Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-23
Broadway Rings Up Curtain
Next Week for New Season
Eugene ONeill's Mourning Becomes Electra
That Takes Three Nights to See Is
Outstanding Attraction.

oncoEi..-,, season is interesting and
voluminous. proving that America s
showmen, undiSnayed by the cosmic
depression, are as alert as usual. Hun
dreds of dramas. plays, shows, revues
spectacles and musical comedies are
preparing for exhibition, assuring us
that the theaters will be open though
the factories are closed
4
What, one wonders, will be the new
years substitutes for Grand Hotel"
Co." Tomorrow and Tomorrow? Will
there be something to take the place of
The Barretts of Wimpole Street" or
Precedent" THE Vinegar Tree" or the
show. whatever its name was, that
Miss Helen Cahagan played so long fos'
Mr.. Belasco? OF course. there will be.
You can discover 20 prospective hits"
in the catalogues Of the producers in
case you have drama lovers naive
faith in the vague probity of show busi-
ness. AS one who is experienced in thu
unreliability Of producers predictions,
read them carefully with an aim to de-
tect the spurious items. thereby for
getting most of them. Among the i'm
minent plays In which put my prudent
trust is. Of course, Eugene O'Neill's
Mourning Becomes Electra" trilogy
requiring three nights to put its mes
sage over. Although am not sure that
the world has been made better and
wiser by Mr.. O'Neill's dramas, or these
Of any other Snowman, I am willing to
expect that the performance of Mourn
ing Becomes Electra" will result in pub
lie improvement. And If 1t doesn't, a
lot of Theater Guild subscribers will be
none the wiser. look forward to a
pleasantly theatrical evening with Mr..
Conan, our first actor, in cor
dial piece of his own construction
called Friendship" and to Arthur Hop
kins' the Warrior Husband" with
Miss Hope Williams as one of its certain
attractions. MeSsrs. Shubert will bring
q dramattzation of THE Good Com
panion" from England, and II they can
get away with 1t, shall enjoy 1t, as I
always enjoy the miracles. In case Ben
Hecflt and Charles Macarthur ever I'm
ish their play called Twentieth Gen.
fury" for Jed Harris, 1t viii probably
be Sensational. but those dranatists are
too busy with other recreations to waste
time writing third acts. James Ber-
nard Fagan's THE Improper Duchess, -
q Shubert Importation from London,
should be amusing, since it makes fun
Of peewee United States Senator, an
object impossible even for a British
dramatist to exaggerase Satisfaction
should be expected frsm some adven-
lures by Messrs. MCGOWAN and Reed,
and Guthrie -fcC1intic viii include
comedies by the sleek S. M. Behrman.
Love Story" and Brief Moments. y
1t seems that the supply Of upper-class
amusement viii equal the demand, as
usual.
y \
Meantime, Mr. Ziegfeld telegraphs me
from Atlantic City that Earl CAROLS
'Vanities" and George Whites Scan
dalS" are both fairly good shows. Not,
Of course, in the class of the "FoIlies. I"
but competent In their initiative way.
He adds that Mr.. White Is selling out"
at SAD per chair and that Mr.. Carroll
has empty seats, though his tariff Is but
50, with no war tar. IT In0w the an
swer," Mr. Ziegfeld wires. do you?"
Ny reply Is that do not, and I'll bet
that he doesn't either.