Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-03

~ the conditions under which
1 \ it is. produced. A man can
not write what he is not
thinking and his thought must be
influenced by his surroundings
Much of the current entertainment
comes from Indiana, where they are
now engaged on monument to
Paul Dresser, who wrote "On the
Banks of the Wabash" A number
of good plays have come out of In
diana; plays whose brilliant mo-
ments are built upon basis of con-
sistent quietude OF sentiment. The
motion pictures are taking up "The
Hoosier Schoolmaster" after all
these years. 1t was a picture OF
early life and conditions that In
diana people long resented, as they
resented isis Hopkins Now In
diana is a center of culture and its
early pioneer types are quantity
mellowed in perspective. 1t becomes
easy and pleasant to revert to the
picturesque recoilections of rugged
past.
The intellectual quietude OF the
banks of the Wabash is in marked
contrast to the cerebral stimulation
which distinguishes THE Beggar on
~ Ia 60 a
brink OF Broadway. 1t is not con-
tent with being up to date; it is
ahead Of time. 1t has the roar of
the subway, the flash of electric
signs, the clash of competing or
chestras, the unrest Of the cabaret.
No more interesting study in dra-
matte form has presented itself in
a long time. The authorship of
1.-THE Beggar on Horseback" repre-
sents highly sensitized response to
the influence of perfervid environ
rnent.
The structural scheme is uncanny
in its novelty. It is holding of the
mirror, and the megaphone, to ma
ture as it has come into expression
in this era of magnificent mocha
nisms. It should have an alphabet
cal prelude indicating the broadcast
ing station from which it was dis
tributed. 1t anticipates the kind OF
demonstration that will be available
when you can sit in front of a radio
set and see the performers as well
as hear them. 1t is fun that reveals
itself not only as human need, but
as a duty. It begins with gentle ro-
nance, drifts into comedy, then into
as its eliminating impression a Bit
ing resentment of the artificial con-
straints against which sincere ex-
preston is depicted as obliged to
struggle. There is no repose in the
production. Even between the acts
imitation newspapers are cried
through the aisles so as to keep the
audience in touch with the night
mare of the artist, who, in Freudian
abandon, picks up knife and Stays
everybody he hates and who joins
with his victims in taking everything
pertaining to the transaction, even
his trial in court, with perfect good
nature. -,
Ostensibly, it is the most irrespon-
sible merriment imaginable.
The reading between the lines is
not pleasant. No more hopeless in.
ferno has been depicted in colors OF
exaggerated fancy than the row OF
cells, each containing an author and
composer, both dashed, hammering
and yelling to a piano, while the
overseer paced the corridor, whip
n hand, demanding more Nanny
Oongs or more "Blues."
The audience is requested for the
moment. to take its pleasure pain
fully. It is in the position of a man
at cafe, who, while trying to en-
JOY delightfully."- served chop, is in.
cidentally treated to a motion pic.
ture of the abbatoir. No more with
ering comment could have been de-
'vised on manufacted melody and
its bananality. "The Beggar on
Horseback" clever as it is, seems a
highly audacious experiment to
ascertain how far it is safe to rub