The New York herald., 1921-12-18
Miss McManamy
Says the Plays
the Whole Thing
No Star Can Raise Poor Play
to Success, Actress
Declares.

Miss Sue McManamy, appearing with
Louis Mann in Natures Nobleman" at
the Forty Eighth Street Theater. is In
substantial agreement with Shakespeare
that the plays the thing. TITS sprightly
young actress feels sure that the Bard
had the right idea.
''It can be seen clearly in the fact"
she said in her dressing room the other
day. that no star can raise poor play
to success by his own strength OF per-
sonality, no matter how popular he Is
nor how powerful his eyes. One reason
for a number of failures this season has
been that the plays themselves weren't
good, while the stars themselves have
been Just as good as ever--certainly
with no bad depreciation of talent since
last year.
1.-The Green Goddess is a good ex-
ample of a play that succeeds because
It has something in which q sterling
actor like George Arliss can set his
teeth. Characterization is the most ap-
pealing thing in q play, and IL it isn't
there-well, an actor simply can't cover
1t up with shrug of the shoulders"
Miss McManamy also deserves three
cheers Ca momentary pause here while
they are given to her. That Is because
unlike many players. she admires a good
stage director-which other actresses
might be inclined to call giving the
devil his due
"A capable director is a great stimu-
lus to an actor" she said, land / don't
mind owning up that I like them--when
they're like that. Their greatest SER
n oIIf a ha rtsr,,
that player is apt to develop uncon-
sciously. and which presently begin to
stick out like sore thumbs. Another
efficient means of erasing all the tricks
of personality that an actor sometimes
come to confuse with talent Is stock,
where you have to be so many different
persons, one right after another you
haven't time to develop your own idio-
syncrasies.
"Of course. the trouble with stock Is
that you are pitchforked so hurriedly
| from one role to the next. and with only
weeks rehearsal you hardly have a
chance to get more than bowling ac-
quaintance with your character. You
spend much of your time trying to hold
on to your lines like grim death. But
stock does serve very, good purpose
in this country-I've had my fair share
of it--especially when it's of the type
represented by the new National Play
ers. who will have four weeks in which
to get up to their necks In their roles.
1.-The term at hard labor one has to
serve in stock is only one OF the draw
backs OF a theatrical career, another
being the luxuriance of failures as COM
pared with hits. The public thinks OF
an actresses career as one Of distinc-
tion and affluence, and It is--when she
has reached the top. But they don't
understand that there are often large,
aching voids between successful en-
gagements, filled in with productions
which you concentrate on forgetting.
Another OF the drawbacks in ones
early career is the persistence OF man.
ayers, with the best wish in the world,
in dropping into n show, seeing an actor
doing fairly creditable work in a GER
tain type OF part, and deciding immed-
lately that the player is a marked man
for life in that kind of role. That keeps
player as n satisfactory comic butler
who might develop into an excellent
tragedlan.
Because I happened to fll in the
part OF the vamp after Clara Joel in
Business Before Pleasure there's one
manager who thinks I'm cut out to do
nothing but heavies, and who says any
time he has a heavy part can help
myself to IL.
Then there's another manager who
thinks I'm a comedian--but l defy him
to prove It. The kind of role I like is
the straight. dramatic part, with
plenty of good. honest emotion to get
out of the system had such part in
True TO Form which seemed to be true
TO my form down at the BramhaIl Play
house. But what's the use OF being
famous downtown? Nobody knows it
especially the managers"