The Washington times., 1927-04-20
RADIO ACHIEVES
REAL SHOW

Hill ullUW
Every kind Of program on the
wave lengths rushed TO receivers
last evening-With considerable
crOWding and much hustle and
chatter with an occasional bang.
The evening started bit thick,
but the fog lifted and continued to
lift until brOadcasts Of every sort
were registering. The fading WIS
no gerater than average, and
while the static noises and code
volume and clarity that they reg
istered easily.
Just as we were hoping the en-
tire staff Of WEAF was present
and listening to the almost perfect
entertainment provided by the
Eveready Hour in order that it
might obtain q hint here and there
as to how to make the Week End.
ers" less a waste Of tuners time, the
Radio Cayalcade started performing
4 and we realized that the WEAF out
ut CAN make real program with
the same performers It uses, or
are available, for week ending.
Therefore. in addition to providing
these two gems Of entertainment
last nights program convinced us
that the Saturday night absurdity
- 3 deliberate affair and it is no
use giving hints or making sug-
gestions. Severe of it from
now on.
Tho presentation Of the Eveready'
program last evening with Moran
and Mack a. its CHIEF features was
an example Of what much OF the
radio audience yearns to hear-for
while the two famous vaudeville
and revue stars were the center Of
the structure, the manner in which
the stars were presented, the set
ting given them, was of equal i'm.
pOrtance and quite as entertaining
90 the stars themselves. AT the
same time Moran and Nj X were
never in better form or more gem
timely amusing than they were
last night. They were brought
into the proceedings in a very
logical way during the casual and
intimate discussion between two
friends as to the effect Of negro
music and negro humor ON Ameri-
can. life. Any two black-face stars
could have been put into the same
setting and the average Of salts
factory results would have been
just as high.
LISTENERS OWE
DIRECTOR BIG DEBT
Radio listeners owe q big debt to
whoever it is that devises these
Eveready entertainments. They are
logical performances, on the whole,
with some thought and design to
them. The stars that are presented
are not just thrown through the
microphone-they are given some
excuse for being there-an atnos-
phere Is created for them. And
this is so whether the featured per.
former is an emotional actress, an
Arctic explorer, an Instrumental
celebrity or a black-face comedian.
Not even the Boris, Galli-C urci
or John Barrymores can burst into
the average living rooms without
some excuse for being there-it
makes the family too self conscious.
The Eveready director always pro-
vides an excuse for introducing his
friends-and makes the small audi
ence seated around the individual
loud speaker acquainted and thor
Oughly at ease with the entertainer
and that, by the way Is the unit
Of audience for radio though the
aggregate Of these small groups
may make millions as q total.
We could say the same thing for
the careful way the Cavalcade Isl
presented although striking an en-
tirely different note Of entertain
ment than the Eveready people have
attempted. II only more Of the
radio regulars would use as much
consideration for the listener! Per.
haps it wouldn't be bad idea to
include the genius who is providing
WEAF with its "Great Moments
from History" in the group of those
who are doing something worth
while. The story OF the Battle of
Lexington presented last evening
was vivid bit Of historical drama,
finely staged with q rare sense OF
discrimination in putting details OF
events where it was needed and
summarizing where detail might
have made the story drag. It made
the war Of Revolution living
human issue rather, than few
pages Of history.
The WMAL Movie Club impre-
sarios could study the three types
of program to which reference has
been made with considerable profit.
Director Norman Pyle has an ex-
cellent idea underlying his feature
but Is frequently pulled away from
the main issue-as he was several
times last evening. On the outside
wave lengths there was much Of in
terest-but the three big programs
we heard really filled our entire
evening most satisfactorily.