Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-23

~ ~. aO Passing show, 1922 edition, wi
- In the evening the third comedy
1oV.' .sen here this year, ITO the Lat
George Whites "Scandals' will o
,.rcEyE O'NBILL's po,oertsl
S.,mo "Anna Christie" ohich hu,
d IN he one Of the real treats OF
voev", ,,on. mn piU complete ITS four. .toeck
~ snon,ent at the Walnut. 1chere II
ss.ISy -. Scen steadily. gro,ctng IN popularity.
."Rlossom .IRsl Time the operefta tohton
~ Frans Schuberf's most famous
i Gsiodies, proceeds morrtty along ,ts
srsv at the Lyric, hqrsng redrnea us
Enm m"ond ,oeek of hts engagement IN
Me y. M..tesncareqn ] and classic repertoire at
Us Broad.
~.o,tEBODY over in New York re.
..n,,v commented on the fact that
.n;abts nre going far ntield these
pa'"''e' days for the settings
u Of their plays. The
Plays HeIe writer went on to
Had Locales prove his case by an
a Home examination Of the
fifty or moro theatri-
-, attractions now on or around
Broadway. 49,,
:, fsr This year hardly forms such con-
.,,s;ye proof of this theory. For ex-
smnle taking into consideration all the
siars without musical trimmings, we
"The Charlatan' was laid In "A
sountry home in Florida
"Tbe Hairy Ape" had settings In the
kod Of an ocean liner and In New
"Dulcy" was no farther from home
than suburb Of New York.
"Pomeroy's Past was unfolded in
and about Ferndale- on the Hudson.
"Up the Ladder kept within the
confines Of New York.
"The Czarina' had st. Petersburg
O. a locale.
Island of Pago Pago. .
'' "The Demi Virgin told story of
Hollywood. :,
~me locale, plus glimpse of Illinois.
mice People was another whose
action transpired in New York.
,,The Goldfish while originally
French. was also transferred to this
country.
"Just Married. had it's farcical cpl
sodes on nn ocean liner.
"La Tendresse" had a setting on n
Parisian boulevarde.
"Abraham Lincoln was, OF course,
strongly American.
"Anna Christie went no farther
sbroad than New York or Provincetown
| Harbor.
ITO Love" had n rather sketchy
French province as its atmosphere.
rALL OF which, reduced to its lowest
"A terms. means that eleven out OF
sixteen plays without music (of course
exclusive of Shakespearean revivalsl
have rlung to the soil Of the United
Etates. one lowered close by on IN
ocean liner. and only four depicted
scenes in foreign countries.
IT'S generally believed that the plays
i whose action Is laid in far away
lands are those most redOlent ir at.
rosphere-sometimes to the detriment
Of The real substance Of the drama.
| Yet "Anna Christie and "The Hairy
Ape" had the usual vivid O'Neill color;
'aThe Dcmi-Virgin" and Merton
relied in no small degree on their mo
vleland' atmosphere. ana 'Aprahah
LINCOLN was, Of course, play in
which historic backgrounds gave added
vitality to the characterization Of a fa-
nous figure. All OF which is just another
way Of saying that the unusual often
hovers over your neighbours house or
By your own tireside.
In the matter Of musical comedies,
the tendency was more or less IN the
opposite direction. After the ultra
Vienncsc wave that attended and FOL
lowed 1.-THE Merry Widow" the pendu-
lum swung back and with the Bolton,
Wodehousc combination came such
stay-at. homes as "Oh Boy" and
"Leave it to Jane"
OF more recent date, we've had
O'Brien Girl" and The Gingham
Girl and sally" and Good Morn;
Ing Dearie" and molly Darling
lths last three having visited Phila-
delphia this year, in which, broadway
or Times Square or Mt least Long
island provided the setting.
On the other hand, there hns been
1.-THE Last Waltz" with it's Balkan
kingdom setting, "The Rose Of Stam-
boul" which has Turkey as its back
ground. ',,Tangcrine' which went to
the South Sea Islands, blossom
Time" had Vienna. 1.-The Hotel
Mouse" had Monte Carlo. The Bunch
ard Judy" had Scotland. and Orange
Blossoms and The Blue Kitten had
Paris.
The former type Of musical show
uses the worn Cinderella theme in one
way or another in almost every case,
while the latter variety gets all the
exotic charm and Ornateness possible
out Of Oriental cities and famous con.
unental capitals.
THE appearance Of Robert B, Man
l tell in his usual series of Shake
spearean revivnls with which he opened
a three week engagement at the Broad
last Monday forced home the convic-
tlon that this veteran Is superb in GER
tain of his roles and ,entirely unsuited
to others.
We have no "Lear" comparable to
bis on the stage today, although David
Belasco last week promised revival
Of that tragedy with David Warfeld
=. starred, following the
ManteH Should lattcr's present en-
Limit Roles gagement in "rhe
He Plays Mercha IT, Mr.
:, Mantcu's "Riche-
neu comes close to putting real vim,
Nsor and vitality into this creaky and
stage-worn Bulwer Lytton play. lie
mas added numerous touches of comedy
70 his characterization of the famous
minister which round 1t out into figure
or unbelievable integrity and impress
siyeness.
=, Later, during his stay here. Mr..
Mantell is to give us his sinister
Louis nj" which is one of the most
admirable things he does, and the
usual usual getaway performance Of
RiChArd IIIv will he inclnhad Tins