The Washington herald., 1922-07-09

an sgoist's altruismi
The fact that q certain number
Of productions Of the past season
are being exalted by . superlative
does not by any means indicate that
thsy were the most popular plays
Of ths year. or that their box offios
record waa automatically. an en-
vtabls onA II that had to be the
standard In compiling the list sew
sral Of those mentioned below
would have to be omitted. What
the Public Wants. for example. al
though q sparkling satire. exceed
tnGly well dona. represented one of
the Theatsr Guilds few philan-
thropic ventures of the past year,
Fanny Hawthorne" although cap
ably presented. only managed to
hnser on Broadway . few weeks.
1t would be quite as erroneous
to Jump to the other extreme and
say that the inclusion of q play in
We make no pretsnse Of strict ar
tistto Judgment We were. for ex-
ample, quite unable to rave over the
~ ASOAAoA4 VI Aho ARcs n0e
because We failed to see the gym
bolism but because Of its execution.
The language of the stoke hole did
not seem TO rs the language Of the
stoke hole as we have heard It 1t
sounded more Ike q naughty boy
trying to show on
We have tried to express our per-
sonal likes and dislikes solely on
The Nest we concede. was su-
perbly presented: but the final cur
tain left US rather dubious as to
the value of presenting the play.
We managed to sit through Norman
Trevor's lengthy discourses in "The
Married Woman" but we would
have preferred to have heard 1t
from Rev. John Roach Stratton or
a william Jennings Bryan on the
lecture platform Admitting thai
The Ambush" was admirably done
In its simple realism. its atmosphere
was too overwhelmingly hopeless
to make 1t entertainment at s2.5C
per.
On the basis that entertainment
must have substance as well as
form. we have omitted any and all
musical plays. Otherwise we might
be tempted to include the really
melodious Blossom Time" AL Jol-
sons latest vehicle, "Bombo."
Good Morning, Dearie," and THE
Music Box Revue"
Doubtless critical readers will
point to this consolidated criticism
Tor errors Of commission and omis-
hn-especially the latter. We has
ten to explain. The Circle" said
10 be one OF the really worthwhile
plays of the year. did not happen
10 come within the scope of our re-
Views We have avoided references
10 all such character sketches as
'Riki," The Grand Duke" and
The Czarina-" There are very few
antilles around whom history has
built itself. Ir-as seems logical
lotion and the drama are the mir
'or Of life. they should have some
hing more substantial in theme
md action than the eddies that
Fhirl In and around one single in
Hvidual
Since We have cleared the deck
" all antiquities we might as
yell Gre our saIvo of what, in our
Estimation. were the ten best play:
" the year. They are:
"A Bill OF Enforcement" Thank
Fou." The Dover Road" Captain
lpplejack," He Who Gets Slapped
Fanny Hawthorne" What the
Public wants" From Morn to Mid.
light" To the Ladies'" and The
soIdnsh."
OF these ten plays. six began their
IN in the early half of the season
Either the producers put their bes;
DOT forward at the start or else the
aunting specter Of repeated fail
Tres made them wary of puttins
ny foot forward at all after the
lrst of April
OF the ten plays listed. I'VE have
disappeared. The Dover Road
Captain Applejack," He Who Get:
Tapped" and The Goldfish" still,
og along serenely. From Morn tc
fdnight" was given at a private
erformance and. with its recent ar
tval at a Broadway house, is Just
commencing to face its crucibls.
OF the half score plays mentioned
least six had a predominatine
omedy vein. These six, together
nth "A Bill OF Divorcement" and
He Who Gets Slapped" made I'll,
trongest impression on the public's
urse. offering what can be regard.
d as a fair indication Of the pub.
c's desires for the past season.
It Is significant to note that thre.
the plays listed are Theate
build productions: He Who Get,
Tapped What the Public Wants
nd From Morn to Midnight" Il
something more than pure chance
nat enables q voluntary, noncom.
fercial Organization to squeeze sut
ne triumph after another in I
Desert spotted with the shatter.I
smnants of coptous failures.
In our mind. "A Bill of Divorce.
rent lowered head and shoulders
ooVs every other Offering of the
ear. No other play was abIs tr
oucn the same depths Of human
motion and establish contact vtth
Similar wave of audience SYM
tny. II had all the sentiment OF
ne ises Clyde Fitch In his mos,
AHeU passages. without his no.
nm ana sentfmentalism. Partly
re play scored because II was most
nectiye with simple. natural act
splendid as Alan Pollock was
. the shen-shocked war veteran
was really Kit CorneIl's unafYect.
Interpretation Of the light
sarted girl making the inevitabl,
icrfnee that struck deepest in hu.
han hearts.
A A Milne has won a favore,
lace among American audiences
Us Great Broxopp" alone faIl.I
soorN The Dover Road" WITH
genial host running a -sort q,
hotal vfth pd.-t-