Evening star., 1943-01-03
Russian Drama
Found Less PLAY
Than Battle CRY
Sim0nov Mel0drama
On Broadvay Fails
To Enrabture Critics
BY LAWRENCE PERRY,

North American Newspaper Alliance.
NEW YORK.-Once again arises
the question of whether or not it
lies within the possibility of the
stage adequately and convincingly
to set forth the starkness, the grim
ness, the dark and bloody Inevitable
ties of actual armed conflict? Ger
tainly if it ever comes to us in full
measure it will be the fruit of the
pen of some gifted playwright-as,
for example, Maxwell Anderson,
whose current drama, The Eve of
st. Mark" makes something more
than an approach in this direction.
The author of THE Russian Peo-
pie" produced by the Theater Guild
at the Guild Theater is Konstantin
Simonov, who has lived and is still
living among the tragedies of which
he writes. He is not a dramatist
He is not even an accomplished
story-teller. Clifford Odets, who
prepared the American acting ver-
sion. of this piece is both This be-
ing the case, it is evident, however,
that injection of his own dramatic
talent and sense of theater into this
play was not part of his job.
Chain of Episodes.
We have, therefore, a chain of
episodes-nine of them, mainly un-
related; nine panels which show
various phases of the experience of
group of Russians whose village is
occupied by German invaders. Across
the river is a garrison of Soviet
guerrillas, whose militant songs are
heard family throughout all scenes
laid In the village. The aim of the
play is to display in terms of the
theater the flaming spirit of self
sacrifice; the undying love of coun-
try and the bitter hatred of those
who have invaded it and made it
dark with tragedy; the almost cas-
ual willingness to suffer, if in suffer-
ing the national cause may be ad-
vanced; and, finally, if the price of
service, or vengeance, is death,
cheerfully to meet it.
In several sceneS-notably those
involving German officers and va
1ious villagers-this aim is accom-
plished in breathless poignancy, in
unerring precision. But too often
action moves turgidly-especially in
the three scenes of Act land there
exist complexities of story that puz-
zle and distract the audience.
In the final analysis The Russian
People" is far less a play than
battle cry which. at times, sounding
loud, clear. compelling. is too often
lost-as though it we're sinking in
the dreadful immensity of the
things it is trying to convey to us.
(Play was seen in Washington two
weeks prior to Broadway
Proof Thro' the Night"
proof Thro' the Night" written
and directed by Allan R. Kenward, |
produced by Lee Shubert at the Mo-
rosco Theater on Christmas night. |
was cordially received on the West
Coast late last summer under the
cryptic title. Cry Havoc" After a
few days the West Coast title was
resumed. 1t would be pleasant to
record concurrence with Pacific
Slope opinion, if only because of a
patriotic desire to see the Ameri-
can stage less dependent than it has
been in recent months upon British
dramatists. for its war backgrounds,
themes and characterizations. But,
unfortunately, this new offering is
not likely to remedy our dependency
for any length of tirne
1t involves an all-female cast,
group of volunteer, unframed
nurses aids quartered in a bomb
proof shelter near Bataan. In it's
environment the piece is strongly
suggestive of that classic relating
to World War I, Journeys End"
But the analogy ends with the set
ting. For where the Sheriff play
had definite story value, Cry
Havoc" has no character, nor char
ecters, involved in a chain of mar
rative leading to an appropriate
climax. Illusion, too, is lacking.
After two rather futile episode acts,
the third builds up to ten-twent'-
thirt' melodrama which, while it
held this reviewer-who is a sucker
for melodrama-convinced him not
at all.
Flare Path"
Terence Rattigan, the young
Irish dramatist who gave us that
fluffy delicacy, French Without
Tears" a few years ago, captured
English fancy last August with
Flare Path" a drama about the
RAF. Now produced on Broadway
by Gilbert Miller at Henry Miller's
(See PERRY, Page Ed