Evening star., 1925-03-01

1
| dignihed in the face of the most
humiliating domestic treachery !;
bowed with immeasurable grief by
the death of an object of sincere
| affection and at last capable of a
magnanimity which refuses to sacri-
five his love for child to a proud
resentment toward its mother. AS
Mr.. Miller interprets these phases
of complex role the impression
| ceases to be that OF acting and be-
comes one of actual living. No such
i portrayal OF majestic grief has been
seen for many a year To achieve
it an actor we'll grounded in a re-
| spectful relationship toward the
earlier traditions of the theater was
| necessary.
In searching for a comparison it
might seem needful to go far afeld
into domain very distinct from
| that of the modern drama and
recall the chronicles which tell of
! the superb power, with restraint, of
Salvini's Lear" Though wanting
the glamour of regal romance, it is
| difficult to imagine a scene more
convincing than Miller's portrayal of
noble soul betrayed and stricken.
| x X X
The transition from grave to gay
was made easy by the presence of
two of the worlds most eminent
| being sumptuouS entertainment the
theater devoted to musical spectacle
becomes most interesting point of
| observation in estimating the lines
| of progress along which the most
highly capitalized and most eagerly
appreciated form of entertainment
| is moving. In matters of physi-
| cal establishment, scenic or hu-
man, it seems possible to go no
further. Girl glorifcation" has
| been carried to an extent that
indicates for the present day a
love for beauty Grecian in its in
tensity. The glorifcation of seen
cry, costumes and stage furnishings
| has kept pace until the eminent pro-
duction expert, Edward Royce, men
tlons a quarter of million dollars
in quite as offhand manner as an
astronomer mentions light year"
in measuring ethereal distances.
The theater on both sides of the
| footlights. has apparently come to
point where still more is demand
ed, something that cannot be sup
piled to order, even by the most gen.
erous purse. The new musical COM
edy has touched the threshold of a
still further glorihcation that of
plot and idea
The latest Ziegfeld production,
Louie the 14th,' has many clever
turns, beginning with the title itself
in its reference to Mr. Errol as the
extra guest called in to avert ''thir-
teen at table" Audiences are hero
worshipers. They like to concen-
trate their admiration on an individ-
:, ual. Even in extravaganza there
must be star, and in the Ziegfeld
forces there is always some one eli
gible to that distinction. This time
| it is Enrol who is selected for the
precarious privilege of occupying,
in view of an admiring multitude,
the position on top of the gilded ball
at the summit of the most gorgeous
chariot in the circus parade. Errol
is the most remarkable interpreter
of comic inebriety that ever tried to
make a joke on prohibition. He is
a natural comedian. Like Charlie
Chaplin, his comedy started with
his feet and developed in the direc-
ton of his eyebrows. The same
thing happened with Will Rogers.
1t has happened with almost every
comedian of more recent popularity
the course being contrary to that
of the player who interpreted char
acter and read lines, indulging in
graces nimble or grotesque only as
an occasional condescension.
x X
Willie Howard, in "Sky High"
took a turn backward when he in
troduced the barber shop scene and
restored the seltzer bottle to its
own. The seltzer bottle was once
regarded as no less indispensable
to = rough comedy scene than white