Evening star., 1938-08-23

garb of the trans-Pacific demi-virgin,
Sadie Thompson.
Miss Rand does not feel that it is a
sacrifice. let us tell you. If you think
she does, you ought to be her fellow
boarder at Miss Effie Fyffe's hostelry,
or satellite trailing her star to some
OF the finer homes where she is being
entertained during. her Westchester
tour. That combination of circum-
stances is perfect for learning how
Miss Rand feels about art and the
theater. She and the good burgher
families are having the time of their
lives with the great open spaces pro-
viding that touch of nature which
makes them easy-going kin.
One Of the secrets of her life upon
which Miss Rand lifts the veil is a
disappointment. a genuine hurt, which
Washington has inflicted upon her.
AS another great national institution,
she thinks she and the Federal City
should meet some time. 1t is the one
big center of population that has
AARAAAASoeSd VAIuul W AlCl
and she does not think that should
be the case. She is not indignant
about it, just feels sighted.
Inferentially, she puts Washington
in class somewhere the other side
Of Boston, which is censorially a very
naughty town. when she says:
why I've even played Boston five
times"
MEETING Miss Rand in the infor-
NAL atmosphere which put Rip
Van Winkle to sleep SO long ago. is
very interesting experience Her story
is one that gives any newspaperman
choice of angles that is practically
infinite. One can see her as a sin
cere, hard-Working, unaffected person
who would like very much to be an
actress, an excited kind of child hav-
ing the time of her life in the West
chester wealth belt. or as a lucky op-
portunist who stole the Chicago
Worlds Fair, a far larger show than
any other performer ever managed to
steal. She is bit of them all, maybe.
She has a sense of humor. like
most persons whom show business has
knocked around. 1t is broad enough
humor to include a great many facets
OF Sally Rand. But even in the easy
going neighborliness of Mount Kisco,
no one would test Miss Rands sense
of humor to the extent of smiling at
finding her studying the script of
Susan and Cod under a big UNI
brella in Miss Fyffes garden at 10
am. With seriousness that COM
mands respect, Miss Rand looks up
from her book to say that she is going
to play Gertrude Lawrence's Susan
role at the summer theater in New
Angola, Pa, In couple OF weeks. The
stranger may think it kind of funny
to visualize Sally Rand in a role which
he saw Miss Lawrence play. Miss
Rand definitely does not-and she saw
Miss Lawrence in the part 80 times"
After a grand total of six weeks Of
dramatic roles in summer stock from
Skowhegan to Mount Kisco, the spir-
ited Miss Rand can see no reason whv
she cannot become an actress. She
knows that she has acquired the expe-
rience through what is known as
stunt casting" which is to say that
she recognizes she is more of a Curl
osity than an actress in the ewes of
producers, but that does not discour-
age her.
MISS RAND knows other things
about herself as an actress; one
OF the most important of which is
that she has one of the worst voices
ever heard on any stage, including
that in the high school auditorium at
Greenville. Miss. But, to judge by her
performance in Rain" she is bv no
means the worst actress. She caught
the spirit Of Sadie Thompson. with the
helpful direction of Ollie Barbour. and
delivered its various shadings all the
way up to anguish, even when she
was having trouble making the
speeches Understandable.
Her performance, apart from its
vocal defects, is to be classed as sur
prlslngly good in the light of what
one expects. And certainly unless one
looks for 14-carat art, none of the
customers from Skowhegan to Mount
kisco has been cheated on an inter-
esting evening in the theater.
Miss Rand thinks she con do eo,,.