Evening star., 1938-04-17
1heater Irks
If Players
Let Down.
A Note on Actors
Who Treat Plays
Shabbily.
By Richard Watts, l..
NEW YORK

10 1cOisc 0edH Ndlndn ClQ con.
structively critical work one night
recently. He went around to a num-
Der Of theaters where soma of the
towns hits are playing. checked up
on the quality of the performances
being given and reported IN them in
Newsweek. He found that in most
cases the playing had become sloppy
and careless since the first night and
the productions had grown ragged
and llstless I must confess that J
have been less conscientious and have
got around to seeing only Shadow
and Substance" Ion Borrowed Time"
Julius Caesar" and The Shoemak.
ers' Holiday" over again. It is but
fair for me to add. also. that all
four OF them seemed almost as we'll
played as they were the first night.
with THE Shoemakers' Holiday"
thanks chiefly to Hiram Sherman's
brilliant performance therein, even
improved a trif1e But the belief
that many of our most attractive
works are being let down by actors
grown tired of their roles is not con-
fined to Mr.. Nathan. More and more
do I receive letters and verbal COM
plants from playgoers to the same
effect.
Say what you will against the
elaborate institution of the first night
and the caliber Of the first-nighters.
there is no denying the fact that
the best performances Of plays usu-
ally are given on the occasion of their
Broadway premieres, and that the
most intelligent response to the per-
1ormanoes usually comes from The
much-abused flrst-nighters. I have
only to recall the people who sat
behind me at my second visit to "On
Borrowed Time" loudly kept mistak-
ing Frank Conroy for Frank Morgan,
and with equal vehemence continued
to tell every one in the vicinity that
the play was less subtle version Of
"P1randellos Death Takes a Hoh.
day" to be sure Of that. ANYWAY.
actors, no matter how upset thev
think they are at opening PERFORM
~>S' NAS NPOAA QUILL OSIdSlOLlS keN6O
up to such a point that they are at
their best. Then the reaction sets in
and the natural tendency is for them
to be less effective from then on. Plav.
ers will tell you lot about building
up their performances during the
run OF play, and in some cases-as
is proved, for example. by Mr.. Sher-
mans portrayal in The Shoemaker's
Holiday" that is what they really do.
1t is the more customary thing. how
ever, for the actor to grow tired of
his role and endeavor to enliven his
own evening by clowning through the
part and destroying the evening of
the paying guests.
HE result is, Of course. that peo-
pie who 90 to see a much h-pra!seo
play fairly late in its run find it
unsatisfactory acted and therefor.
disappointing, and begin to wonder
what is wrong. The first thing thev
do Is to blame the dramatic critic
who has recommended the work and
thereafter decline to accept anv of
MS enthusiasm for other plays. Then
they go on to wondering about the
Whole idea OF the theater. Why. thev
Will say, should they pay a lot of
money to see what they have been
told Is among the dramas better prod.
uct and find it done in a slinshod
way. when for a fraction of the
money spent they can see Miss Greta
Garbo giving performance at The
nelgnoorhood theater that is lust as
good as it was when first offered
al Its Hollywood premiere? Where
upon the theater has lost some more
customers at time when it should
be conciliating the guests. instead Of
annoying them. Actors who loaf at
performance are being cruelty un-
1alr to the drama and practicine 4
hne form of professional suicide.
Obviously it must be extremely
Wearylng to an actor to go on playing
the same role night after night
Clearly there must be temptation
after the play has run for a few
months to have some fun with it and
indulge In intramural joking with the
other weary members of the cast. In
that beautiful and sensitively written
book OF memoirs in journalism and
the drama that should have cheered
for loudly several months ago, Arthur
Hopkins ITO Lonely Boy" the dis
tlnguished producer tells of John
Barrymore's boredom with the whole
business Of acting. Barrymore. he
says, was interested in his Job onlv
during the rehearsals, while he was
working on the Interpretation of his
part. Once the first night had ar
rived. however, he felt that he had
finished his job and it was only on
occasions that he gave the perform.
ance he had struggled so to achieve.
Having seen Mr.. Barrymore.s Hamlet
five times, thought that three times
1t was the best performance I had
ever witnessed on q stage and that
twice 1t was lamentably far from
that, can certainly believe that there
were occasions when he loafed on
the job. And see what's happened
to him. From being Americas first
actor he has descended to being q
Hollywood clown. appearing in support
of Miss Carole Lombard. That, SUD.
pose, is how movie" actors are born,
THE point that should be repeated,
though. is that the actor does.
after all, owe q certain obligation to
his profession. And, although the
temptation to clown or to loaf NAV
be great one, it is certainly his duty
to give performance every night
that is the best he can possibly offer.
Players get pretty angry at dramatic
critics when they suspect the review
ers of growing facetious at the ex-
pense OF seriously intended dramatic
efforts. or Of going to any extremes
Of unfairness just to be able to en-
ploy an amusing line II the critics
did any such things I, myself, would
be annoyed with them, although it
happens that they do not. The truth
Is that there is no dramatic reviewer
practicing today but who uses what
eypr 0ift far U{ft;ois,Sa ha ,,o<.>.s>~