The Washington times., 1927-10-05
Skinner MAKES
RADIO DEBUT

Fair and considerably warmer
were radio programs as they
came into loud speakers last
evening - warmer to the well
known cookies Of the heart by
reason OF their clarity and vol.
ume, and fair In quality. All
sections appeared to be I'm the good
graces Of the elements and broad.
casts came through In excellent
style. Regular faders failed regu-
larry and interference interferred
as usual.
One Of the. things the excellent
actor Otis Skinner proved to radio
listeners last evening. with his
very painstaking effort before the
microphone during the Eveready
Hour, was that designers of loud
speaker entertainment can only sue.
coed in giving radio listeners a real
idea of the worth of their enter
tanners by taking the listeners into
their confidence and telling them
what it is all about.
Skinner is one Of the finest actors
on the American stage and has a
voice that thrilled the multitude
that heard it last night. But he
might Just as well have been talk
ing about the nebulae hypothesis or
the vibration theory. so far as
listeners were able to make head
or tail of the plays he was present.
ing. Those of us who had seen
"Kismet" or Mr.. Antonio" had a
most pleasurable evening because
most of us could easily recall the
scenes enacted.
But most of the multitudes who
listened never saw the plays or read
them. No attempt to let anyone
know the story of "Kismet" or Mr..
Antonio" was made by the earnest
Mr.. Furness who did the announcing
with far less satisfactory results in
all other respects likewise. than his
assistant Mr.. Horrine gave during
the summer.
ACTOR HAS
RADIO VOICE
We believe that Skinner will make
a great radio star. His voice is
magnificent, as are the voices of
most great actors who know their
vocal effects are Important parts
of their professional equipment. He
probably never gave the parts of
the two plays he presented last
night better vocalization on the
stage than he did before the micro
phone. His subtle intonations and
infections were superb exhibitions
of vocal character presentation.
But-those who did not know what
the character was expected to do.
and no one told the radio audience in
either case, were at dead loss what
to make Of it all.
On the other hand. the musical
settings for the plays by the
Eveready Orchestra and the singers
were excellent and created an at
mosphere that could have been very
easily filled with p story back,
ground that would give sequence
and meaning, to the well-handled
lines. But being perfectly familiar
with the play themselves, the
adapters simply assumed, as people
who are not accustomed to enter
tainment arrangements so often
assume. that everybody else knew
the story and let it go at that.
And one OF the greatest of our
dramatic lights failed utterly to
illuminate the airways. We hope
he'll try again and be given better
material
Next in interest to the Skinner
effort we believe the work of the
Gilbert and Sullivan ensemble in
the WMAL Movie Hour provided
radiotics with the most enliVening
performance of the eVening-add-
ing to that. of course. the enter
tanning dope by the negro rousta-
bouts in the Sealey Air Weavers
program. which quite justified the
promise of real enjoyment they made
in their first program last week. !.
The evenings great moment from
history was a worthy effort to show
that Benedict Arnold was a real
patriot and soldier before he sue.
cumbed to temptation and hurt
pride. Just what good it will do
in readjusting the prevailing i'm.
preston made by Arnold's later