The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-02-01
In New York
Bv PAUL HARRISON


 New York,-Libby Holman Rey- holds is working very hard at her famous little Hedgerow theater at | Media, Pa, and is not giving any interviews to the press. Neverthe- less. there's some Interesting data about the petulant- dipped torch singer whose career seemed ended with the mysterious shot that kill ed her rich young husband in 1892 ...
 Associates in the Hedgerow theater believe she is planning a stage comeback the way Tallulah Bankhead did-by making a de- l but in London and eventually re- turning to New York. However that may be, Jasper Deeter. the Hedgerow director. says she is ''very much interested, and an apt pupil" "She is able to work as thougi.she had never been on the
 stage" he continued. "She is one of twelve students in her drama class, and I give them play and l tell them to learn role the way they think 1t should be done. Miss Holman has done some good char acteriZations.
 DbAC BW6 HhhC AsAshh0 Hhu has done lot of reading. It's reflected i'm her work. Obvi- Ously she wants all the old scandal to blow over before attempting n comeback" ... Libby's address is Q secret, Dee- ter said, because she's afraid of kidnap threats against her baby son.
 
 Let's Go Back-stage! All theaters are amazingly alike
 backstage. To begin with, all stage doormen seem to be alike, and are
 named John. Instead of being nice
 old fellows such as are represented
 in the movies, and who can tell you
 how they used to appear with Booth, they are middle-aged cigar chewers with intimidating, fishy
 eyes and chronic cases of skepti- cism.
 The last stage doormen on rec l ord to get his come-uppance was
 the one who barred the way of a
 man who said he was Mir Shubert because he already had admitted a man who said he was Mir Shuberk
 He couldn't understand until too | ldle tIdt IuCTe we're tWU MhbtCk
 Shubert producing the show. | Inside everything is disappoint- | ingly cold and efficient. Actors | hanging around waiting for en- trance cues manage to look com pletely disinterested until the last instant, when with final tug at
 a coat. or pat at a dress. they step
 briskly through door into an-
 other world. Actors coming off the stage go leisurely to their
 dressing rooms. and Ieisurely
 smoke a cigaret before changing for their next entrance. Some times the director comes around with ideas for changing lines.
 Bear down little more on your
 surprise at finding your wife with another man." he says. Or: May be you'd better leave out the cuss
 words in that telephone conversa- | tion."
 Outa the Way, There!
 No matter where visitor stands backstage he is always in the way. 1 You get to watching fellow in a
 greasy sweater arranging some flowers for the next act, and q f drop comes down from the shadowy
 upper regions and knocks your hat off. That attracts your attention to the profound mysteries of the
 ropes and pulleys overhead, and
 while you're looking up couple of
 stagehands bump you with a desk
 they're carrying. You step back and trip over some electric cables that another man is dragging into place. All the stagehands then stop
 and give you a dirty look and say Pardon me" in accents heavily weighted with sarcasm. Their voices are startlingly loud, but 1t seems they know just how much
 noise they can make without be- | ing heard out front
 When the show is over the per-
 formers drift off to their rooms te rub their faces with brown-stained cd
 towels and change while q few friends stand around heckiinf
 them. An actress asks whether
 anybody has Seen an envelope oi proofs of some photographs thai
 were promised her this oveening
 An actor announces he would like
 to borrow ten dollars because hs
 is going out and have . few Quiei
 ones. Pretty soon they all dfif
 out past the stage, with its on. | light penetrating only q little wa,
 mo tho orchestra, and past J0hi
 the d0Orman, who is anxious C
 lock ID. and into the nisbt.
 aoIdlern had little conception e
 what they wero lighting for.
 | presonlabiliiy and e0oini GFaeel
 also are encouraged fn fhn nFmi
 and navy. 4 recent nAyni gfdel