Henderson daily dispatch., 1933-12-07
BY EMILE GAUVREAU
Editor of the New York Mirror
Written for Central Press and
Daily Dispatch.

Daily Dispatch.
New York, Dec. IF you should
ever see a play in Russia remember
that the audience believes the story
unfolded on the stage is not play-act-
ing but something transpiring in real
life. Attending my first night perfor-
nance in Russia was more interest
ed in the reaction of the audience
than in the play itself.
The first play / saw in Moscow
which had crowded an audience to
the rafters, had to do with a straving
artist who was trying to paint mas
terpiece and make enough money out
of it to marry his sweetheart. The
background was Paris and the Latin
Quarter. On the scene appeared a maOl
in a long oVercoat. ell was muffled
into it up to his chin and walked about
as if he had been moved on casters.
One sensed instinctively that he would
develop into the comedian before the
first act was over.
Revealed as Premier
Soon, the man in the long overcoat
revealed himself as a Premier OF
France with a red sash and many
the attention of the attractive sweet
heart of the artist after their eviction
by a sOulless landlady who cared
nothing about art. This scene takes
place in the French Latin Quarter
The man with the decorations cap
lures the lady, buys her an excellent
dinner and fine clothes and she leaves
the artist The Russians sat in tense
attitude as this story developed. There
were some mutterings when the man
with the decorations stole the sweet
heart from the artist.
Conscience Pricks
In the next act the artists sweet
heart manifests some pangs of con-
science. She pours out her soul in a
fine soprano voice. There are three
encores before the comedian comes in,
dressed in his diplomatic uniform. The
young lady has decided to go back to
her starving sweetheart.
The decorated diplomat hovers
about and hides in a packing case at
the rendezvous while the lovers meet.
He pops into his crate as the lovers
turn about.
At this point the Russian audience
bursts into laughter. Two brawny men
appear and turn the crate over,
bouncing it and making it uncomfort-
able for the inhabitant hiding in it's
wooden covers. When the comedian
emerges again he is blinded with saw
dust and brushes it out of his hair as
the audience howls with laughter.
In this instance the comedian had
to repeat the performance before the
big mass of people outside of the
footlights could be quieted down. Need
less to say the artist recovered his
sweetheart and left the French pre-
mier in complete discontinue
The Russians were satisfied and
went home in street cars, hanging to
the side doors, practically being drag
ged through the streets as the car
groaned along the rails.
A Russian Theme
The next performance I saw in the
same theatre had to do with a tyram-
nical Russian grand duke who went
to sleep after having failed to decide
between 20 beautiful chorus girls ders-
sed as peasants daughters. Before he
dozed off on the stage, while the
chorus danced intricate steps which
might have kindled the envy OF
George White, the grand duke anus
ed himself by attempting to spit on
certain mark about which a number
of his courtiers were gathered. All
this was in pantomine but rocked the
audience with laughter. This bit of
vulgarity could be forgotten when one
listened to the music from a superb
orchestra and perfectly trained bal
let in brilliant costumes.
There are brilliant theatres in Mos
cow and Leningrad. They fascinate
the foreign visitors. The classic operas