The Washington times., 1922-09-03
With Alan Dale
At N. Y. TheaterS

At ~. 7. IhelteYS
Continued from Page 81
awaiting its heroine-the original
heroine being the victim Of a frac-
tured jaw-and any heroine OF
mine needs a full and complete
jaw. 1t is scheduled for presenta-
tion as soon as it can be made
ready.
ALL this is frightfully per.
sonal. but 1t follows logically
the production by Mr.. Hopkins Of
Don Marquis play. Professional
jealousy be darned! What did the
professional writer's do to George
Kaufman. whose two plays,
'Dulcy" and ITO the Ladies'" were
deservedly acclaimed as delightful
acquisitions? The author had been
writing dramatic criticisms for
years, and that fact, Of course. in
terested his colleagues. They rush.
ed to his assistance with a chivalry
that was almost romantic. Has
Bide Dudley any plant against his
fellows? Mr.. Dudley is the sponsor
for "Sue. Dear" now running. and
nobody can truthfully assert that
"Sue, Dear" has suffered from the
acidity Of Mr.. Dudley's colleagues.
And so It goes. and SO 1t has gone.
Thompson Buchanan was another
writer who was enthusiastically
welcomed to the fold.
As a matter Of fact the journalist
is the ideal playwright, and the
dramatic critic even more ideal.
The latter sees SO many plays that
at least he must have a few ideas.
II he lacks IDEAS, then he is a won-
der. He cannot escape them. They
surge around him from all direc1
tions. The fine art Of knowing
what not to do 10 his. lie can
avoid, II he cares to do 30. the pit
falls into which the professional
playwright tumbles.
THE professional playwright"
= like the metropolitan favorite,
grows stale. We tire Of his inces-
SAINT labor and, above all. Of his
technique" Oh. the amazing
horror Of technique. Frinstance.
the early plays Of Augustus
Thomas were joys Of story and
dialogue, but the later ones were
wearisome essays on technique.
Everything was beautifully
handled; every theater tradition
was wonderfully upheld; you saw
the perfection Of the mechanism
and your soul rebelled. This was
old blood. The same may be said
of the master Of English
dramatists," Sir Arthur Pinero.
Pinero's was a name to conJure
with. His initial efforts were de-
lightful. Who cannot recall ''The
Squire" 1.-THE Ironmaster," Lady
Bountiful," "The Second Mrs.
Tanqueray," "Trelawney Of the
Wells" and q half dozen others.
But Of late. Pinero has been little
more than q tiresome technician,
doing the correct thing correctly,
and old-fashionedly. One could see
the strings that made the puppets
move. One noted the staid adher-
ence to the moth-eaten bugbear OF
tradition-and one longed for new
blood. One hankered for 1t, from
any quarter. And why the pro-
fessional playwright why should
he be? Novels and short stories
bring forth new blood in steady
streams, and nobody fears result;
but tho stage must have the same
old actors and the same old play
mongers.
Observations Of life in all its
multi-colored phases should come
naturally from the journalist above
all. He Is best fitted to cope with
the elusive glory Of fiction. He
encounters strange characters in
his walks, and he is not obliged to
invent them. But he can invent
them. Above all, the journalist
is imaginative, and what does fic-
ton amount to without imagina-
ton? 1t is q priceless gift for
any worker. either for the press.
the stage or the screen.
II dramatic critics only wrote
for the screen, what boon for
that institution. The screen needs
new blood. It cries out for 1t. 1t
yearns for It. 1t is hopelessly
hedged in by stupid traditions and
the mock heroics Of the very worst
brand Of theater stuff. The