Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-16

circus.
The question is not so much one
of intrinsic cleverncSs as OF oppu
ience.
Scenes of classic beauty, touched
with Oriental magnifcence, ANIMATED
romplng Bachantes. ought to afford
MussoIini, should he see them, some
striking suggestions FOR restoring tc
the limit the sp'endors of ancient
Rome.
Like the circus. a modern revue
must find money passing through
the hands OF the ''cket selre's ir
torrential streams in q de- % meet
financial requirements l. IS true
that n many cas~s l:hera' and
patient nurse stands behind thr ven
ture. win or lose. Hut ever ihr most
comp'aceut homme de hrerre et
oeufs is likely 20 weary in the
course OF time WI en- making up def
icitS leads him to feel like a general
produce man The libretto is nil, the
poesy is unimportart, the manu-
script as a whole negligible: but the
pay roll is document of the most
serious Importance and retains its
vital human interest long after the
sway'ng grace OF Stage beauty and
the pslter OF rhyme feet have lost
the winsor" Of novelty.
The appearance of Alice Brady in
very l'erary drama entitled Lady
Alone did not go very far in modi-
Tying the experience Of a week dis
tinguished so prominently by girls
and goreeousnesS. 'Eanities" ran
into an ice bath OF personal publicity.
When notified that he was expected
to spend one year in Jail, not for
introducing bizarre salacity into his
party. b"t for telling naughty fbs
about it. he commented merely,
Now, ISM that too badw
y II
BY this time Carroll should be
Injured TO all kinds of experience. No
manager has pressed the axiom of
showmHnry. ANY kind of publicity
can be made 10 pay" SO far as has
this man. He started on rather ideal
istic lines Of artistic cleverness, con-
tributing to his enterprises excep-
tional gifts in the way of fanciful
story, melody and rhyming He
might have held possibilities in a
faint way of being sort of Villon of
Tinpan Alley, a leader of those who
slaughter sleep and organize them
selves into bands of song pluggers in
order to tighten the purses of the un-
wary.
X X **
Il is one thing for man to have
his troubles talked about and another
for him to insist on directing con-
versation to them Carroll, in his
"Vamties," insisted on calling attcn-
his mishapS when he introduced into
the auditorium groups of pretty girls
saucily arrayed in costumes rev1v1ng
the charm of the merry village lass
in the corps de ballet, for the purpose
Of serving ginger ale to. any who
might choose to sip. and recall the
line from Maud Muller:
Thanks" said the judge, "a sweeter
draught
From fairer hand was never quaffed.
4 X X
The little usherettes, whose white
tro.seYs and velvet caps had hereto
fore lent jaunty touch of Bohemia
to the alsles. faded into obscurity as
these dashing usurpers took their
places in the public eye.
There is caste in the thcater, and
the chorus lady, who may have been
chided at a rehearsal as dumbbelii:.
is stfll a belle, with the final e,
warranted in assuming superior po-
sition in the presence of the usher
cite who carries the light for the
benefit of the auditor to be seated IN
a dark scene, but who cannot have
the distinction of turning an illumi-
nation upon herself. :.
II IS a mysterious thing, this light
that shines with intensity upon the
stage: more mysterious than the
X-ray. but with contrary effect
The X-ray reveals bleInishes. A
candidate for the theatric glare must
have no real blemishes and the
charms that exist are vastly height
ened bv the electric rays that deluge
the scene from front, from sides
and from above and below. The
i;Ohtinr is one of the distinctly mod
ern attributes of the spectacular
theater, and it is not unreasonable
70 wonder how productions of scenic
,nacnihcance could have impressed
themselves upon the popular imagi-
nation as they did in days before
pen Franklin coaxed electricity from
storm cloud and then turned it
over to Thomas Edison TO be har
messed for service.
A little episode in an aisle displayed
the sense of personal position in the
yeaIrns of art and society from sew
rral angles. One of the Broadway
Hebe's proffered paper cup to a
oair of very elegantly attired and
scrupulously groomed young men
who carried an air of early attained
distinction in life, not great enough
however, to efface all the human
spontaneities. There was a touch
Of amused patronage and a sug-
0estion of "Aren'tweg going get
sIong-fnely -together even on short
acquaintance" in the tone and man.
ner of one of the pair as he said
"Will you be kind enough to give me
a program"
A beauty of the spotlight being
mistaken for a program passerl
But resentment must be restrained
He simply did not understand, per-
hans. He was of that great the.
,trcally uniformed public who dwell
IN the cavernous depths beyond thu
footlights and have to pay for tht
nr;vilese of seeing other people BIZ
clever. With the serene dignity ane
condescending affability of Fifth