Evening star., 1935-12-15

the Longacre, without the redeeming
quality of rousing the flercer economic
and social emotions, a knack which
Mr.. Odets has amply demonstrated in
his other plays. For Mr.. Odets is fret
full for the rights of the sons of toll,
whom he considers to be exploited and
enSlaved by the opulent industrialists
of the world; but Paradise Lost save
for a gratuitous sermon or two from
the stage, is merely chronicle OF
middle-class inefnciency and social de-
generation. No pulses were raced at
its inaugural. and it is doubtful if con-
troverSy will rage about its merits
The majority of the reviewers dis
covered that In his Paradise Lost"
mood they could take Mr.. odets or
leave him.
DREMIERES which attract class
conscious f1rst-nighters have, how
ever, come to be mildly stimulating
Manhattan institutions They give
the lady reds an opportunity to wear
their cabochon rubieS which otherwise
would have gathered dust in the
vaults in year dominated by black
and-white evening ensembles and lame
and feathered effects, and they give
the Union Square contingent chance
to envy the lords of creation at first
hand. To make it certain that their
SympathieS are with the "peepul," the
tail-coated and orchid-laden COM
muntsts applaud loudly any denuncia-
tion from the stage of bourgeoiSe
ideology, and during the entracteS in
dulge in such democratic gestures as
ordering their champagne by the half
bottle at the nearest bar, instead of
by the accustomed magnum.
The authentic proteStantS against
things as they are, aside from their
curious shirts and habits of gum
chewing, are notably decorous at rad
ical first nights and attract no at
tention to themselves. They leave the
spacious gestures to the upholstered
pinks from Park avenue and long
haired book reviewers of the town.
The literary liberals can be distin-
guished by that colony-fed look as
they descend from their imported
motors and the profound contempt
they loudly voice in the lobby for any
but the more boring propaganda
dramas of the moment Actually
they wish they were over at Jubilee"
for the evening.
A SERIOUS MINDED group of
theatergoers will never quite un-
derStand why Nine. ALA Nazimova's
Ghosts" turned out to be such an
authentic and quite-alive drama as it
did when it came to the Empire, after
a protracted and enthusiastic tour of
the provinces. The whole thing is
battling, but the fact remains that the
ancient IbSen contriving creaked but
slightly or not at all in the hands
OF Nazimova, Harry Ellerbe and Nc
Kay Morris. although there were those
of the judicious who were grieved by
the blowsy bumptiousness of Ona
Munson, in the role of Mrs. Alving's
servant girl. The evening proved what
many observers have remarked be-
fore-that Mr.. Ellerbe is immeasura-
bly, more competent and convincing
in serious character roles than he
ever was as whimSy-boo juvenile or
ingenious boy-and-girl drama per-
former. Under the experienced guild
anc Of Nazimova he has fowered iSto
an unexpectedly adroit trouper VINO
handsomely compliments her own
restrained yet paSsionately tragic Mrs.
Alving. Happily, the Ghosts" COM
pany is played in modern dress and
manner which is perfectly suited to
the spirit Of Nazimova's translation
of the play from the Norwegian, and
so escapes the dubious charm of
"period-design" chatelaine watches
and outmoded cravats.
7 INREcoGNIzED by the celebrity
conscious and never seen through
the finders of press photographers at
first nights, Prof. William Lyon Phelps
continues to wear his years lightly
and maintain his standing as one of
the towns foremost playgoers. Al
though he sees every play of account