Evening star., 1932-09-11

"HE drama reviewers, having be-
come used to header and NOR
noxiouS Stimulants, shifted witt
Il tolerant disdain at Fred Stone
ingenious Smiling Faces" anc
rejected 1t as lacking the pungency es
sential to present Broadway appetiteS
Absent from its formula, they said, were
the tabasco ingredients of the newer
harlequinades. the invigorating doses o.
1mpudent smut or satire that are dis.
placing the sedative milk and honey o.
old-fashioned musical plays. But min
gled with the polite yawns and ennui:
were lazy cheers for Mr.. Stone himself
The agility of his veteran joints wa'
hailed as phenomenal, and there were
reverent compliments for the impiSh
manner in which he uttered the presby-
terial Jokes of the libretto. did not see
Smiling Faces" having been detained
elsewhere by one Of my periodical argu-
ments with Charon and his suite of un-
reasonable streptococci. Therefore
must depend for information about il
upon my brethren of the daily press
As you know, they seldom default.
gather from them reports that Smiling
Faces" is wholesome. acrobatic. SUBJ
urban and good spinach show for the
uninitiates, If any
Among my souvenirs is the recollec-
ton of Mr.. Stone as he took his first
timid steps toward riches and fame at
the initial performance of The Wizard
Of o." away back in 1900 or there
abouts, at Hamlins Grand Opera House
in Chicago. Then Richard Mansfield
was the first actor, Minnie Maddern
Fiske the first actress, Weber and Fields
the first clowns and Augustus Thomas
and Clyde Fitch the first dramatists.
William Winter. Acton Davies, Hillary
Bell, Franklyn Fyles, James Huneker
and Burns Mantle were at that period
the most notorious occupants of the
judgment seats, handing down to the
drama lovers DEGREES from which there
was no appeal. The works of Ibsen and
Shaw were regarded as questionable and
the chorus-girl abdomen, now so familiar
a sight in extravaganza, was mystery.
not fact. What intended to say was
that on the first night Of THE Wizard
OF or" I, humble scrivener from
matinee newspaper, interviewed Mr..
Stone in his dressing room. and there
began an idolatry that has existed ever
since.
1t had been expected by the producers
that Mr.. Stone as the Scarecrow in The
Wizard of OF" would be subsidiary to
John Slavin, a prominent and funny
comedian, who had been cast in the
title role. But ere the beginning scene
was over Mr.. Stone had become the hero
and Mr.. Slavin nothing but competent
accessory. The cold, critical Chicago
1irst-nighters acclaimed him as some
thing new in the way of entertainment,
and clapped their hands in frenzied
ecstasy. I caught him between the first
and second acts, bewildered by his sue
cess. He told me that at the age of IL
years he had run away from his happy
Kansas home to join a one-ring circus,
there to perform childish feats upon a
tight rope, Immediately preceding the
main exhibition in the big tent. One
Gay while he was performing "it came
on to rain" as he expressed it in his
quaint Kansan idion, and as the thun-
der rumbled and the lightning flashed
the spectators all scurried away. leaving
him forlorn and aloft, waif forgotten
In midair Thereupon he resolved that
in tie future he would express himself
OILY in indoor entertainments. That
policy has proved to be pleasant
and remunerative 1t can be said
Of Mr.. Stone that he is the Joe
Jefferson Of extravaganza. An able and
conscientious performer, successful,