The Washington times., 1931-10-02


the sensaonseeking of the theater have all combped
to- put people off it. There have been other causes and
several pretty fair but the theater does not live
pretexs and accidents It exists because necessity
exists double need in fact, since the playwright ana
actor side of the footghts need the theater as
much the audience the other The need grew less
on both sides.
Renaissance
But every once in while the theater renews itself
and you get the feeling that civilized life might be
intoerabIe without it. Ten years ago such renewal
took place under the leadership of the Theater Guild and
q few other intelligent producers. Last summer an
other renaissance took place when dozens of small the
aters sprang up fairly remote country places chiefly
as proving ground for later productions in New York
All through the Middle West and the Pacific Coast
the theater has justfiaby withdrawn itself from the
burden of New York and made itself what the theater
originally was Part of the daily life of the citizens.
The blight remained the New York commercial the
ater and it was important because the domination of
New York has not yet been evaded
important, If True
The theater-the good theater-comes out of the life
of the people and gives something back to the life OF the
people, These big terms but they do not exclude
good musical show or light comedy because the thea
ter is aincusve. The theater feeds the MOVIES and
the rado what happens the stage has some effect on
what we see and hear and feel for moment month
or for years thereafter The theater is important ana
when is true. That why real event in the theater
is to be saluted. present at such an event the
other night and experienced not only thrill OF gratt-
cation but shock of surprise had forgotten how line
the stage can be- exciting is to watch really good
play how many kinds of pleasure fully realized pro-
:duction ve~you.
"A Pulitzer Winner
The play is called "The House of Connolly" and is pro-
bnfr; al shof of fhe
Guild. The author, Paul Green, the Pulitzer prize
some years ago for 'In Abraham's Bosom"-an award
which met with comparatively little enthusiasm For
two years at least the has been current that in
'The House of Connolly Mr. Green had written the play
which would justify the award He has done much
more He has offered the first play in year which is
worthy of the next Pulitzer prize
Reduced it's elements the play Southern
family which is degenerating through pride and poverty
and it's regeneration through the marriage of the young
son with poor-white, tenantfarmers daughter. 1t
would that this isn't enough to hold audience
breathess but the magic of the theaer is to beyond
its materials Mr. Green has created half dozen human
beings caught in the tolls of bitter circumstances and
when the proud paralytic mother the pedantlc and
lascivous uncle and the boy who is broken the Wheel
sit perfectly still in great you have actual drama
with suspense and conflict and all the elements dear to
the teachers of playwrighting.
The theater like every human institution, itself
by the young people it attracts The Group Theaer is
run by young and who know what they
want and how to achieve it, luckily for them and for
the theaer the first thing they wanted to produce
fine play in supremey good way. They have done
it. It is like the first forewarning of winter after
bad sticky summer-refreshing and full of cheer.
Page One, 1896
took magnifying glass yesterday to read the fac
smile of page of the New York Journal published
IS years ago. It then, popular paper, in
tended for large circulation. It's makeup probably
shocked the conservatives of the day. although it had
three single column heads the rest of the paper
handed to reproduction of letter from the Hoe
Company, which had made the presses.
The war broke down the last resistance to broad head
nes the mechanical perfection of printing presses has
made color and the comic strip has been called
art, at least once.
Better News
What strikes is the Improvement in the method
of IN nf S;ro;a Sc