Evening star., 1925-04-19

The play titles indicate a growing
pride in our free vernacular. Our
slang, as it crystallizes into die
tionary dignity, begins to find hon
orable recognition on the programs
and is Haunted with boastful frank
ness on the billboards. We have
had The Old Soak" The Sap and
now comes along The Poor Nut"
These titles do not indicate the same
defiant attitude that the rough and
tumble dialogue discloses in more
serious drama On the contrary, 1t
makes a modest appeal to the plain
person and assures him that the best
possible is going TO be done to give
him a little laughter on his own
terms of mental relaxation.
**
The Poor Nut" like large num-
Der of those colloquially entitled
farces, is likely TO suffer from it's
own modesty, as did THE Sap" the
impression being created that what
IS in reality very clean and light
some comedy is an aggressive speci-
men of unpolished joshing. The
Nut" was we'll appreciated and
proved to be one of those produc-
tions tha put the worst foot forward
in the black type of the program.
"Babv Blue" on the contrary, has
q very delicate and appealing name
which does not prevent it from wall
ing rather dismally for occasional
moments like a naughty child. 1t is
impossible to govern the nature, or
influence the future, of play by the
selection of its title, just as it is i'm
possible to insure truth-telling ca
reer for a small boy by christening
him George Washington How
ever. a man in some lines of employ
ment to be honest must not be Sc
verely and categorically truthful.'
George Washington Lederer is one
of New York's most industrious and
capable publicity experts.
Into the President Theater, tenn
pie of current art, which for while
seemed destined to be permanent
home for the innocuous hilarity of
"Abie's Irish Rosa play which,
like our most prevalent motor,
turned the Anvil Chorus" into
brass band for its glorihcation-
comes a new claimant for the dis
tinction of record stay in this city.
White Cargo is mighty unlike
''the Rose" 1t has hung over the
community for a long time like
dank, torrid. mia smic threat. The
pictorial printing with which 1t at
tackled attention promiscuously IN
the highways fairly announced its
Independence of all standards such
as governed public expression dec
ade ago. AS book the work Jared
but i'll at the hands of authority in
various instances. The effort to re-
pudiate it created demand for it
which could not be supplied. The
plav, however, meets with no OBJ
struction. 1t is gratifying to note
that whatever may be the demorall-
zation to which the mechanisms of
the theater must lend themselves
from time to time, our linotype IS
still held to accountability and must
maintain itself, if not always an ex-
ample of discriminating elegance, at
least as a pattern OF purity.
X y y
Some of the best acting of the
week was done not on the stage but
in the theater lobby. Donald Gala
her is an actor who has found ap-
probation in numerous roles before
this citys audiences. He yearned
Tor deeper thrills than the footlights
afford and decided to become pro-
ducer. He backed his judgment with
his purse, on new and unusual
manuscript entitled THE Gorilla. J"
No finer example of suppressed emo
ton has been seen than that given
bv Mr.. Gallaher during the rehear-
sails and the early presentation, of
this extraordinary play; extraordi-
nary in the fact that it utilizes al