The Washington times., 1928-12-05
WELD DRAMA TO
MUSIC IN
AIR PLAY

Radio reception was partiCu.
IsIarIy good last evening from the
North and Midwest t-prOgrams
coming through loud speakers
clearly. There was q bit Of noise
to Be tuned out. Of course, ana
there was also code annoyance.
The brOadcasts Of both WKC ana
WMAL were filled with discord.
ant notes, due to interference
from other stations and due, also
60 the unusually good transmits
sion Of other programs.
At least one night per week
seems to. be drama night on the
wave lengths, and last night the
speaking voice, In combination with
music or without it, dominated loud
speaker deliveries. Beginning early,
with the Socony Players from
WEAF and continuing until the
curtain was rung down on Hank
Simmons Show Boat from WMAL
at IL o'clock, some form of vivid,
human and very entertaining
drama was available.
One Of the finest bits OF the
evening, particularly from the
standpoint of the welding, Of music
with the play and presentation OF
the combination to provide both
entertainment and education, was
the brilliant series of flashes into
the life of Napoleon supplied by
the Eveready hour. To Nat Shil-
kret's orchestra, az well as 70
Lionel AtWill, Selena Royie and
their fellow players, much OF the
credit and acclaim OF the hour be-
longs. without sighting one whit
the fine work Of all the cast, the
vivid performance OF Tschaikowslxy's
'1S12" overture by the orchestra
and Miss Royle's last scene with
Napoleon were the most striking
bits in the entire performance.
Seldom has the spirit Of the
triumphant despair, the tragic
spIendor Of the great Tschaikowsky
composition been so dramatically
demonstrated az in the combination
OF the spoken word, the choral
and orchestral effects, in which the
genius OF ShiIkret as an arranger
and director of music was given
one Of its finest demonstrations
DRAMA INTEGRAL
PART OF MUSIC
! The drama Of the great overture
was made unmistakable and to
many OF those who heard It made
play, Il will have q new meaning
every time they hear II again. The
effect OF the almost sobbing chorus
OF Russian triumph sung over the
ashes and embers Of their degOlated
n "a MwSSANyRmnp @rsnn aaRf
eenturieg--as the baffled world con-
queror commenced hiss fatal re-
treat, viii not easily be forgotten.
Atwill, as Napoleon, seemed to
be suffering from q very bad cold
and did not do himself justice with
the great character.
In the parting scene with
Countess WaIewska. played by Miss
Royle, he gave an excellent demon.
stration of his ability, although he
did not reach the heights attained
by the actress in this, the most
telling bit Of the necessarily sketchy
drama.
The socony Players provided
short, but telling sketch Of the
trials and fribulations Of actors and
actresses on the kerosene circuit
of New England Is years ago. Cot.
ton and Morpheus brought their
inimitable comedy to living rooms
through WBAL ana the WIZ cir
cult and Maude Howell Smith pro-
vided a most enjoyable and finely
presented monologue detailing the
separate experiences" OF a group
OF negroes in Heaven. The produc.
tion Of Tempest and Sunshine" in
the Hank Simmons Show Boat az
fair was one OF the best bits of lurid
melodrama OF the old style we've
heard from this very good organiza-
ffon