The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-04-01
SECOND CHANCES
AT Mr.. ROYCE'S
HANDIWORK
StCinders" Proves Him Adept
at Staging, But Also One
Whose General Show Stat
ure Is Only Medium.
By EARLE DORSEY.

"Cinders," which evoked a GER
tain measure of enthusiasm at
the National last week, but it Is
not too early to assay Edward
1epyce's ability as a producer.
which, on the showing made in
his two productions, Orange
Blossoms" and "Cinders," seems
Just barely third-rate..
= In two attempts at producing,
Edward Royce has clearly demon
etrated that a man may be
practically peerless in one element
OF theater production without
possessing more than a rudimen'
tary knowledge of what does and
what does not constitute excellence
IN the production as a whole.
AS an artist in the arrangement
and execution of dance numbers
that difficult art Of gracefully
mazing and then clarifying the
aYolutions Of stage dancing groups
.-it is possible that Royce is with
out a peer. Wayburn may APP
proach him at intervals and there
may be one or two others who
have attained distinction at this
business, but Royce is, in all
probability, the king-pin Of them
al.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. bia On1iava.
ments in this one respect, Royce
is not, 1t appears, a producer or
the first rank, and it is doubt
fl1l If he ever win be. It is when
men like Royce try to graduate
into the producing ranks that one
gets a keener insight into the
real workmanship Of fellows like
Dillingham; and Ziegfeld-produc-
.era who possess the instinct for
knowing exactly what is good
and what IL bad In music pro-
duction and who are gifted,
furthermore, with the ability to
find and employ technicians who
can fabricate into a harmonious
design the conceptions Of the
producer.
Dance-staging, Of course, Is
Royce's true meter. When Dill
ingham and Ziegfeld, in the past,
have desired chorus and dance
effects Of the highest excellence,
Royce has been called in and, in
almost every known case. he has
delivered the goods. It IL only
when he attempts to embrace the
whole producing task that one
discerns gaps In his accomplish
ment.
'-Cinders," as a whole, strongly
tmpels the suspicion that Royce
lacks, In lamentable measure, the
critical faculty possessed by Dill
ingham and Ziegfeld. He predi-
Gated this whole lavish, expen-
stve entertainment on a wishy-
washy book by Edward Clark and
Q totally uninspired, impoverished
score by Rudolph Friml. In the
case Of the music, he may have
been helpless. Assume as much,
and one stin has to explain why
he should continue the adventure
with Clarke's ibretto as the story
basis.
Quite regardless of the eventual
hox-office success of "Cinders,"
the burden still rests upon Mr..
Royce to demonstrate his fitness
for Inclusion among the firstrate
musical producers Of the Ameri-
can theater.
IN this same connection, con.
slider the case of Salisbury
Field, who offers US q new
play at the National this week
with Alice Brady in the chief
role-''Zander the Great"
Insofar as 1 am concerned ] am
totally in the dark as to the merits
V4 lille pay " AAoICSCI CNAuCuS0
Of its merit or lack thereof that
may have been adduced, up to
this time, is a matter of little
consequence. Merely on the show
ing that Field made in that wholly
hilarious come6t wedding Bells"
am able to assume that "Zandcr
the Great" is a play worth seeing.
In other words. Salisbury Field
has long since given evidence that
he possesses the ability, at In
tervals, of writing a play that
win enchain the interest and at
fention for longer than the twenty
minute interval allowed by cour-
tesy to any particular stage.prod-
net that comes down the pike.
Not that wedding Bells" rep
resents the only good play that
Field ever wrote; 1t merely
happens to be the play that i'm
pressed itself on my mind and
the minds of a good many others
an q play made for fascination
and interest. It Is possible. on the
other hand, that "Zander the
Great" may prove q great dis
appointment.
Lacking advance knowledge,
enc way or the other, Fields
work In the past IL such as to
IL