The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-03-31

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 This Dark of the Mnon'' is called a legend with music" and it is considerably out of the Broad way rut. Quite frequently it is ex- tremely exciting theater and sus- pect that it is kept from having a really solid overall impact only by the fact that quite simple story has been stretched to make the regulation two hours of enter tainment.
 Howard Richardson and William Berney, cousins and both unknown to Broadway, whipped up the play about three years ago while they were taking postgraduate work at the University of Iowa. It won the 1942 Maxwell Anderson award for the best American poetic drama. Last summer 1t was tried out ill Cambridge, Mass, and attracted so much attention that the Broth CTS Shubert lost no time in out bidding other anxious producers for the rights.
 Dark of the Moon," is based on the old folk ballad, Barbara AL len." The story is about a witch boy who discovers the pretty, fir tations Barbara while flying around On his eagle over the Smoky Mountains. He persuades a Conjur Woman to turn him into a human so he can court the girl. Her terms are that he must marry the girl, which he does, and that if the girl is unfaithful to him be- fore the end of year he will re- vert to being witch. Also, once having been 8 witch, he never can set foot inside a church. The cou- pie is happy, although the boy misses his former carefree exis- tence sometimes, but the supersti- tious, gossipy neighbors feel there is something different about him. When his child is born, a mis- shapen thing, they believe it Is a witch, and burn 1t, and are now thoroughly convinced that the father Is a witch-boy. The girl sticks to him, but on the last day of the year of faithfulness, her mother drags her to a revival meeting.
 There. in an orgy of praying and hymn singing, the girl reveals her husbands secret and the aroused mountain folk, determined to rid their community of witch, set a former suitor upon her to commit the act of infidelity which will send the husband back to witch dom. The girl dies and the hus. band goes back to his eagle.
 All this is told to the accompani- ment of plenty of folk songs, hymns and folk dancing, against wonderful scenic backgrounds cre- ated by George Jenkins. Robert F Perry did Q good job of staging.
 Richard Hart. an unknown emerges triumphantly as the witch-boy. Carol Stone, youngest daughter of comedian Fred Stone is excellent as Barbara. Most o1 the rest of the cast have minor roles, but mention should be made of Ross Matthew, Marjorie Bell Roy Fant, John Clifford and Win. field Honey.
 FOOLISH NOTION is by thu frequently reliable Philip Barry He nodded on this occasion, but with Bankhead heading the cast il is likely that the Theatre Guild car make 1t pay off.
 The play is based on an idea O what would happen upon the re- turn of soldier long missing 1T action. Barry's missing man is writer and notable toSspot wht was married to a famous actress He pulled out suddenly in an emo tional moment for trip to Europt back in 1889 and didn't come bacl because he enlisted in the British Army when war broke out. At th' time the play opens he has beer missing some five years. been de clared leagally dead and the actress and her leading man are about t be married. Then comes word tha the husband is back among the hv' ing and due to arrive any minute
 There follows a series of scene in which the actress. her lover. he father and her adopted younl daughter imagine what the home Laughton) Frank Morgan. wht plays the pleasure-loving governor AN A