Evening star., 1940-03-03
Theater Has
ABusy Week
In New York
Result Is artly
Very Good and
Partly Not
By Ira Wolferf.
NEW YORK,

I'VE" 1OktA.
It's been q crowded week for the
theater, with Clifford Odets at one
end and Ruth Chatterton at the
other. and two separate groups of
German refugees in the middle, one
of them having Dorothy Thompson
as an accompice.
Strange company, and the result
is something old, something new,
something borrowed, something blue
and little sad music, too. What's
old are plot or two, an actress or
two, and 3 or 40 or so gags.
What's new is the emergence of the
young Ella Kazan to high rank in
the American theatef. What's been
borrowed are ideas and what's blue
are at least two of the four box-omce
men involved.
The case of Ruth Chatterton is
the conventional one of the star
hitched to q wagon. Miss Chatter
ton is making her first appearance
on Broadway in'15 years and she
has tried to be thoughtful about it.
She struggled out on the road with
an item called Tonight We Dance"
for some time and abandoned it.
But exactly why she then chose
John Van Druten's play, Leave
Her to Heaven" must remain for
ever one of those things at which
exasperated men throw up their
hand and scream, THE ladies!
Bless 'em!" or something to that
effect.
In the past Mr.. Van Druten has
contrived for stars some wagons with
real giddyap to them. But Leave
Her to Heaven" is not in that class.
It tells the story Of a woman who
falls in love with her chauffeur. The
chauffeur kills her husband. The
woman tries to save the chauffeur
by saying she did. The chauffeur
is noble killer, too. He tells the
truth, Is electrocuted, and she kills
herself.
The whole thing illustrates an an
cient rule Of the theater: The rule
is, and there are only q few notable
exceptions to it, If you're going to
kill your leading characters In the
third act, play the third act first.
The audience will be grateful to
you for letting it OF early.
Ella Kazan Steals . Play
From Some Craftsmen.
Mr.. Odets, who is known to some
parts Of the public as the yes-and-
no and sometimes-so husband Of
Luise Rainer and to others as the
white-haired boy of the American
theater, is pouring skinned milk in
Might Music" But the group the
ater triumphs over the script. They
emphasize its excellences and SUBJ
due its weaknesses, and generally
do as good job Of acting and pro-
ducing play as I have ever seen.
If you are interested in that end
Of the theater, Might Music" is
going to make you breathless and
If you are Motif you are q guy
who goes to the theater to see
play click and not tick-then might
Music" will appear to you as pretty
good entertainment.
The show Is a boy -and girl story.
The plot is that she gets him In
trouble, has him locked up by mis-
take, In fact, and he. after being
sore at her for couple Of acts,
falls In love with her and they de-
eide to have q life together.
However, it's overtones that Mr..
Odets is interested In and, In the
course Of the play, the major prob
lem Of American youth today-how
not to be crushed nat by the Jug
gernaut Of economics-is debated ct
considerabl" length. Mr.. Odets tries
to get his teeth into the dialectics
Of lfe-how life itself Is not merely
a question Of being happy or un-
happy or Of surviving, but Is q
question Of fighting; how man is
q fighting animal and can be .
person. not by escaping or hiding
or making some kind Of success, or
compromising on some kind Of fall
ure. However, this time, Mr.. Odets
had no teeth. He is all gums and
the best he can do Is mouth the
subject.
Ella Kazan is the boy Of the piece
and from now on it has to be Ka-
row Kazanl He thrusts his part