The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-05-09
the RAH-RAH
Play RETURNS
TO BROADWAY
Play Jury Looks Over Some
New Things of Much
Interest.
BY the NEA Play Jury

by the NEA LAY Jury
I'll EW YORK, May Com.
I'M pared with the heavy guns of
N the serious 'drammer," the
pair Of shows just arrived are circus
cannon which go off with a bang
and discharge a puppy dog on a par
achute.
They are happy entertainment,
swell" diversion. They ask you to
captious notions about character
portrayal and the problems to which
the stage should address itself and
probabilities of motive and setting.
Their names are The Poor Nut
and 1.-THE Gorilla
%%s
r. HE first is a rah-rah college
play-the only one Of the
- season, so far as memory
serves-with one great scene in
which the stadium goes wild to the
urging of an acrobatic cheer leader.
The poor nut" himself, is played
with conviction and understanding
by Elliott Nugent, n Of the auth
ors. He Is suffering from an acute
inferiority complex. This Is dissect-
ed with Freudian gusto by a girl
psychology. dabbler. At the end the
nut" wins a track meet, DULLES his
rivals, joins the Psi Sigmas and
tells a pursuing female that he will
not marry her.
Local color is supplied by a band
playing ION Wisconsin," and the
stands yelling OHIO" but as col.
lege life 1t is burlesque. AS skillful
hodge-podge Of tried theatrical de-
vices, however. it breaks the tape a
winner. Percy Helton as the cheer
leader is a whi2. Florence Shirley
and Norma Lee have the college girl
lead parts, and Miss Lee is most
appealing.
StfT|7HE GORILLA" is a crashing
mystery play. 1t backs most
l-Itof them off the lot for the
number of it's blinking lights,
screams, pistol-shots, trapdoors and
sinister designs. It has two comic
detectives who gum up the clews.
Action Is scattered all over the
stage and through part of the audi
ence. The gorilla, who grabs off the
beautiful girl, turns out to be a SUI
per criminal. Laughs are scattered
thickly through the lines, and the
dangers and perils start a current Of
agreeable shivers up the spines of
the customers, Clifford Dempsey and
Frank Mccormack, the detectives.
seize the heavier acting honors.
49,
rT HE play jury's choice. "They
Knew What They Wanted"
- got the pulitzer prize of ST.
600. 1t IS pleasing news for this
column, which has been ballyhooing
for the plays all year, to have it's
opinion confirmed.
They Knew What They Wanted"
has not been pleasing news, bow
ever, to at least two theatrical pro.
ducing organizations. They realize
sadly that it might have been.
Sidney Howard, the author, wrote
1t for the Provincetown Players.
They read it and hesitated. It wasn't
exactly what they hoped for.
Next it went to Robert Milton.
Milton himself delayed reading it.
Some one in his office looked it over
and failed to get excited. Howard
then took 1t to the Theater Guild.
After they had accepted it and paid
the first advance royalty, Milton hap
pened along and promised that he
was going to read it soon. By that
time the Guild already was rounding
up Pauline Lord, Richard Bennett
and Glenn Anders for the winning
production.
ii = ERE is just the man that
I'LL many many people have been
IL looking for; all those, at any
rate, who have an original play
dropping in a desk drawer. He is 10.
serh Lawren, publisher, real estate
man and friend of the theater. Of
220 w. Forty-Second ST., New York.
He invites ~playwrights to send him
their plays. The twelve best will be
given a try-out production by ca
pable actors in Lawren's /own stu
dio theater. The only string is that
tho author must agree to come to
New York for the production. An
invited audience will criticise the
play.