The Washington times., 1928-11-21
CLEAN INGSI
SCREENINGS
BY ANDREW R. KELLEY

he will leave the theater flat.
His latest play "Mr. Money
penny" was short of success
and that may have something
to do with his decision to travel
for the next two years.
At the Exchange Club in New
York, he said in his yaledic-
tory: "You go to the theater
and check your brains with your
hat. The dramatist knows that
if he uses word with more
than two syllables he is sunk
and if he makes a literary al
fusion his audience is through
with him. That is the crowd
you have to write for and it is
a depressing crowd. / am dis
guested to the point where
want to get cut and besides,
/ am disgusted with the thea
ter's boy friends, the dramatic
critics
Charming, how could you?
And once you were dramatic
critic for these pages. Why
not follow Eddie Dowling's adj
vice which / heard him give to
an inspiring Washington play
wright. Boy" quoth Eddie,
when write it's for the fell
low up on the shelf (the gall
lery). Forget those highbrow
folks in the orchestra and get
the gang upstairs. That's my
system and it's made me plenty
of money. Write to please the
gallery and you'll find you're
pleasing them all"
With the performance of Fri
day night. the Rialto Theater
will close its doors. The future
of the house is uncertain. Poor
business is back of the decision
to suspend. Recently some $20,-
600 was appended to equip the
theater with the mechanical re-
quirements for sound pictures
and it was expected the audible
films might attract profitable
patronage. The theater is oper-
ated by Universal Pictures un-
der a long-term lease from
Tom Moore.
The eminent Colby Hartman,
managing-director of the Loew
Theaters, is a former assistant
to the renowned Gordon Craig
and naturally dropped in, last
week to see the settings an
nounced as provided for the
Tyler all-star Macbeth" by
Ellen Terry's son.
Il saw very little Of the Craig
influenence or ideas and frankly
/ was disappointed" Mr.. Harri-
man confided to me M ,nday.
UNLESS Craig has changed en-
tirely his technique and im-
pressionistic methods. his mood
was not in those settings.
Something must have happened
in staging this production"
Well, as it turns out, Mr..
Hartman was right, as he
usually is. Yesterday this affi-
cial announcement from the
plays producer:
with respec ito Macbeth,
to be played at the Knicker-
booker Theater, an impress
sion has been given through
the press that it is a Gordon
Craig production.
Mr.. Craig designed the
scenes and the costumes worn
by the three witches.
"All the other costumes were
designed or selected by me.
The music consisting of battle
songs, chorales, trumpet calls,
ETC., were, in part, of my COM
posing and, in part, selected
and adapted from music of
eleventh century mode.
"The Interpretation Of the
play is wholly mine.
II have previously made two
productions of Macbeth in the
same spirit. As Mr.. Craig ex-
pressly disclaims this produc-
IlO8l as Illc OWup 1T 10 QIlAy JUS
tice to us both that the fault
be corrected.
DOUGLAS ROSS"
It's about time for cheer
full paragraph. Company Man
ager Fred G. Latham, of the
Ziegfeld forces, telephones, all
excited, Eddie Cantor and
Whoopee played to $6,263.75 in
Newark on Monday night. The
advance sale for the week is
$43,8OO."
And that, as they say in
the profession is important
money. In fact, it comes close
to being a record advance sale
for a road attraction to gather
in one week. It's the mark
Washington is offered to equal.