about two weeks longer in New
York.
Theda Bara really has the worst play of the
Not Of the ten worst but THE WORST
And it's running yet. or was the other day. play
by George V. Hobart his Notwithstanding
about lady denuded of her soul who became the
very old grandmother of all vamps But Sacred and
Profane Love" helped pull up the months average
and Man and Woman" the starring play for Mary
Nash and Holbrook Blinn came to Washington later.
That is running yet Thy Name is Woman" now.
Few Of US will soon forget the Dflingham iii musical
from Richard Harding Davis; story. That biossomed
Sads our excited T in March @ ba and vent to MaR
pretty musical play as the season Afforded too too;
and the month dragged along tediOusly through a
FTyoiities Ttiiies Nishtmare Whites Srst
Fly of BSobuFy It Closed howeT in and
rather radiant finale Of Three showers" with Anne
WhgaoD and F G9ha6s ans oubOlng House
list hardly attained higher than "The TnWsnted
Fns' &aS return and trips DsS of
works as Anne Eis1ners atrocops AN souls Eve,
Dorothy Dixie Lee and Giics Duer %iiisrs CRaTm
school, The last is movie now but the rest have
n AY, June July, the hot months, were unin-
MI spired, which is only natural Monte Bell
A'A opened his stock company, Richard Carle fail
ed to get his musical comedy The Sym
pathetic Twin" town; Lew Fields came to
town with a musical comedy called Romeo
Jane" Dave Belasco opened Call the Doctor" before
it ready George Whites second series
Scandals" came along and that ended May.
Outside Of first showings Of Avery Hopwood's and
Mrs Rineharts Thief in the Night" ("The Bat")
and Guy Bottoms Cave Girl" June barren of
anything but stock. opera and pictures though Hop
woods play proved much a hit the Bolton
Middleton Gave Girl" proved otherwise.
July was utterly barren Of anything Monte
Bells stock performances though the season made
sporadic start in August with Gorgonzola confec-
tion called THE Checkerboard" that almost con-
WINGED the Hattons of their lack of taste. Avery
HOpwood and Mrs. Rinehart repeated in August with
another hit for Wagenhals and Kemper called
Spanish Love" while other plays shown in
cIuded Paul Dickey's The Broken wing" Cohans
Genius and the Crowd" and a piece Of commercial
asparagus called Mystery" which the Elwell
murder behind the footlights. visit from Bah"
with Helen Hayes sent the month into September
and here the season opened in earnest
Mitzi opened the September fireworks with her
new musical play, Lady Billy" Richard Bennett
brought oNeilrs splendid Beyond the Horizon"
to Washington where it barely carfare to the
next town. David Belasco showed his new Edward
knoolock play, One" and Earle Foxe walked
through the octavus Roy Cohen opus, Come Seven"
for which he quit the Garrick Players after two
weeks Of their season had elapsed and found himself
out Of job the following week in Baltimore. Nom"
Rachel Barton Buffers Waterloo came and went and
Evelyn Nesbit in The Open Book" which took a
position next to The Blue Flame" as the seasons
worst play, squeezed out OF before the Health
Department discovered it. The rest of the month
was devoted to showings of such critic fodder as
Three Wise Fools" Jim Jam Jems" Martinique"
MY Lady Friends" "The Girl in the Limousine"
and "Floradora," redivvus. incidentally Washing
ton got glimpse of Clarence" too. that month.
R. 6nwTsn ESdS
i lasIed put a breath. Emily Stevens came to town
s166r. F09tL99se" and closed It week later in
Poned- visit and Louis K. Anspachers stepping
stones vas ordered closed by Gilbert Miller in IFS
nrst week. Two Hobartisms, "Sonay" and "BuddiesS
followed next with David WarneId in a revival Of
Peter Grimm" and Florence Moore in ''RrsaEfast
in Bed" to offset its excellence. William Faversbsm
found fine little play in Amelie Rfves' adaptation Of
in ra Fringe nee and the PapPer; Grant Mitchell bowed
ring part in Daddy Dumplns" "sonya" flashed
at the Garrck. There were a others thew 6o
not count, unless includes
Ni1le," that disappeared mortal ken after its e5
gagement here. ~ '' it0 en-
The season, made notable in two months for the
number of its plays, continued hectic into No
Ee%osr E when Roi Copper Megrue's "Honors are
and The Famous Mrs. Fair" raised the production