Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-15

it as having surrendered ignominiously
to the cinema, and Broadway must
accept its humiliating position as a
cultural suburb of Hollywood. For
tunately for those of us who still
have in our hearts a friendly feel
ing for the older and sometimes
slightly senile form Of the drama,
there are reasons for believing that
the new season should be properly
stirring; in fact, the best and most
provocative in several years. Last year
the emergence of Clifford Odets, the
beauty of within the Gates" the
excellence Of The Children's Hour"
the urbane brilliance of Rain From
Heaven" the effective melodrama Of
1.-The Petrified Forest" and the tune
fulness of Anything Goes" were the
memorable events that brought en-
couragement to the optimists. 1t is
perhaps not being too enthusiastic to
suggest that the oncoming season
shows signs of providing blessings that
at least will be more numerous.
Last week the year 1885 in the
theater slowly began to emerge from
retirement. Mr.. Odets' two stirring
and distinguished plays, Awake and
Sing" and waiting for Lefty" re-
opened, and so did that superior
melodrama Of polite horror, Kind
Lady" in which Miss Grace George
and Henry Daniel are once more per-
forming so expertly. In addition,
there was the premiere of "A Slight
Case of Murder" by that splendid
storyteller. Damon Runyon. These
events hardly revealed the season as
being completely in its stride, but
there was a definite advance over
the pioneer weeks in which the revue
called Smile at Me" and a drama
known as Moon Over Mulberry
Street made their melancholy de-
butts. But it is with the coming week
that the activities really begin. Six
plays are scheduled for presentation,
and from then on there should be
something of a deluge Of offerings
that can be awaited with high ex-
pectations. 1t might be added that
among the immediate works there
are a trick melodrama called The
Night Of January 49," a play whose
setting is convent, a comedy in
which the President of the United
States makes his appearance. q work
| in which Roland Young appears as
a temperamental producer and the
! first production in several seasons
| by the volatile Jed Harris.
| According to reports, this Might
of January l6" is a play with a trio
of third acts. My information is to
the effect that each night jury will
be picked from the audience, and
| that after it has voted on the guilt
/ Of the central character, the act, in
keeping with its verdict, will be per-
formed. The season, it is probable,
will be overrun with plays that strive
| as earnestly as that to be of the
beaten path, but, since there are so
many dramas of potential interest.
| there would be no room here to tell
/ you of them, even if I had more
| information than I possess. Faced
by the quandary Of picking and choos-
| ing among so many interesting po-
tentialities, there is only one thing
! for me to do and that is to write
Of a few of them that interest me
particularly. in the hope that you
may find them of interest also. OF
particular importance. Of course, IS
| the coming dramatization by Sidney
Howard of Humphrey Cobb's mag
nificent war novel, Paths of Glory"
Since the production will be made by
/ Arthur Hopkins, who presented that
greatest of war plays, What Price
Glory" the premiere unquestionably
will be one of the most exciting of
the year, with each person present
dreaming that he may be in attend
ance on a theatrical event equal to
what must have been one of the most
exciting events of the modern New
York theater, the first performance
of the magnificent Stallings- Anderson
drama. Unfortunately for Mr.. Hop
kins and Mr.. Howard, that is a ter
ribly tough handicap for any drama
| to face. Among other things, they
will be battling with great legend.
The Theater Guild, which had
reasonably unhappy time of it last
year, will start out with a fighting
pacifist play by John Haynes Holmes.
called If This Be Treason" The
drama, it might be reported. is based
| on a thesis which may not be re-
garded as tenable in all quarters and
Is to the effect that peace-loving