Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-01
ZBEF0RE, !,
cOES UP
pk;lodslphia's Theatrical 'Des'
,sr,' to Be Heavier Than
Nal Course-'Lilion'' and
v,n,eu Co. Coming In

~ 6cS9cTt 10 '"1 r,..,. S.S.Li~ -
stib,e. II that's SO. Ihl'ade'pn'a
Z = shs.tricslly speaking. violating nil
..sola rules this spring by serving
Ssa v those old. fashioned heavy and
iGssfins desserts that hat oyer'oD the meal Al
u ~ .s.er a mid winter of frothy at
Il. -. ~ musical. comedy soufaes. farce :
i,a, whips and cxtravasanza floating
.Et.s ~ first week in April finds o
stim.sreai, repertoire company and
y1..d .daptation Of a Hungarian nov
n, op,nirs a cynical comedy Of sub. .
Z Ssrcs IN another house and drama
~ ao,eful edges and second Shakes
s..s. ar.oertoire on the way. ..'..-.'.'
S.-'- ~ ID III
AFTER weeks Of plays about which
"A ,bs irrespective seat buyer could
~ con6dent that 1t made little diner
~. ~. ,whsther he got in at the beginning
seu - -. snd as far as any understanding
q sSe ~ show was concerned. Providence
,tha Booking Arrangements=-sud'
~, Srons A bagful Of interesting pro.
Ss.v %.;ou. down here at time generally
ossn..a IN he the period of theatrical
SS tids. financially speaking.
rs Monday will see the opening OF Franz
,s!,H.s,. fantasy, "Liliom," at the
Sgrh, Theatre, and the beginning OF
t.so ,rseks Of repertoire by Robert Man
IN IN Who opens with his only non
~ .snearean play, "Richclieu, Mt the
Broad.
Tro weeks away, opening Monday.
Anrii II, arc Zoe Akins' strangely
constructed drama. The varying
ahore. ., with Elsie Ferguson. and
Snshs,n and Marlowe in four Shake
scearean plays, a tragedy and three
comedies.
The hold.ovcrs next week VIII De
led by W. Somerset Maughams bril-,
liant In comedy Of manners, '"Thc Circle. y
- The Lyric. and the four following
s,n.icsl comedies, "The O'Brien Girl.
~ the Garrick; "Up in the Clouds.
- The Shubert: Zip Top ut the
Forrest, and Lefty Pepper 0as'
veek). at the Walnut.
As n matter Of fact. theatre gocrs
Asre have no right to bcwail the cur.
,Srt season. Financially, 1t is true, II
Aas fallen far below previous years,
Sut srtisticaly It has seen the presenta
tion Of some most interesting dramas
and comedies with n preponderancc OF
the latter, and there has been a much
smaller proportion Of the frankly de-
signed time -pnssers. =,
Now II the waning season would
only youchsafe visits Of Henri Bern
STEMS ''The Claw" Cohan's inimitablt
''Tayern" and that picturesque echo
from the past. "The Beggar's Opera
(all Of which productions are now "or
The road and hence not beyond thu
bounds of possibility, it could be wei
sid that, although a dismal seasOn ir
New York and points West, 1921 2
treated Philadelphia pretty we'll, al
things considered.
90! 'n - 90 ...
IN THE course of Al Jolson's new
! play, "Bombo" (which is coming
by the way, on April. 10. the mimi
table Al. addressing the discoverer o.
America, says. Hello, Columbus
how's the Circle?'
When that remark was first made
tie point might have been either geo
graphical or theatrical, as Vaughan
play was in New York. Since then il
has moved on. pausing now and agar
almost mOmentarily on transcOnti'
mental trip. Right now. Philadelphia
is asking Jolson's question. Glow,
TIE Circle?" and receiving very def
nitely Affirmative answer.
What Is the outstanding merit Of thi
Hausham play. anyway?
Well, In addition to the fact that IL
last act is far the best of the three
i would seem that the author of eth,
Circle has achieved that remarkable
combination, a literary flavor and
sense OF the theatre.
In some circles (no pun intcndcd)
technical craftsmanship or an az
quaintance with the commonplaces O
staging is considered analogous to com
merciaiism and lack of art. As n mat
Mr OF fact: some of the greatest drama
t,sts OF them all have combined tn
theoretical and the practical, and tn
closet drama is not, and never ha
peen, the greatest achievement.
Maugham apparently follows in tn
!octsteps OF Barrie and PinerQ, both O
wnom know thing or two about til
SHuai presentation of their plays
Constructively. "The Circle" is a
meticulously correct as 1.-THE Bad Man,
wnleh Just about rang the bell in tha
particular for this season.
,Sharacteristics were "planted" b
AGle pieces of action" or BY play n
well as by words; there were few
my superhuous stretches of dialogue
10 extraneous characters.
Une is Immediately tlisarn,ed in criti
TMqg Vaughan for his cynicism an
ais smartness' and the lack of dipni
neo purpose. lie wasn't trying to b
tsnythlng else. As in most of his novel.
no was .reveling In the unconvention,
aana rlsque. Not only IL there n
moral (hateful world but there il n
ss.ual advocacy Of immortality. Ru,
%e main point Is that the dramatis
sMslhtains his mood consistent
throughout. There Is no suddenl
ysed-in concession to the romantl
s.e no sign of latent desire to prcac
1.-the Htae end. just as young Teddy Luto
nuhues up to the end To tell tl
.yuns WIFE with whom he Is planning [
sope that he would like to !..s~E BOT
- eyes, and continues to intcriet
'Gal profanity with his lovemakin,
Me author continues to grin amiubl
y 'ne whole plot and chuck Dame Con
y .'t -------------