The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-08
CYMBELINE AGA|N| PUT ON AT GOTHAM 1
 DESPITE ITS AGE l
Shakespearean Production Comes Almost As Latest
 Out To New Workers
By WESTBROOK PEGLER Leased Wire To The Age-Herald.)


 NEW YORK, Oct. 7.--"Cymbeline, romance by William Shakespeare, which has been too long in the theatre and the text to prosper or suffer by reason of any criticism that might be expressed at this late day, was pre- sented in New York this week with E. II. Sothern as Leonatus and Julia Marlowe as Imogen.
 They too, have reputation too high and strong to be bothered by such petulant Kicks in the shins as any pigmy reviewer might be moved to administer. and the production was season which will be remembered in the summlngs-up next April when other plays now current are alto gether forgotten.
 It is many years since "Cymbeline" has been produced in New York and the fact that the Jolson theatre was selected to house this time may have misled some persons to a pardonable supposition that "Cymbeline" was a musical comedy. The play was un- familiar except in the text to most of the generation, which is now pay ing the price of admittanee, and even in the text of most of them, so the criticisms of the Sothern and Mar lowe production, promoted by Lee
 
 ness and young candor, as though the play had been written yesterday.
 O Q Q
 Taken At Valuations.
 Shakespeare's plays often are taken at the valuations long since conceded to them by critics now resident in EngleWood, Evergreen and other well-kept resting places of defunct authority and 1t is not often that the younger set contributes any new, in- telligent criticism of them.
 It is not certain that any has now been contributed to the past judge ments regarding "Cymbeline."
 One complained that Miss Mar lowe, in love with her voice, fingered after each musical syllable until it had echoed itself to extinction in the vault of the Jolson theatre, but there may have been others there who found Shakespeare and Miss Mar lowe's tones worth lingering over till the lat whisper had become still.
 Another thought the play itself a gangling sort of story, but redeemed by the magic of Shakespeare's imagi- nation in it's various episodes and by the mans consistent excellent and re- writing the rugged English language into velvet poetry.
 This production and the debut of 'Casanova" were the fir-t two humping big events of a season which has been under way for quite about fifty plays to Broadway for better or worse.
 Murder Least Of Crimes.
 In New York, where murder is the least of the things that people get away with. the producers knew, of course, that a biographical tracing of Casanova 's'a. seVer-lovin' career was one of the things that couldn't be done. Fortunately, they had play by Lorenzo de Azertis, translated by Sidney Howard, which dealt with only one inconclusive episode of the an- tique sheik's life. It was enough to what would be known as the mans sofa-technique.
 It showed him broke, winning for tune and then impetuously rushing beautiful sheba off her feet and into 90day romance on the shores of Lake Geneva.
 They parted when he went broke again, she returning to her forgiving family, he to the crapstable or to it's equivalent of that day, where he won. another pile.
 Twenty years later, Casanova, an old, but undefeated champion, en- counters his daughter-the daughter of one woman at least whom he had been unable to forget, and dies la menting the happiness that might have been.
 It is the first suggestion that Cas- anova ever really cared that much for woman, and it is bound to hurt the fellows reputation with Casano- vans in Paris, New York, Hollywo ood and Jersey. who, thought he went to his grave with an impervious heart.
 To ii Sl, p1n Emery, and two other plays, Whats Your Wife Doing?" and Forbidden" were presented this week. "Tarnish" received a pat on the back and the other two received well-merited kicks in the same general locality.