Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-12
THE PLAYGOER'S
WEEKLY TALK

| u
the Gaelic thorns. in all probability.
pruned II comes to the Broad with
that excellent comedian, Arthur Byron,
in a part that seems, from advance
| notices, as If written for his person
ality.
There is doubtless a lot Of plot about
Calling the, Doctor. which David Be-
lasco Is sending to he G9rrick, but as
not giving advance hint of the situations
and motivation. Janet BceChcr. Char
Iotte Walker William Morris, Philip
dozen other really frst-cass players are
in the cast
At the Walnut Mr.. Hampdcn will re-
yiNe The Servant in the House" the
play of symbolism and spiritual mes
sage in which he made his American
stage reputation. He Is also TO repeat
his humaniZed and gripping ShyloCk, his
poetic Hamlet, and his rolIickinE blade
OF Petruchio His engagement has
had very successful first week, and
those who have not yet seen his Shake
spearean characterization should by all
means not let next week, the last OF his
engagement here, go fallow.
lone of the interesting things about
the Hampden productions Is the i'm
prcSsionistiC and impressive staEeCraft.
His productions were put on with an
economy of stagecraft that made vividly
for illusiveness and compelled imagina-
tlveness on the part Of the audiences.
Simple canvases. drops. draperies and
settings were employed which created
definite Impressions both Of period and
locale. without in any sense forcing
moods Sy excessive pigment and stage
carpentry. The fitting atmosphere was
attained without resort to archaeology
Elimination Of massive settings had an
other decided advantage in that il per
nttcd quick changes instead OF the In
t"rm!rHOle waits associated with spec
tacular" Shakespeare. The time gained
was devoted to fuller passages In acts
often cut, and even to the restoration
0. some scenes, such ~ that Of Shylock.
Antonio an the iailer, not given IN
Philadelphia within the memory Of old
playgocrS
MIR HAMPpEN'S main idea In pre-
A'A seutIuC Shakespeare is simply eX-
pressed in the statement that he likes TO
offer them as they were written. with
Playing Shakespeare as written means
according TO Mr.. Hampden, TO present II
with the subjective qualities dominant
It means getting that elusive human
touch that is both appealing and fleet
Ing II means presenting the plays OF
the poet In such u fashion that they
seem as modern as the latest farce. as
up-tO.date as the current stage hit.
And that IS. as may easily be deduced,
a most difficult order to tlli.
His method b. no means depends on
the impressionistIC scenery that is faint
and Shakespeare" himself He has solved
this complex problem by striking a happy
medium with ~" tnpressionists and
those managerial Victorian relicts who
clutter the stage with scenery.
As il is with the scenery, so Is 1t
also with his method of handling the
| play itself. Those who have heard ms
reading Of Hamlet's soliloquy perhaps
| will understand when they remember
| how spontaneous and natural his TO be
or not to be" passage ia, instead OF
seeming rhetorical and forced, Hewing
70 the lin" OF natura,nes and making
! Shakespeare warm, living and, above all,
! human, is Hampd"n's aim
IONE Of tho hits scored in George
~ Whites Scandals Of 1920" now at
the Forrest is being made by Lester
I Allen, the d.miuutive comedian. To any
one who sa"s the Scandals It would
seem that Aliens body must be continu-
ally black md blue from the way he
falls downstairs and the numerous aero
burtr feato tnat he performs.
Allen comes from an Old-fashioned
stage family and is n nephew or PAU
Allen. WNO viii be remembered by tho
oIG-tlucrs US Of the team Of Lester and
Alien, fdVuritos on the FaudeTliIe CIR.
,,wrs twcU'v years. ago, and his hrst
mann. W.T.. gtvru him in honor or his
! uncIc'E }ar'UcT.
| Young AlIon Is not only an acrobatic
Icorl,diau hut has had experience in an
limos Of ih,ufriral tndeavor HIS cary
tr,i,lIng na4 III a stock company where
! he DIaicd all sorts OF characters in !@gIt-
| irnatn Dlays, and this experience IL
! l,,i'pnb,,, - him even In musical comedy
| In thn "SCaUdals" he appears in one
act bur,ogQuc Of the Russian drama IN
a part wh!"h Is played serlous!S anu
/ nth all the little touches that only
/ legitimate actor knows how TO give TO
character.
MOST stage players pride themselves
I,,1f FaNn
arc who DON'T from time 10 time, give
| II..rrz4lya.s some worry over what -
t"rwed II ,neatrical parlance blind
spots" according to Ralph morgan VINO VINO
pceRy Wood In "BuddIes" at the Lyric,
.7S mind spot" says Mr.. Morgan, "is
! tho momcr'arv inability TO remember
tho next word or the NEXT inc ~ a
sUn.Ch The Lost Of actors come face
t0 face With this bugaboo some time In
'rGr ,ar,.~ This fear that tm'!r mem
rrv Viii rrlcE thcm causes TO Ghu o!
|aryt,rv. 4 strange thing about II Is mat
|M, r.,,l.r is conscious OF the trouble
enr,r ines In every performance there
ia "a definite poin' where the actors NINA
has the least reliable grip. on ms Spcech.
Tie NOR" no thinks ABOUT ~ mo "a'ue'
j. Ia 20 overcome.
"Df course, few Of the slips Of memory
AR. noticed hy tho audience Tho clever
actor has n way OF covering up, some
rrn,s a fc'IOw-player VIII supply the
rlr- o- tho word and the speaker goes
r.gnt on. but the actor, when he recOv-
rrs from the sliD is none the less
chagrjocd, and hus a feeling that he
The mind spot IL more apt to de-
veloD after a piece has been played for
some time than soon after the produc-
tiOn has been put on, reason for this
IN that after a play has been running
pGr a long time u certain amount OF II
becomes Sort OF automatic All players
strive against allowing themselves TO get
into the habit of automatically, playing
!, a Dart. as Ia not the actors business
Neither is It art But sometimes he
fInds himself doing IT, Then It 10 that