Evening star., 1932-08-07
Glancing Backward Over
Real Broadway Successes
Midsummer Theater Slumber Gives the Playsoer
Chance to Recall Other Days and Bring
Back the Major Clories of the Drama.
By Arthur Ruhl.

TN THESE, the sad dull days of tht
theater's Midsummer slumber, the
playgoer at least has his memories
A Even II there is nothing else left for
him he can still nurse his nostal-
gia and in the midst of the drama
prolonged inertia mediate dreamily on
happier times. This wistful conter11-
plation Of mystic sort of Golden Age
of the playhouse is supposed to be the
exclusive right of the ancient First
Nighters the hardy veteran who saw
Edwin Booth in Hamlet" and looks
upon Ada Rehan, Ellen Terry and Hen
nv Irving as pleasant contemporaries
rather than dim, but mighty mytholoe-
ical figures. In these trying weeks,
however, there is no reason why tnls
one method Of escape should De open
only to those whose memories go oacK
a connie of decades. There is a more
immediate period which offers lts re-
minder of major glories.
There were, for example. the days OF
broadway" and What Price Glory.
Possibly those two distinguished Amer
ican dramas marked pioneer period IN
the new national theater, Perhaps tney
merely were among the more elegant
diving gasps of a mortally wounded dra-
matte medium. Anyway they were to
many of us romantic and exciting
events, equivalent in their own way 10
the premiere of Savoy operetta OF the
first time that Lew Fields ever poHeo
Joe Weber in the eye or that historic
moment in within the Law when a
stage killing was done with a si!encer,
thereby establishing a method OF de-
creasing the percentage of oeafness
among the ardent followers o. melo-
drama. At least they supplied us with
a store of memories, and the Jhealer;
as the most ephemeral OF so-calleo
artistic forms, must aid us in that way
or risk dire futility.
y
ZACH playgoer will have his own par
ticuIar reasons for remembering
"Broadwsy," and mine may be no
stranger than yours. I shall recall it
for. among other things, the trivial
and rnjuSttfiable reason tnaf; aiteI
:. dozen visits L Sui hopeo Vnes
some day Lee Tracy, who played
+he leading role so memorably, would
somehow Slip up on one potentially
rowdv line that had been carefully
cleaned up by the Messrs. Dunnlng
and Abbott, its authors. Then, too,
there was that curiously heart-warmlng
line, pull yourself together, KID,
which good old Dan McCorn, the
square COD. who did more to make the
polics force seem sympathetic to New
Workers tnan hundred pleas to our
civic sense, spoke out of the corner OF
f1,s n1uuth to Pearl. the gallant ano
vengeful night club girl. who had just
killed the honicidal Steve CrandaA.
broadway" was. above all things,
Grand show. In its staging, acting and
writing, combined with what was then
a top:cal freshness, resulted in the sort
of theatrical excitement which is the
life's blood of the theater. 1t was. how
ever. more than good show. 1t was
a vigorous, craftsmanlike piece OF
drama. written with vitality and force
fulness. Nevertheless, 1t Is to the per
formances that ones recollections IN.
sist on returning; to the players OF
smaller roles. as well as to the nominal
leads-to John Wrays hastily assas-
siaated Scar Edwards. to Eloise Stream
loyal and vengeful Pearl, to Mildred
wall for her nnisadventure at the tele-
phone, to Edith Van Cleve, the catty
Ruby to William Foran, the jovial