Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-15

n,.,houses open till the first Of June.
A. even stranger thing Is that the
.,.rcc Of the interesting fare that has
;scluds such widely divergent enterta
s,srs. revue, fantastical play, drama
ssm,thing there for all tastes.
&,rxr Monday will see the opening Of
- s, four ,nosher %SM % at the Metropoii.
T,nera House, and another George
rsrrnsrd s shaw presentation at the Lat
Mr IT, n. Sothern and Julia Marlowe
A.sin A two weeks engagement Of
SSSstespearean repertoire at the Lyric
GSsstre, opening on Monday with
HsThe Merchant Of Venice" which
they have not given In some time,
prosd Street Theatre for two weeks In
n1y. .sTSs VARYING shore" which is BY Zoe
'Atir, and will give Philadelphia
.s.stresoers a chance for comparisons
.1h u;sh tbs same authors "Declassee."
VII Tbs Mask and Wig Clubs annual
,,oduction, this time entitled sSTell
ksiss." will be given for oneS week
a.Iv At the Forrest Theatre. Charles
Morgan, the indefatisuable dancing
mentor of these University Of Pcnnsyl.
rsnia boys. Is also the author Of the
book Of this years play.
some people consider that a theatri.
ri year isn't a year at all unless AL
Solson comes to town, and they'll wei.
come this black and white: face come.
dian In his latest, "Bombo,' which
opens three week engagement at the
The show at the Metropolitan is
"prinsinr In Father in Wall Street."
md The Little Theatre performance is
Bernard Shaw's Captain Brass.
bounds Conversion"
TTAs anybody noticed how few and
II far between have been the per.
formances here this year OF straight, un.
adorned dramas? There have been
nientv Of the color melodra mo tically
tinred affairs like 1.-THE White Peacock
md "Blood and Sand" a handful Of
plays that balanced delicately between
the comedy and serious values, as IN
NTbe Circle" several. in the class Of
"Mary Rose and "Lillom.'' which
erossed the border into the land Of fan.
fasy, and an occasional anomaly like
''The Wandering Jew," half spectacle.
half drama. But what used to be known
rs straight dramatic productions
Seem TO have been noticeable by their
There was a "Bin Of Divorcement"
Easest Way" later "Declassce."
.round the holidays. 1.-THE Skin Game"
ind "Main Street" Of more recent date.
But that about completes the list.
Therefore. It seems rather odd that on
.he books between now and the imminent
.losins Of the theatres are three
straight Dramas including "The
Varying Shore" Grace George in "Thc
Exquisite Hour" coming to the Lyric
ind William Gillette in 1.-THE Dream
Maker" booked for tho Broad.
Tho paucity of this particular kind
" theatrical entertainment. which. only
} few years ago. reigned almost su.
reme, can probably be explained by the
Inevitable cycles through which the
1ase goes.
This year It was PHILADELPHIA lot to
have a prepondcrance Of pleasantly
uned light comedies, things like the
Fragrant "Mr. PIN" or the atmospheric
Happy Go Lucky" the Gallic- favored
Toto or the satirically barbed bad
aan." As eide dish, the city has seen
. number Of plays Of fantastical ele.
rents as In 'The Emperor Jones" and
'Lnlom."
Mdodrama has been present. but not
Y the crook" variety. except in the
a.ss Of 1.-THE Bat and "Cornered."
lut rather the exotic. as before men.
s sS.nss "sS sfs%p3ss hsss also and s' n D'its tss
Iisht Watch" There was a time
md that WASH so long ago-when the
Jimmy Valentines were as thick as
luckeberries.
Farce, Of the more famboyant order,
las been represented but twice all sea.
nn. and both of those were by Avery
aopwood Think of It! Just two left
nut Of the scores Of bedroom, door,
iamming, masquerading yarns Of other
ears. Where are the "Charlie's
!nnts'? Has Margaret Mayo and her
Baby Mine" no SUCCESSOR"
Musical shows. of course, 20 on for.
yer. Except that this season has seen
ewer in proportion to straight produc-
Ions, they need no mention. Since the
Inception Of the revue, to take the
eace. in a large part, Of the musical
hay with a plot, there has been no
adical innovation in this field The
peretta. romantic and comic, is still
the Land Of Limbo, though occa-
lonally some Of the best Of them Gas
rltness '"rhe Chocolate Soldier" and
The Merry Widow") are given an
arins. Over in London they seem to
ave more consideration for tradition. II
story that recently came by cable OF
hthusiastic scenes Mt the final perform
nee Of the D'Oylcy Carte rcvivals of
Hilbert and Sullivan are to be believed.
Next to analyzing the plays of the
Nrrent season, 1t Is probably Of most
interest to conjecture what type OF
heatrlcal production will "be the
hshion' next year. Right now the
pectacle Is at its lowest ebb, the
helodrama In disfavor and the society
rama ranks much thinned. On the top
id' are the fantastical affair. the
.ay OF strange setting in faraway
Dmedy.
"A glimpse at programs of theatres in
'ew York, which, is naturally usually
year ahead OF this city, shows one
hlng decidedly. and that Is that the
,Iay OF the exotic locale still is in
svor' Russia has the call twice. India
nCe, Paris apache den is shown In
tourth. and there are several more
",n colorful continental settings.
Inc rsque farce still is in allegiance
"'a only one really legitimate example
New York, but the society drama
noticeably y on its way back on the
Peg tide OF popularity, and a prophecy
nat this seasons figure Of five here Csc
nduly rash.