Evening star., 1936-07-26

Critical opinion the next morning
was more nearly unanimous than is
customary. With only two dissenting
was more nearly unanimous than is
customary. With only two dissenting
opinions. 1.-THE Green Pastures" was
hailed as play of surprising beauty
and possessing great box Office poten-
tialities.
THE divine comedy of the modern
theater," said one reviewer. Ticket
sales leaped in response to this barrage
Of heavy praise and The Green Pas
lures" moved overnight into the hit
class.
A popular trade paper was one pub
lication that guessed wrong. 1t pre-
dicted Today stay at the Mansfield.
This estimate was corrected a few
weeks later.
THE Green Pastures" played in New
York for 18 months during the leanest
days of the depression, while other
theaters were crying for business.
When it was time for the selection
of the Pulitzer prize play for the year,
It was at first announced that The
Green Pastures" was ineligible be-
cause it was not, strictly speaking, an
original play, since Marc Connolly had
always given full credit to Roark
Bradford and his book as the inspira-
tion for the production.
This led Alexander Woolcott to COM
ment publicly to the effect that while
The Green Pastures did not especial
ly need the Pulitzer award, the Pulitzer
award sorely needed The Green Pas
lures" In any event, the play did win
the Pulitzer prize, and after 73 weeks
in New York, it moved to Chicago,
where it played for nearly five months
more.
Then it toured the Middle West and
West Coast, meeting with remarkable
and continued success in every city.
Des Moines supplied the largest single
days business in the history of the
play, admissions amounting to 1000,
and Big Spring, Tex, turned out the
smallest audience and the least money
Tor performance of some $500.
The third year "The Green Pas
lures" opening in Boston, played up
and down the Atlantic Coast and in
many inland cities. Then it was de-
cided to take it into the deep South.
Some concern was felt over this ven-
ture, but there was no need for this.
The South accepted the play even more
enthusiastically than had any other
part of the Nation.
A second tour of the same area fol-
lowed and then Marc Connolly
brought the production back to New
York for its fifth anniversary 1t re-
opened there on another blizzardy
night, and the majority of New York
critics had the pleasure of saying edi-
torially, Il told you so, five years ago."
During all this time motion picture
producers were angling for the picture
rights Of THE Green Pastures" recog-
nizing it as the most outstanding mod
ern play of the present century. Many
bids were made and all of them we're,
eventually, refused. All, that is, except
the last one
Warner Bros. finally bought "The
Green Pastures" for the screen, little
more than five years after that first
eventful showing in the Mansfield
Theater in New York.
More than 100000 people saw the
play. Ten, twenty, thirty times that
many people will probably see the pic
ture, which will have its Washington
premiere Friday, August 7, at Warner
Bros Earle Theater. The theatrical
magic of Connolly makes the screen
version of The Green Pastures
never-to-be-forgotten film spectacle.
1t was directed by Connolly and Will
liam Keighley. Mr.. Connolly also
wrote the screen play with Sheridan
Gibney.
The spirituals are by the Hall john
son Choir.
There are hundreds of players in the
cast, among whom are Rex Ingram,
Oscar Polk, Eddie Anderson, Frank
Wilson, George Reed, Myrtle Anderson,
Edna Harris, Ida Forsyne, Abraham
Gleaves and Snowflake Toones.