Evening star., 1938-08-14
Season
Will Bring
.Revivals
Success of "Hamlet'
And Other Plays Is
Incentive.
BY Mark Barron.
Associated Press StaK Writer.
NEW YORK.

ASSOClAtSU EIcSb 6tan WIltST.
NEW YORK.
A LONG with the array Of new
~ plays that will come trooping
~ onto Broadway when the new
season opens next month there
will arrive an ambitious array OF
revivals of both the classics and the
early modern hits Of this generation
There was a time when stars and
managers would revive the old plays
simply for the sake of prestige, but
since John Gielgud struck such
profitable favor with his revivals OF
Hamlet" and King Richard II" last
season there has come about a change
OF opinion as to the box ONCE worth
Of these old ones.
Cornelia. Otis Skinner. who aban-
doned her solo performances to re-
vive that sentimental and tender
drama Of Edward Sheldon's, "Ro-
nance" in summer stock at Ogunquit
Me-. last week. is proceeding on the
, other roles in the old plays. This
is the part which Doris Keane played
for so many seasons after she created
it in 1913
Miss Skinner rehearses this week
in Much Ado About Nothing" for a
Locust Valley, N. Y. appearance and
in the fall she is going to revive 1.-The
Beaux Strategem" with Brian Ahearne
in the case on Broadway. Too, she
has hopes of playing Lady Macbeth
and Katherine in The Tanning OF
the Shrew."
After that. she feels. will be an
appropriate moment for her to do the
role that Mrs. Leslie Carter 50 de-
lightfully created for David Belasco in
1899, "Zaza."
John Barrymore. too, is deserting
the movies where he has been 50
long recently and will appear on the
Broadway stage again in the fan.
although he hasn't decided yet what
play he will do. Many OF his old
stage acquaintance have been urging
him to revive. at least for special
matinees. his memorable performance
OF Hamlet which he did to resound-
ing cheers in 1922 and which is still
so fresh and vivid in the minds of
theatergoers that his performance re-
ceived 43 votes in a poll Of the best
performances of all time which the
New York Sun has just completed.
The poll. incidentally, was won by
Helen Hayes. whose performance in
Victoria Regina" received 81 votes.
Recent revivals Of old plays have
been more successful than revivals OF
plays that were first produced in the
last IS or 20 years. Ruth Gordon s
appearance again in Ibsen's moody
and tempestuous "A Dolls House.
last season was eminently successful,
but Tallulah Bankhead's earlier ap-
pearance in the role of Sadie Thomp-
son, which Jeanne Eagels created and
played so many seasons, in Rain" was
failure.
The error here. apparently, was that
although Miss Bankhead was praised
for her Interpretation the original
performance of the late Miss Eagels
was still so fresh in the minds Of the
audiences that it clouded their view
point.
The Players Club has long pro-
duced some OF the most meritorious
revivals. although they have the
choice Of all the stars, and can as
semble casts that no independent
manager could afford. even If he were
doing continual standing-room- only
business.
For instance. in their revival Of
''The School for Scandal in 1923
they had cast that included John
Drew, Walter Hampden, Ethel Bar
rymore, Tom Wise. Violet Kemble-
Cooper, Grant Mitchell and q dozen
other stars who drew such high sal
aries that no commercial manager
could dare have them all in one cast
But for the limited seven perform
ances Of all Players Club revivals
the audiences saw many historic per-
formances.
Rarely now, however, does Broad
way see repertoire of classic re-
vivals such as the famous E. H.
Sothern and Julia Marlowe, two of
the greatest Shakespearean players
of all time, used to give on Broadway.
For instance. they would play The
Tanning of the Shrew" for seven per-
formances, switch to Twelfth Night.
THE Merchant of Venice" and "Ro-
meo and Juliet" for seven more each.