Putnam patriot., 1930-03-06

 said that he has never given a bad performance The play, once known as The Gaoler's Wench. incident ally far more appropriate title than Children of Darkness, ,"-served Tor a time on the road as a starring vehi- ele for Miss Ina Clare. Miss Clare would have none of 1t but Miss Ellis has taken to the role with a hearty relish. Children of Darkness" is a brutal bit of theatre but lustily en- tertaining withal
 Then. to project oneself from the eighteenth into the second quarter of this twentieth century. there is a perfectly swell melodrama at the un- comfortable Republic Theatre, old time scene of the triumphs of Mrs. Leslie Carter. This affair. entitled Subway Express" is one of the best mystery plays we have seen in many a moon. All of the action takes place in subway car which jaunts up and down underground until the murder CT Is caught, red-handed The murder takes place before the audience, but it k SO clearly done that few are able to guess the method of killing until the end of the play. In a large cast which is uniformly good, the actor who plays the role of the murdered man gets a well-deserved hand when his body, in the last act. is finally re- moved from the sight of the audience.
 Not Without Interest
 Coming to the more polite modern theatre. we have seen two pieces of mediocre quality but not without in- terest. Miss Katherine Cornell. that young lady from Buffalo who now en- joys the most fashionable following in town. appears again at the Empire Theatre in "Dishonored Lady" modern affair built around the story of Madeleine Smith. the Glasgow girl who killed her lover in order that she might marry the man of her real choice. Margaret Aver Barnes and Edward Sheldon, who built out of Mrs. WhartOn's Age of Innocence, !" Miss Cornelfs last successful vehicle, have not performed SO efficient a service for the star this time. Dis honored Lady" despite most in- teresting story and an excellent dram atic idea. is a poor piece of play-con- struction at best. After an incredibly bad first act, the play does get down Go business and thanks to the sheer ability of Miss Cornell as an emotion al actress. one leaves the theatre with some satisfaction. Miss Cornell. who has never been one CT our humble faYorites. is best in those moments when she forgets her assumed London accent and. reverts to the burr of her native Buffalo. No theatre -goer, how ever. can deny the high value of her excellent performance in badly constructed and very artificial play
 There is also "The Infinite Shoe black" a play at the Maxine Elliott Theatre. featuring Helen Menken and Leslie Banks which is credited with long London run. It bored us to tears, though The Lady Who Goes to The Theatre With Us. thought that it had values theatrical as we'll as histrionie The plays impossible name is derived from a quotation from Carlisle. The action is easily described as the attempt of worthy Edinburgh Scotch Presbyterian stu dent to force an aphrodaisiac orchid Co become a bit of heather in the con fines of the gloomy Scottish capital. The orchid dies. Miss Menken gives to the orchid role all that can be giv- on though she dies far too lingering death for our liking. Mir. Banks, with a Scotch accent that is all tweed and yard wide, struggles manfully with the stern interpretation Of a modern John Knox. Some may like it. We didn't
 To A Night Club
 Once in a while.-and only once in a while.-if you live in the city of New York you go to a night club. Most New Workers are far too busy Co go to them. They are maintained by the S00,000 visitors who come into town each day and must be amused in the evening. Of all these many places of amusement, perhaps the most chic and popular is the Lido, a club which has enjoyed a longer life than is usually allotted to night clubs Here the other evening we went and paid an absurd price for four bottles of mineral water and the right to q tiny table to hear the incomparable Beatrice Lille sing her songs and to watch Moss and Fontanna, supreme dancers. exhibit some of the most beautiful steps we have ever seen. Miss Lillie was not al her best all though we heard that she is being paid the huge sum of Si,000 a week to sing for half-an-hour. She was, however, uproariously funny when she sang the ditty about There are Fairies in the Bottom of Our Garden" and the Cab mans last Drive"
 On the whole, this is a good winter in New York and the signs of Spring are all for the best. Mir. Toscanini is back with the Philharmonic Orchestra. The Wagner cycle at the Metropolitan is proving satisfactory even to the carning critics and charming Miss Bori and Rantoul, the new tenor, have brought Louise" back into the French repertory The last gasps of the concert halls bring out crowds upon crowds of people. In the art galleries, people of all ages and na- tionalities are erowding to see the moderus at the Hecksher Building, Georgia O'Keefe's bright particular genius in her one-man show at the Steiglitz gallery and the wood carv- ings of Allen Clark at Wildensteins B. Spring gowns are in the shops and the lady who tells us about fashions an- nounces that ladies hats will have brims again this season for which we thank Heaven. The naked faces of the winters etvlpe have made our