Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-13
Local Theater Notes.

WITH the past week SO munificent
in its offerings as to bewilder the
playgoer with only seven nights and
couple of afternoons to spend in the
amusement palaces, the coming week
| bodies little surcease for those who want
to keep step with all the new tunes and
| talkieS.
There are two frst-rate holdovers,
'Fhe Gold Diggers of Broadway" (now
In its fourth week at the Metropolitan
and 1.-THE Hollywood Revue" at the Co.
lumbia. An. Harding's talkie debut at
the Rialto in Philip Barrys suave Paris
Bound" yields place to another debut,
equally suspicious, to wit: Ina cIaire's
In "Fhe Awful Truth" The Fox follows
ton, Married In Hollywood" The Pal
ace has Woman Trap" with Hal Sicily,
who danced and staggered so success
fully through the cinema version of
''Hurlesque" recently: the Earle pre-
sents that engaging pair, Buddy Rogers
and Nancy Carroll, in illusion" and
Little Theater offers the silent Herr
Jannings, supported by Conrad Veidt,
in Husbands or Lovers" So much for
the movies,
At the National the Theater Guild
Acting Go. swings briskly into Vol
pone," stefan Zweig's adaptation of
the early Ben Jonson farce. The i'm
pertant thing about the production of
"Volpone' is that, while the plot which
Ben Jonson first laid cut has been re-
tanned, the new version has been brought
into modern idiom tas were, in way,
the adventures Of Messer Marco Polo
last week.. To do this Stefan zWeig,
one of the foremost of GeFmanys mod
ern literary figures, eliminated tedious
subplot, and by this stroke achieved
continuous action. He has centented
himself, fer the rest, with adhering
closely to the intentions, tnsinuatiehs,
inveetive and suhtleties of the author,
Some of the elassicists, of course, have
made great protest Sir Nigel Play
fair, in England, arose in something of
HaMmersmith horror and denounced
the whole proceeding as SeandalouS
Yet the rest CT the world seemed not
to mind, and in Germany, France and
the United States the zweig version was
produced with great success.
Truly, the success which hes been the
lot of "Volpone" does open an interest
ing avenue of thought. A play ef the
EliEabethan era. it was written in the
pens, we're many other fascinating plays
besides those of Shakespeare. Because
their language Is venerated and because
they have retained the essential essence
Of truth and example, many of these
old plays have continued to remain in
active use, but there is no denying that,
except to scholars and other interested
parties, they are not to be recommended
as entertainment, which Is, after all,
the broad function of the theater. The
Shakespeare we see today Ii abridged.
It is to be doubted II Hamlet" in its
entirety has been played for years and
years. Certainly the perennial revivals
of 1.-THE Merchant of Venice" "0thello"
and others are well edited and in some
details slightly touched up with new
business" and new conception of set
tings. all to arouse interest with mod
hand, is played in the handsome cos
TUNES and settings Of Venice during the
Renaissance, but its dramatic form Is
entirely modern.
Manager Cochran of the National has
announced that Episode" under the
booked for Washington presentation in
the week of October 20. Mr.. Pemberton
has registered New York success this
season with strictly Dishonorable.
The Dramatic Society of the Jewish
Community Center is to produce its
plays of the 1a2s-30 season under the
direction of J. Minor Derey, it has been
announced Mr.. Dorey won recognition
last season for his direction of the
Community Drama Guilds Sherwood"
he. was formerly associated with the
Beechwood Community Theater at
Scarborough, N Y. The first produce
ton of the Jewish Center Players under
Mr. Doreys direction will be Philip
Barry's THE Youngest"
At meeting of the players Wednes-
day evening the following officers were
elected: Nathan Freehof, president
Louis Tannenbaunn, vice president;
Ruth Raine, secretary.