Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-26
PATIENTS PRODUCE
|. MUSICAL COMEDY
AT ST, EL|zABETH'S
Critic, Hoping for Genius of
Dream World, Sees Reg
uIar Show.
AUDIENCE REACTIONS
ARE DECLARED NORMAL
Once-Famed Tenor and Dancer
Demonstrate Old Talent at
St. Elizabeth's.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.

A musical comedy written and pro-
duced entirely by the patients at st.
Elizabeth's Hospital was presented yes
terday after months of hard prelim-
mary work.
When was assigned by the dramatic
department to review this production
I went out to Congress Heights with
considerable anticipation. There. is a
lingering superstition in the minds of
most of us which associates the
psychoses with genius. Would this in
tellectual production of men dwelling
in strange worlds of their own, replete
for some of them with soundleSs voices
and substanceleSs images arising from
the weird depths of their own inner
selves, display flashes of Blake and
Shelly like fingers of flame bursting out
Of the dark? Would bit of the dream
world of the catatonic be reproduced
on the stage?
Just Good Musical Comedy.
What I saw was quite different
nothing more, in fact, than a good mu-
steal comedy. I am not even prepared
to say that 1t vas any better than
the average musical comedy. There
were the same songs, the same Jokes
the same patter. Also, folks laughed
at the same things they have been
laughing at, inside and outside of in
situations, for the past 100000 years.
This morning several excerpts were
broadcast over one of the local radio
stations and there Is little doubt but
that the more diversified audience en-
joyed it just as much as did the pa
tients yesterday. It's hard to see how
Jokes and songs could be strung to-
gether on a string of dialogue much
better than the men at st. Elizabeth's
have done.
All BIack-Face.
It is all black-face comedy-about a
girl named Chloe. Some colored folks
had formed themselves into a dramatic
troupe and shifty producer came down
from up North to sign them up Poor
Chloe, who had put all her money into
the show, is left behind and her beau
goes away with Lilly Belle, the vampish
leading lady. But they strike hard
times in New York and are wondering
where their next meal Is coming from
Meanwhile, however, Chloe has been
tending to her job as a house maid,
saved her money and even found
rich uncle. So she comes to New York
and gets her revenge by saving the
show. In this framework are incor-
porated some of the popular hits of the
day, such as "Tip-toe Through the
Tulips" and they are all very well done
The production was the result of the
efforts of the Red Cross workers at the
hospital to bring out some of the talent
which exists among the patients and
for which, in the past, there has been
little outlet. At the same time it is
hoped to diversity the entertainment by
other features besides moving pictures.
The musical comedy was considered a
good medium with which to start. 1t
would not tap deeply the emotions of
the patients, either in composition or
production.
The cast was composed of men, all of
whom had thorough appreciation of
what they were trying to do and did it
well. There were, for example, four ex-
officers, one of whom turned out an ex-
cellent performance in the character of
the abandoned Chloe. The dialogue
was largely the work of a District pa
tient who had some previous experience
with theatrical affairs and stage
mechanisns All the training was care
fully supervised by Red Cross workers.
Former Tenor Sings Well.
Among the st. Elizabeths patients
there is one who was once we'll
known stage tenor. His singing of Irish
ballads, in a voice none the worse for
his mental illness, was a high spot of
the show. And there was a dancing
act, excently done, by one who seldom
can be brought out of a characteristic
stupor except to dance. But his feet
move with all the old lightness and
rhythm.
Many of the ward patients whose
condition is such that they cannot
ordinarily attend the shows were pres
ent yesterday and all behaved very
much like normal musical comedy
audience or the folks that enjoy iazz
orchestras over the radio.
The only conclusion is that it was a
good show-which may be high praise
or sarcastic criticism, according to the
reaction of the reader For, after ali
If such mad men as William Blake or
John Clare had happened to be patients
at st. Elizabeth's and had been selected
to write the show it probably would
have been "flop"-there or anywhere
else. The patients almost unanimously
would have agreed that the authors
were insane, and demanded something
normal
The Red Cross, which early this
month conducted the first experiment
at showing moving pictures In Howard
Hail. the ward for the criminally in
sane, is planning to continue the work
on larger scale and have selected
several popular screen comedies and
romances to be shown in the near
future. Some of the men never mad
caan Y11OVinp nictJIra