The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-02-01
Civic Will
Offer New
Comedy
The Marquise' Is Next
Event at Alabama
Playhouse.

~
" in comedy-substance the
three comedy offerings Of the Civic
Theatre of indianapolis Of the 1929
30 winter season have been Of in
teresting variance.
George Somnes. director, selected
for the opening bill at the Playhouse
John Hastings Turner's Lilies Of
the Field" with all its English
charm to BE- found in a setting at
Worcestershire and Rutland Gate,
London.
Spanish comedy. largely mental,
inactive, but keenly delightful, was
provided in 1.-The Lady from Alta
Queque." by the Quinter-Al1arez
which was the January bill at the
Playhouse.
In Noel Coward's The Marquise, -
the forthcoming production to be
presented from Feb. to II. that
brilliant. young Englishman tells his
audacious. clever tale against
background of eighteenth-centUry
France. Those who know their Cow
ard and his aphO~isms viii approve
of this French setting a. being ad-
mirably suited to his sWiftly-paced,
sententious dialogue and his charm
ingly impudent situations.
For that matter, many of Indian
apoliS' theater-goers and especially,
Civic Theatre patrons, do know
Coward and his clever works as well
as New York audiences, who are at
present all agog over his Operette,
SPLITTER Sweet" playing at the Zieg-
fed theater with Evelyn Laye. You
see, the music was composed and
the book and lyrics for Bitter
Sweet all written by this same 30
year-old success of a playwright
Hay Fever" that laconically-
titled piece of cleveTnesS. written
and produced in London several
seasons ago. was a tremendous sue
cess locally when it was presented
by the indianapolis Little Theatre
during its 1923 season. AT that time,
a total audience of 1,760 persons wit
messed the eight consecutive per-
formances at the Playhouse, and in
the following October, 1928, Hay
Fever" was presented as a pre-Sea-
son offering at the request of the
Indiana State Teachers Association.
The reception accorded this
Coward opus by Indianapolis audi
ences, to say nothing of its New
York and London enthusiasts,
augurs we'll for The Marquise,'
whom George SOmnes and his con-
freres at the Playhouse are bringing
to town during the week, from
Wednesday. Feb. to u. She is an
adorable, daring and exquisite lady,
who fills the comedy with incident
and situation.
Coward has arranged, in this last
mentioned brain child of his, that
two old friends, French noblemen,
have been provided with a son and
daughter. respectively, by this same
charming woman, la Madame la
Marquise.
Then he leaps the years. until he
reaches the opening of his play,
when his gentilhommeS are middle
aged and his MarquiSe a senti-
mental. gay and capricious 40"
The Met Iuise returns to the scene,
Just when the engagement of the
girl and 10y has been arranged by
their adoring fathers and celebrated
with a dinner party Was it men
toned before that neither of the
fathers had cOgnizance that the
Marquise was a mutual acquaint-
ance, until this scene? Full of i'm
prudence and sangfroid, if you will,
but also of charm and refined
cleverneSS.
Other plays identified with the
success of this prolific and youthful
oramatiSt are The Queen Was in
the Parlor," in which Pauline Fred
erick played; The Vortex" a sensa-
ton that London sent New York in
1926 to be enjoyed on this side of
the Atlantic: Fallen Angels, - This
Was a Man" and Chit Chat"
Somnes has selected the following
persons to play in The MarquiSe":
Mrs. Charles c. Robinson, from the
British professional stage; Norma
Green, Reginald Garstang, Mrs. Ru-
dolph Stempfel, Almon J. Coble.
Robert Brakeman, Walker Winslow,
Allen Miller, Vera Cox and Mrs.
Edwin j. Kunst.