Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-11

.
NTuERw1SE things remain - tho
u Greenwich Village Tollies at the
chnbert 'orhc White Headed Boy" ut
IA Broad. orphans Of tho Storm Mt
shs Forrest, welcome. Stranger" at
shs Carrick, Ladies' Night" Mt the
Uric i and "Dog Love" at the Adclphi.
~ course, we all hate to admit 1t,
s,t haven't our British cousins shown
M little something about character.
netting this year?
Fine Character Somehow, W h e n
Work in they nave a char- ,,a.,
Some Plays NV ueos' ssnn p%,' ~ ~ p,",' my,
....sb II from a different angle than
md do' They look at 1t from the inside !;
ws look at 1t from the outside. They
sssm 70 say to themselves, Vow, what
lind End Of a chap was this fellow, really :!
What would he do in such ana such a
circumstance? How would ne act
, What would his mental processes anu
reactions be|t ,.. .to. wo
.,,Sv similar characters that we have
snSwn ss;uSs or read about and I'm rather
st..,d that we have tendency to say,
ssWnw with this extra btu Of business,
om' com Get a laugh. It isn't really in
~ character, but 1t will get across
big" .x... u,c,,,,or, hv "1.n.
wh,ts Headed Boy" at the Broad.
rv.ry mart in that play is vitality dis,
.;wet % character. There are wonderful
snntrasts I, and conflicts brought out anu.
in the main, the thing Is amazingly
"e,' Arthur thur Sinclair. in his early scenes,
I makes the part Of John Duffy about as
clear. cut and decisive and conv,nclns
A. ANYTHING I've seen in long time.
Later, when he introduces the comedy
sisment after his lovemaking. with
n" nv ort of his character; he took our
S, SS,sv of things and consciously put
.orstbinr across" At first, he was John
Duify. living. actual John Duffy: Then
thoupht he became Arthur Sinclair
acting John Duffy and keeping a
weather eve on the success of his at
t.mnts. Ii lust spOils what would have
beari triumph. it seemed to me, but
hasten TO add that I'm probably. wrong
hsca,,ee I haven't found anybody who
sSrees with me. Or does that more
properly mean that I'm right! a.,
SYDNEY Morgan, as George. Impressed
me as giving a fawless performance.
He did not relapse into himself n mo-
ment. even when others had the center
AZ the stage. But ! confess ! didn
care for Marie O'Neilrs Aunt Ellen. IL
was too broadly played--funny, perhaps:
but with too much of the atmosphere OF
lap.stick about 1t.
But it's all a mighty keen little show
and one of the most interesting things
we have had with us this season. 1t Is
40 full Of genuine merit that no one but
on old crouch like me would be mean
enough to find and point out the llttie
SswsN-which may exist only in his
own warped imagination. after all.
Funny thing happened Tuesday night.
I've often read, in plays, the stage direc-
t,on. 'arhe curtain falls" Tuesday night
II really did it. They started the asbestos
M at 8 80 when chain to counter
wei0ht broke and down she came with
= bang. It was 8 80 before they were
Able to raise it. and then they managed
70 hoist it only six inches at time, the
audience. of course, hurrahing and ap-
nlauding each upward jerk. AS the play
nses the same scene throughout. they
simply cut down the intermission anu
We were out by IL 30.
THERE'S one thing you can be thank
i full for at the present time, and that
IA that YOU haven't Avery lopwood
, iob in filling out an income tax form.
Nobody knows how much money he Is
getting. If it were all coming from one
source, his income tax job would be
simple, but there probably ism
another playwright in captivity who has
so many sources of income and all Of
II working actively.
Ladies' Might" now enjoying a
run at the Lyric, is only one item.
Hopwood's record for this year shows
big companies playing to big returns
in "The Bat Ladies Night, The
Dem. Virgin" Getting Gertie's Gar
ter" The Gold Diggers' and Spanish
Love-"
His past successes are still profitable
10 him, for they are all favoritcs with
road or stock companies. They include
"seven Days" Fair and Warmer,
"Oothes,' - Judy Forgot" Sadie
Love" "Our Little Wife and 1.-THE
0lrl in the Limousine
So you see Hopwoods probably not
starving to death just yet.
George Sidney, of course, is the out
standing figure in "Welcome, Stranger, y
at the Garrick. The play is all about
him and he has all
Higgins Was the fat lines and
In Old Days situations. That is
Big Man natural; because ne ne
writing the story. But there Is one
other Characteristic quaint and pathetic
town failure, the old man who has
spent his life inventing and dreaming
great dreams only to be laughed at by
the narrow minded tOwnspeople--who
remains In the memory as delightful
old man who quite properly wins sue
cess and happiness in the end,
We have had so many old men
parts taken by young actors this season
that 1t is almost unique to have this
old man played by a genuine old actor.
And David Higgins, the Glenn Beemis
Of Welcome. Stranger isn't a
stranger to Philadelphia by any means.
though few of his present audiences Will
recall him without some reminders OF
what he has done here.
Everybody who was theatrcgoer
decade ago will remember such plays
as AT Piney Ridge His Last Dol
lar" kidnapped" and up York
State" which were big money makers
over the popular priced circuits,
David Higgins wrote them, produced
them and starred in them.
His Philadelphia connections 60 back
as far us 1883, when he came Fast from
g long career in stock companies in
california and played at the Chestnut
Street Opera House with Sadie lIassar
and Joseph Bowling, the latter to be.