The evening world., 1921-01-08
THE new PLAYS
Turning on
the Spotlight
By CHARLES DARlITON

V~~~rNerr@frs>f reN,ss~fse-N
Thia h necossarfly personal. II
hfanui5 Wilson and DSWo6 Hopper
were prtnoa dOnnas there Couldn't
spDareutly, be greater curiosity
Ghout their ages. Again and again
tho Qts5tton - asked: 'TIow old y
Wilson7" and ag3in-you may notice
= slight difference In the ingiztsRc0-
How old IL Hopper3T All this Ia
none o. my business but as several
OF you have made It yours. III do my
best a. a poor mathematician to sat
isfy your curiosity. NJ Francis VIII
son ouaives the loving cup given him
by the Actors Equity Association,
he wih be dxty-six. and II DeWok
Hopper keeps on the way ho is going
he will reach Eixty-three. Anyway
that's What tho Diclxy Bird Says"
II 1 should die to-ntpht-lbut. no
pAtterl
Those yOunEstors at the Park are
really responsible for this Needing
with the years becaBe OF their give
and-talSe after the second act of
"Erminie,' with which they added
largely to the Joy OF the week No
dOISDt they are still at Il, incorTigible
and unabashed- Their bitter ameni-
ties run something like this:
Wilson; One of us should say
something.
Hopper: quite agree with you.
For obvious reasons you should do
the talking.
Wilson: Why?
Hopper: Wei, for one thing, your
name appears first on the printing,
though why, in heavens namo II
should ! haven't the reinotsst Idea
There as another reason, however of
even greater potency.
Wilson with a short attempt at
loftiness): And what is the more
potent reason, pray?
Hopper: You are the older.
ONow let them fight IL outD
Wilson: Perhaps l am 1 haven't
been able to keep the gray out OF my
hair. but I've managed to keep it out
Of my legs and heart. On second
thought, however, / don't know that
am the older. / distinctly remem-
Der having been taken 70 sec You in
pantalettes.
Hopper: Yes. and now you're
wearing them again-second child
hood. However. Francis
And then the merciless Hopper
gives an 20" for an 81" by rasping on
confidentially:
That's a girls name. He gets
letters from corset manu- facturers
and cold cream purveyOrs. AS a mat
ter of fact, a great many people
think he's my wife,
The hght should end there, but il
doesn't
Pooling aside, there Is not another
stage in the world that could give to
~
Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Hopper, NOT
could there be greater contrast. Will
SONS SLOUGH is inimitable and Hop
per's grandeur rises almost to the
height of the Woolworth Building
More than this, both these comedian!
are men of brains, alert from heaI
70 foot, not merely clowns capcrinl
to catch your laugh. Their name,
and their art viii remain alive lons
after they have played their parts.
But this is getting a bit too seriou!
for the fun we've got out o.
''Brninie"-and for that matter wal
serious, not TO say sore. many year,
ago when travelled 100 miles to sc,
Wilson in "Erminie,' and to my grea
dismay beheld somebody called al
"understudy." But why bother abou
time when 1t passes so lightly?
The amusing phase of Transplant
ing jean. the comedy at the Cor
Theatre is that Frenchman is
seriously worried about the gra!
hairs that come with middle age. Al
American wouldn't bother abou
them. He is an optimist who take
life as he finds it-and there you ar
wherever you are IN the world
Arthur Byron takes this point o
view in HIS acting.
Grant Mitchell IS certainly tn
strnrccst tyne Of prize fighter ina
ever came out Of such trainin
quarters as the Y. NJ. c. A.. but h
puts q Over" in "The Champion.
Aside from him. the good old Englis
sports who rally about him have tn
real spirit.
Altogether. it has been a goo
week in the theatre.
~ Dill