Evening star., 1937-03-01

QlIleTeIlC lTOIl lllc IUutlIlt Oldui "
hold interest even at those moments
when the performance had the aspects
of a rehearsal.
Ayn Rand's play is made of dra-
matte stuff. 1t converts the theater
into a court room for the trial of a
comely secretary, accused of killing her
financier employer-lover. The realism
of it all is helped along by the tricks
of recruiting jury from the audience
and having the witnesses running all
over the house. These witnesses in
clude a colorful gangSter, smug
handwriting expert, dumb private
detective, a fan dancer. a Swedish
maid and an assortment of miscel-
laneous other types. Hob-nobblng
with them, in manner OF speaking,
is rather diverting from the audience
standpoint.
Last nights performance made it
pretty clear that there will be plenty
of rehearsals today. The thing must
be pulled together lot tighter If the
laughs are to be kept where the author
intended instead of where the audi
ence, in its own observing way, finds
things funny. The high light of the
opening performance occurred when
the Judge was forced to prompt the
prosecuting attorney. The illusion OF
the thing gained nothing whatever
from this radical departure from
standard court procedure. Judges,
bailiffs or clerks have no right to tell
the prosecutor how to conduct his
case.
The Night of January l6' would
seem to depend for success upon the
degree of tenseness which can be de-
veloped in the audience. Every one
last night was thoroughly relaxed
sometimes to the point of somnolence
X X X
a CITING honors, what there were OF
them, were gathered by Helen
Kingsley, who played the role OF Karen
Andre. the accused secretary, and by
Arthur Space, who gave authenticity
to the most tastefully named of stage
gangsters, Cuts Regan. On the other
hand, there was Franklin George,
who played the district attorney ano
played it right into the hands OF those
who would take justice out of politics
Debby Dare, cast as the fan dancer,
Whipped up quite a bit of amusement
with her legs and lines while she was
ON the witness stand. 1nga Hill. sup
posed to be a dumb Swedish maid,
came through her role with a lot more
credit than some of the presumably
brighter personages helping justice 10
find it's way through that court room
The Night of January 16" should
be a better play tonight If the stage
manager bears down hard enough.
and the cast bears up well enough
at today's rehearsals.
There is more to the drama than
the opening performance revealed.
X X X X
EDDIE DUCH1N will be guest OF
- honor at Betty Hudson's tea at
WJSV this afternoon at S -. The up
lift of burlesque was contemplated
with becoming seriousness at meet
ing of Burlesque Critics Association,
Circle No. /, yesterday afternoon. Re
suits of the uplift movement stopped
somewhere ILLS SlOC VA oAAS Se~-~
sphere Fred Marshall, Columbia
Pictures, Is in town talking to every
one about the musical miracle OF
l937-Grace Moore's corney interpre-
tation of Minnie the Moocher' In
her new picture which is coming to the
Earle Some time today Ray Bell
is going to tell the world about Red"
Two of the victims of Rays teaser
advertising on the subject have de-
cided they will not listen Mrs.
Henrietta Rogers, Dallas, Tex, and a
couple of Washington drama report
ers spent an hour Sunday afternoon
singing the praises of Charles Mere
dith. He is director of the Dallas
Little Theater, which has taken so
many national prizes there are none
left for other little theaters. Mere
dith, q Carnegie Tech product, IS
brother Of Mrs. Holland Huntington,
Chevy Chase. Comes here often and
has lot of friends Betty Kern,
once Of here now, sadly, OF Dayton,