Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-01-26

rivers brink What would Dead End
be without MIR. Bel Geddes' tenement
and apartment houses, Victoria Re-
gina" without it, approximately regal
surroundings or Pride and Prejudice"
without its decorative environment?
It is the age of the scene maker. The
set of "A Room in Red and White"
last week was much more moving than
the murder that occurred therein. and
so are nearly any happenings that
occur at present on the Broadway
stage.
MIR. GEDDES, in a gracious note,
A'A takes me to task for my unappre-
citation of his abundant scene-making
in Dead End" He writes as follows:
Il address this letter to you because
you do not belong to the group OF
critics who feel that my setting is the
major factor in the success OF Dead
End" l am no shrinking violet, but
have nevertheless a sense of fair play.
and I believe that those other critics
DO Mr.. Kingsley, the author, an in
Justice. You, on the other hand, felt
that my work on the production was
detrinent to Mr. Kingsley's play. II
this letter, therefore, is successful, II
will result in erasing both OF these
otions.
II have had a great deal OF ex-
perience in designing settings for both
successful and unsuccessful plays. but
I have never made a design that was
able to save bad play or make sue
cess of mediocre play. Dead End
is an outstanding success.
You stated in your article that While
watching the play your attention was
sidetracked by TIE settings. Although
you have accused me OF putting archl-
lecture on the stage, what have really
done was to make you think it was
architecture without building it. To
illustrate: The effect of space is Great
ed by the relationship Of the various
masses to one another and careful
job of false perspective. Outstanding
examples Of the latter are the windows
and doors. The window of the third
floor of the main tenement house Is
only half the height of the window
on the first floor. but appears, from the
vision of the audience, to be identical
in size with it. The doorway of the
second tenement house, although 1t
appears to be identical with the first.
is one-third less in height and so low
that to enter it, if it were a real door
you would have to stoop considerably.
The lighting and the continual use of
atmospheric sound contributed also to
the realism.
The scenery on the Belasco stage is
just common, everyday scenery. The
whole setting could be packed up and
placed in baggage car This state
ment is verified by the fact that the
two road companies, now in prepara-
tion,- will be facsimiles of the New
York production.
When Mr.. Kingsley first read his
play to me, even in an uncompleted
state, it was so real that the pos
sibilities of making 1t appear suffi-
GENTLY real on the stage were terrify-
ing. Yet the very nature of the play,
its lack Of plot in the ordinary sense,
its panoramic quality. its casualness.
vitality, Characterization and general
theme, could only achieve success if
the audience could be made to forget
that they were IN theater and feel
instead as though they were at that
dead end.
Aside from all these matters, Mr.
Kingsley and are both complimented
at the sustained interest you have
given Dead End"
That is that, I suppose, but insist
that Dead End" would be a better
play, if not better show, were it not
for its overwhelming and obtrusive
scenery. He might take lesson in
effective reticence from the production
of Ethan Frome"