The Washington times., 1929-04-10
[GLEANLNGS
AND
SCREENINGS
Bv ANDREW r. KELLEY

over "Congai" at the Belasco ~
Monday night and one hour be-
fore the opening Of the play last
night naughty words were or
dered deleted from the drama.
Lieut.. Nina Van Winkle, Of
the police department, was pres
ent to see that the censored
lines were not uttered. The
action Of the three acts was not
disturbed by the official blue
pencilers and the performance
as deodorized ran smoothly.
Helen Menken, who contrib
utes . beautiful etching Of .
half caste French-Indo native in
the play, was much perturbed
over the bureaucratic frowns.
1t was her misfortune to be the
star Of .'The Captive" when
that drama was suppressed in
New York. She vowed 'never
again" on a questionable role
and the producers felt they were
safe after six months on Broad
way without interruption.
The action Of the authorities
occasioned some turprise inas-
much as "Young Love-" barred
in Philadelphia and Providence,
pruned numerically in Pitts
burgh and now having its
troubles in Boston, got by with
out q whisper here three weeks
ago. And "An American Trag-
edy" enjoyed a week without q
bit of trouble.
Corinne Griffith, starring in
"The Divine Lady" at the Met.
ropolitan Theater, has beautiful
hands and never lets you forget
it. While Clara Bow, who cones
to the Earle Theater Fridav
midnight has beanLiful-but why
pursue the subject further.
House Manager Orangelo
Ratio ordered the cooling system
turned on at the Palace Theater
Saturday afternoon and it was
working smoothly and in true
Arctic style until the therm7m-
eter took a drop last night.
The cooled air is produced by
an elaborate system, which has
its headquarters on the roof of
the theater, with myriad pipes
and more apparatus in the base
ment. Mr.. Ratio graciously of
fered to conduct this correspon-
dent on a tour of the establish
ment and explain the mystery of
how hot air is transformed into
Chesapeake Beach ozone noise
lessly. Knowing little about
machinery and caring less, l
compromised on q loge box seat.
Theater TEN PIE q ure, Mr..
Ratio explained, is taken regu-
lariy every two hours and the
system regulated accordingly.
On hot days the objective is to
keep the air Is degrees cooler
than that on f. Street. Medi-
cal authority and practical ex-
perience have taught this is the
healthful differential.
Cleo Mayfield or Marilyn Mil
Ter may set the styles for the
stage folks, but. by gum, Attor-
ney Robert |. Miller is the
pace-maker for the pari-mutuel
addicts. Barrister Miller ap-
peared at Bowie yesterday with
the first straw hat of 1929. 1t
was a gray skinner and looked
pretty good until the skies
opened.
Treasurer William Hardy of
the Belasco Theater is planning
to quit the amusement business
before the talkies acquire con-
troll. Mr.. Hardy, who holds the
box-office title for pulchritude,
acquires a George Washington
University sheepskin within a
few weeks, and from then on
will devote his talents to for
eign trade or perhaps diplomacy.
Add SMILES: As delighted as
a master of ceremonies reading
a swell notice for rival
maestro.
The National Players will
take a whirl at Sir James M.
Barrie. "What Every Woman
Knows" is carded for production
the week of April 22, which
happens to be the same seven
days in which Helen Hayes will
be here in "Coquette." Miss
Hayes stepped right into the
big money class with her per-
formance as Maggie Wylie in
this Barrie play, which origi-
nally was one of the Maude
Adams favorite roles. The Ma.
tional management will invite
the little Washington star to
watch the Mary Newton per-
Torrance, in fact the present
plan is to add an extra pro-
fessional matinee to the regular
schedule.
On next Sunday the Fox
Theater will play an extra added
attraction of interest to service
men. It will mark the first
professional appearance of the
newly-organized drum and bugle
corps of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars. They will appear Sum
day only as feature augment