Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-10-07
New York
Letter

NEW YORK.-One OF Broad
ways minor miracles has been
achieved by-of all people Tom
Mooney, who now spends his later
years in prison mart-rdom-
That the shadow Of Mooney,
whose case has aroused millions all
over the world. should finally be
cast over a box-office on the Gay
White Way Is another one OF those
Manhattan incidents that defies
explanation.
New York's slogan has long been
anything can, and does happen
here" o. Henry set out TO prove it;
SO have innumerable columnists
and so have authors, singers. lee
turers and playwrights. The theater
Is a nendless parade OF surprise.
But it's genuinely startling that q
play about Moneys framing"
should become q hit on thu street
that Is supposed to be made Of such
shallow stuff.
Yet, such are the circumstances.
that a drama written in high indig-
nation titled Precedent" ended
its days recently after surviving a
summer that saw the hardest hits
fold up.
Neither the writers nor hackers
had the money nor opportunity
to open this play IN the uptown
theater belt. With q few dollars
and considerable courage, they went
TO one OF the little theaters In
Greenwich Village. They hired an
inexpensive cast. which turned out
to be better than many a big
league" cast. They hoped, OF course.
that their efforts would reach the
uptown ears; but they didn't be-
lieve this very firmly.
Critics went out OF their way TO
look IN on the modest opening. and
came back shouting about the
power and stark simplicity OF the
argument. Within a few MONT
Tom Mooney had come TO Broad
way, in spirit IL not in person. And
his story. while Somewh t thea
tricalized, has reached the ears OF
tAAOno0AAA6 vi bAAC0tIA~RQCAG WA0
pail good money TO hear 1t.
The current season. while having
borne no sensations, has had much
worth commenting on.
For instance: The theater firms
Of Schwab and Mendel and Aarons
and Freddy have long been asso-
ciated with the peppiest and most
successful musical COMEDIES to be
found in New York. The old-timers
Carroll, Ziegfeld and white
stuck pretty much to revues.
This year came notice that music
shows would be put on without a
chorus. Some Immediately pointed
to hard times, and jobless chorines
groaned. Yet on came Free For
AL" with singing principals and
an amusing libretto, and then fol-
lowed, Singing the Blues" a Har-
lem melodrama with songs but no
girls. In each case the experiment
has been more than pasSingly in
teresting, If not phenomenally sue
ceSSful.
There has been, too, the novelty
Of watching plays being rewritten
almost before ones eyes. The
power OF critical comment appears
for once to have affe ed overnight,
the nature Of a presentation.
Cloudy With Showers" for in
stance, had an amusing story about
a professor in psychology being
stumped on a sex a. estion by one
OF his pretty pupils. And getting
into plenty Of farcical involvement
a the result. The thir7 act was
rather rashly treated. Within a
week, 1t had been r .ritten and
ven given a new locale.
John Golden, with almost equal
haste, twisted the ending OF his
After Tomorrow" : uich had left
many in the audience shuddering
and fearful.
But in these days. almost any
news can be expected from the the
aters, which have grown uncannily
gun-Shy.