Detroit evening times., 1942-11-10
Papa Is
.4U' 4nluseS
At Cass
By CHARLES GENTRY

A PENNSYLVANIA Dut c h
treat awaits you al the Cass Thea
ter this week where Papa Is All, ="
the Patterson Green comedy about
life in a Mennonite household,
opened last night.
This is the second Offering of
the Theater Guild series here and
really is a delightfully."- different
kind OF offering, rich with quaint
charm and sly humor.
Papa" in this case, Is even
more OF a tyrant than the auto
cratic Mr.. Day of Life With
Father" Stern figure that he is,
his fanatical disapproval of things
which he considers Nv orldly"
make life absolutely miserable for
his long-suffering wife and his son
and daughter.
The young people, particularly,
are aware of the fact that they
are living in the twentieth century
and are far less willing to recon-
cile themselves 10 "Papas" ban
on telephones, automobiles, radios,
etc.
Their rebellious feeling COM
municates itself TO their patient
mother, who secretly sides with
them against the mean old man.
SIGNAL FOR REVOLT
2ut they are completely power
less to revolt against the iron
whip hand which Papa exercises
unfortunately until he goes on
a rampage over young man who
has taken the daughter, Emma,
TO one of those sinful movie houses
in Lancaster.
On the way to wreak vengeance,
he meets with an accident" has
tily contrived by his own son,
Jake. and so Papa Is AIT =
meaning he is out Of the way.
is PAPA "ALL":
There are some: amusing reper-
cussions. but we don't want to
spoil the amusing finish for you
by recounting it here.
Perhaps there isn't so much to
the play, but the strange customs
and the weird idiom of the people,
which is sometimes really hard to
understand, make this a certainly
distinctive setting for the laughs
which ound throughout the
three acts.
FUNNY TONGUE
That dialect is really funny in
itself and when applied toSome of
-. - ,.,,.,ss,- - sItnis
doubly hilarious.
A small. but excellent cast saves
the comedy from ever becoming
trite.
Jessie Royce Lands, Detroit
fayorlte, returns as Mama and
does a splendid job. Her skepti-
ciSm over the various turns of
events, her secret delight in spit
ing Papa. and her rather pathetic
over very small pleas
ures. make her Characterization a
deeply appealing one.
A FINE CAST
We wanted TO get Papa out of
the way, right off, just so the
poor thing could have telephone.
Both the boy, Dean Harens. and
the girl, Audra Lindley, are good;
the boys sheepish pride in thwart-
ing Papa and his naive defense of
his own actions, are most per-
Suasive.
Al first, we thought Miss Lind
ley was going to go ACTRESS" on
us, but she later warmed 10 her
part and gave it a natural air,
which was most convincing.
A PERFECT STUDY
Papa" is wonderful. Robert
Keith is such an impossible cur
that by the time he
came around for his final curtain,
the audience stood and booed him
right back TO his dressing room,
the old horror. He looks and acts
like he stepped right out of one
Of those old AmiSh illustrations.
Helen Carew as trouble-mak-
ing magpie of a neighbor and Don
aid Arbury as sympathetic state
trooper. complete the cast.
The local color of the setting
and dress, cleverly executed by
Emelin Eroche are the extra in
gradients needed for This quaint
affair.
plains: Tales OF Manhattan
aAod t.l.ssr. hat ha..t