The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-04-13

say SUs LONSE Oh me- pdlHSlak
fess a catholicity of theatrical
Like the illustrious Meredith
Nicholson-to whom he is not
related-"Ken" halls from Craw-
louisville, Ind, and went to
school with Maurine Watkins,
that brilliantly pretty youngster
who wrote Chicago" the wise
cracking tragi-comedy of the
Windy City's gangland antics.
He adapted his education and
personality to a flier at news
paper reporting, bore the title
"press agent" at a somewhat
later date, and finally landed at
Columbia, teaching extension
students how to build second
acts and "plant" entrances.
But much like J. P. McEvoy,
"Ken" had lived so close to
earth during these years of
travail that a delightful love of
anything rejecting Americana"
has always gripped his mind
anu AAudStHdI1UUs
For all his youthful appear
ance, his interests are with peo-
pie; how they perform; what
they do; how they react to cir
cumstance; in short, the amaz-
ing behavior-as well as the
mis- of human beings.
Which explains his success in
the showhouse.
It also explains why he wrote
"The Barker" and sold it.
It further explains why, be-
fore "The Barker" he had writ
ten dozen plays, alone and in
company with others Chiefly
Mr.. Behrman) and dabbled in
che short story form.
1t explains, too, why he is
a member of that American
lingo" group of playwrights
miss Watkins, Philip Cunning,
George Abbott, James Gleason,
John Howard Lawson, etc. }
keenly alert to present Gig
ures of EARTH" their colloquial,
''tab news" Importance, their
cock-eyed egos, their emotional
department, and their conquis-
tabor charm.
"Ken," you must know, is
an observer of the American
mise en- scene, ever conscious
of its color, picturesqueness,
and comic-supplement exaggera-
tions. Not as a cartoonist,
however; he takes it seriously;
feels, I'm sure, that he is a
part of it; that it is a part
of him; that it throbs with
palpitant life, worthy of dra-
matte treatment, inasmuch as
it fairly bubbles with drama
of its own, a drama that is
genuine, unadorned, sans thea
tries.
In a mild, pleasant and sly
fashion "Ken's" conversation
betrays a thoroughbred's vision
ana philosophy.
His method of writing "The
Barker" attests to congenital
theater honesty. The play is
true to type, original, fresh and
alive with street-fair idiomatic
dialogue, all because "Ken"
gathered the spirit of the play
while barking" a side show
with a carnival through the
sticks" of New York State.
He lived the piece before it
became a manuscript and a
Broadway favorite.
People" he observes, "are
everything. THEY are life.
That is why, / suppose, plays
pivoting about character studies,
stimulate me quicker than pure
ly situational ones.
THAT very likely explains
why Mr.. Behrman and | did
Love Is Like That The play
is one of contrasts-contrasts,
in people, you see-and the
miscellaneous reactions of an
exotic prince and a boisterous
girl from the frontiers of Okla
homa to each other"
X y *
Like Pirandello, the great
Italian expressionist-who to
many is the greatest dramatist
in modern Europe -"Ken" views
people pretty much as dynamic
units trying to live individual
lives in an America of conflict
ing currents. These cross-pur-
poses in human viewpoints and
subsequent results are, to him,
gather, the elements that
really make plays.
He. lighted a second Fatima
Ct meant to ask him why he
didn't go for Chesterfields) and
commented on Washington:
"There ought to be great play
here. An odd mixture of peo-
pie and the cross-sections of
political life hint that much.
But, Of course, it follows that
one would have to more than
scratch the surface to get at it."
+ +
He looked really tired; an
opening of a new play is no
snap for the author-that is evil
dent.
/ was getting hungry, and
it was nearing the dinner hour.
A gay brunette had already
waited overtime for a phone
call l had, in a moment of
weakness promised, and so it
goes.
"Ken" Nicholson, damned
entertaining and intelligent