Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-04

TINE drama affords few plights
sorrier than that in which the
humble hero of Midnight" finds
Il himself. A conscientious devo-
tee of justice and his country's
laws he is instrumental, as foreman of
a jury, in booming a lady homicide to
death. The duty is disagreeable, but
he performs it with the fervor of a
crusader pledged to the discharge of
onerouS obligations. and he is made to
suffer from the annoyances that ever
poster the activities of righteous men,
Since the crime was a gaudy one 1t
moves the daily newspapers to frenzied
feats of journalism. The tranquility Of
his home life is wrecked by hordes of
violent minionS of the press, who, wear
ing various DISCUSSES, interview him dis
honestly and steal his photographs He
dares not to unfold his napkin at din
ner time for fear that a reporter Will
crawl out Of it. I pilfer that exaggera-
ton from Irwin Cobb as do the classic
suggestion that the hero Of Midnight"
has no more privacy than a goldfish.
All Of this is sacrifice enough for even
one of the better good citizens. He
cannot eat, he cannot sleep without In
terruption from wild-eyed vandals of
the public prints. His lawn is trampled
by sobsisterS, cameramen and a squad
occupation as a neighborhood florist.
Yet so consecrated is he TO the worship
Of the statutes that he glories reluctant
ly in the fact that he has enforced the
somewhat vague commandment, Thou
shalt not kill"
Mr.. and Mrs. Paul Sifton. the au-
thors Of Midnight" are not content
with the catalogue of woes that cluster
around the average man of probity. In
the play at the Guild Theater they
add to his troubles and emphasize them
with all the extravagant facilities of
the stage. Thus as the honest jury
man, Frederick Perry, hears the death
knell of his victim sounded over the
radio from Sing Sing. his own daugh-
ter, Miss Linda Watkins, enters the
scene, smoking pistol in hand, and
Historically confesses that she has Just
bumped off her faithless sweetheart, a
rich, unctuous and hypnotic Italian
bootlegger. This situation, evolved by
Mr.. and Mrs. Sifton, is as narrowing
collection Of predicaments and diem
mas as ever attracted the attention of
the Theater Guild.
The drama reviewer who attends the
Guilds first nights is usually intimi-
dated by the splendor and superiority
of his surroundings. The usheress who
escorts him to his chair looks at him
with the tolerant disdain of one who
knows Theresa Helburn, Mr.. Wertheim,
Helen Wesley and Lawrence Langner.
He is surrounded by the vavasors of
play going, drama lovers of the most
exclusive type, high hrowed, low necked,
swallow tailed. Self-satisf1ed and in
telligent Therefore, he hesitates to
make remarks about the Guilds per-
formances, fearing that he win irritate
the most adult audience and the most
adult institution of the worlds stage.
So tremble when I say that Mid
night" Is a strong story, weakly re-
of my large faith in the Guild and in
Philip Moeller, one of the drama S
most expert and subtle dovetailers.
The play is all hints at the beginning,
leaving one in doubt as to which, what
and why. When Glen Anders appears
as big reporter, counterfeiting a
radio mechanic, he is lost in the tech
nical lingo of the wireless and you are
myStifled as to whether he is demon
or saint. AS the story goes, the dis
trict attorney makes himself a candi-
date for governor by his successful
prosecution Of a murderess. But when
another and similar opportunity offers,
he reverses himself, and upon one of
the most desperate, ludicrous and in
credible incidents known to happy end
ings the curtain falls. The Siftons
have brilliant melodramatic ideas, but
they lack skill in expressing them. In
this agitating and unkempt melodrama
Mr.. Perry excels as an ideal juryman
and citizen, and Miss Watkins is Shiny
vivid as his impetuous child who kills
her lover because she believes him to
be a tlirt. The Others" in the cast
are of Theater Guild standard. and in
case you patronize Midnight" you will
see good acting if not good drama.
X X X
THE store of librettos having run low,
Mr.. Hammerstein was forced to
select second-rater for w. c. Fields
return to Broadway's drab pastures
Monday evening. Not that it mattered
much, for Mr.. Fields is the sort of clown
whose occasional presence in a play is
enough to overcome the dismal yarns
and gloomy jokes of his authors. The
book of "Ballyhoo" is rather dreadful in
an amateurish way. but, encouraged by
two or three tactful songs and a chorus
of talented debutantes, he manages to