Evening star., 1926-10-11
OPENING ATTRACTIONS IN WASHINGTON
THEATERS.

| two marvellous SceneS-tf1e wonder
| fully realistic battle between the Ro-
| man triremes and the pirate SHIPS,
| and the thrilling race of II chariots.
wherein Ben-Hur drives. not for glory,
| but for vengeance, and when, with
| grim determination, he finally wrecks
Massalas' chariot and drives to victory
the spellbound audience breaks into
| involuntary applause.
Ramon Navarro, in the role of Ben
Hur, and May MacAvoy as Esther are
ably supported by such screen stars
as Betty Bronson. Carmel Meyers,
Francis y. Bushman, Frank Currier
and Nigel de Brulier. a touring or
| chestra Of 80 musicians renders the
musical score, by David Mendoza and
| William Axt.
EARLE-"Tn Sunny SPAIN"
I'm Sunny Spain," a sparkling
| fiesta Of singing and dancing, is the
Outstanding act Of the vaudeville por-
| ton Of the current bill at the Earle
| Theater. A half a dozen dancing
senor.itas, a mandolin orchestra and
| a vocal duo form the company for
this rare bit of entertainment. Also,
| it is a gorgeously costumed affair, in
keeping with the Spanish colors.
David Ferguson. a character come
| dian, scores a decided hit in an anus
| ing one-act drama, THE Lucky Stiff.
Assisting him are George j.. Spauld-
ing, Geraldine Wood and John Leis-
ter. Bert Walton. dubbed the inter
national cynic," turns loose n rapid
fire Of patter and wise cracks, and
| persuades a couple in opposite boxes
to aid him. Past and Present, a
little skit by Emma Earke Harvey,
| assisted by nameless individual IN
n box, provoked five encoreS. 1fer
| humor is refreshing. Kay Kody and
| Olive Wilson in "NOments of Song
seemed to please. Just for the sake
of diversity they added harp and
flute solos to their Offering.
"The Brown Derby" a six reel
comedy riot, with Johnny Hines as
| it's central figure, IS the photoplay
! feature Hines is cast as Tommy
| Burke. a shy plumber, who ultimate
| ly makes good.
The usual news reel organ recital
and orchestral overture complete
we'll balanced and entertaining bill.
GAYETY-'"The Merry Whirl."
The Gayety, in conformity with its
new policy of presenting musical re-
vues, this week offers 'The Merry
Whirl," and a whirl it is beyond doubt,
ana t0OrOugniy merry, lOO.
The only trouble is that the laugh
Ing muscles Of the face are apt to be
pretty tired by the time the curtain
drops, but the show is great for brain
fag. Art Harris, an able comedian, in
connection with Hal Rathburn. carry
the brunt Of the comedy part. But the
feature that appealed to many was the
tumbling act of Dippy Diers and Flo
Bennett. Dippy is completely dippy
and after a pile of tables get started
in motion his audience is thoroughly
dizzy. Diers is a famous clown, for
merly of the New York Hippodrome,
and he has q slowmotion dance that
is as good as any seen here in a long
time. The juvenile dancer is Jack
Williams. Margie Carson Is mimi
table III her song numbers and was
kept pretty busy. Dolly Vaughn is
big addition to the program.
But not the least on the bill Is the
Hightower Trio, a group Of three
high-powered boys who know dancing
fast, magiclike footwork. The bill
is one of the best of the season.
-"MOdern Revue"
An entertainment repast of excel
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