The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-03-02
In New York
BY PAUL HARRISON

New York-Perhaps the hap piest man in town, at this writing. is a 45-year-old, baldish, round- faced fellow named Marcus Cook Connolly. He happens to be the author of "The Green Pastures the stage parable which has re- turned to Broadway to celebrate it's fifth triumphant anniversary.
 Chancee are that this play will endure longer than Uncle Toms Cabin," and it is equally likely that future biographers of Marc Connolly will twist his personal history into a pattern attractive to aspiring dramatists.
 Actually he is a very lazy per- son who has driven co-workers, producers and editors to jitters and futile tears. He works only under duress, and in odd places. For example, he may fritter away a whole day planning what he'll do with the money he expects to derive from something he expects to write. But he may not write a word until he begins to dress to go out for the evening; then, while shaving and donning his boiled shirt and polishing his opera hat, he may toss off a few lines to a stenographer.
 
 Act One
 He came out of Pittsburgh in 1916, after a few years of news paper work, to give Broadway an operetta called ''The Amber Empress" for which he had writ ten the. lyrics. Play doctors here did their best for the Empress, but she expired within two weeks. After that, Connolly worked for various publications, such as "The Garment News" as dramatic cri- tic. There were times when he borrowed quarters from his friends. For 8 couple of years he borrowed nickles.
 Then Connolly met George ed. They wrote "Dulcy," Mer. ton of the Movies" and "Beggar on Horseback" After engaging Helen Hayes for one day, they asked whether she could play the piano. "Yes D she lied-and five minutes later had brought piano and hired 8 teacher. The play was in rehearsal before the au- thors even had thought about the third act. But it was ready in time, and "To the Ladies" was success. Picking Stars
 On Christmas Eve in cheap theatrical hotel in Philadelphia they found three disconsolate girls trying to cheer their first holiday away from home with a 50-cent Christmas tree. They were dan cers in the chorus of "Hitchy- Koo," and gave their names as Molly Larkins, June Walker and Claire Luce. A lot of applause has flowed over the footlights since those five drank in the Yuletide-- on lemonade.
 Connelll and Kaufman took Queenie Smith out of the Metro- politan Opera ballet and made her an actress. With Ring Lardner, Dorothy Parker. Robert Benchley. Haywood Broun, Franklin F. tauge Glass, they wrote a sophis- ticated revue-and watched it flop. Surviving members of that dis tinguished group of collaborators still insist that the show would have been all right if Connolly hadn't rushed in at the last mo- ment to play part.
 Connolly once wrote the lyrics of some songs for Irene Franklin. and has been her slave ever since because she keeps threatening to sing the magain.
 Making History
 After reading Roark Brad fAHdpo hnnly nf Nnorn dknfnhas "Old Man Adam and His Chill lun,' he was bent on writing d parable play. Sought out Brad ford, travelled around Louisiana with him. and penned part of ''The Green Pastures" on the boat re- turning to New York.
 The rest was pretty slow in coming, but even after he had fin ished it, the whole thing seemed doomed to failure. The Theater Guild, Arthur Hopkins, Winthrop Ames, Jed Harris, Crosby Gaige and several lesser managers turn ed it down. Finally it fell on the desk Of Rowland Stebbins, Wall Street broker. Stebbins was sure 1t couldn't be commercially suc- cessful, but thought 1t artistically worth a sacrifice.
 By this time half of New York from bankers to bartenders = had read the play or had 1t read to them. To make it worse, Con- nelly always had 8 few hundred pals in for rehearsals. Nobody was expected to attend on the opening night. because everyone already had seen it. Strangely enough, that premiere turned out to be one of thA Ynoat x,narnnrahIa evenings in the American theater, And after five years. the town still is going to see s"The Green Pas flIrAsn apain and arnix