Evening star., 1946-05-21


Since then. except for sporadic visi
Carroll, two good and two bad, the
The Irish theater has been a mere
and relatively little of that con-
sidering the once great volubility
which surrounded the theme. Mem
ory of, it has been kept alive by
the acting art of few old Abbey
players, Barry Fitzgerald, Sarah
Allgood, and Arthur Shields, bless
their Celtic souls. But take 1t by
and large, way the Irish them
selves sometimes aspire to take
things, it has been condition of
famine for the Irish theater in the
United States this last sad decade.
This morbid state of affairs, we
learned last week in New York, is
destined to be corrected by fall.
Not that the Abbey players, mostly
new and Jealous Irish, are more
Dublin conscious than anything else.
They like it there.
Their plays, however, are available
to America and some of the more
significant Gas distinct from the
strictly commercially people in the
American theater are going to see
they are brought here.
The most definite item in the pro-
gram is that Theater Inc, now spon-
soring the Old Vic in New York,
will revive ]. M. Synge's 'Playboy
of the Western World" with no less
a star in the principal role than
Burgess Meredith.
Broadway, one gathers, is quite
setup about the whole thing; more
so perhaps over the Meredith parti-
cipation. The thought seems to be
that Meredith in real life has been
acting the playboy, artistically
speaking, too long for the good of
his Broadway reputation. The
movies and radio have had his ex-
elusive attention ever since his dis
charge from the Army Air Forces.
Even the more tolerant Mere
dith fans think that is over
doing things, that for the sake
of his artistic reputation he had
better get back home. His last
appearance in the legitimate thea
ter was as a member of the all-star
Candida" company in which he
accomplished brilliant reWrite
Interpretation of Marchbanks.
At that time, he was on loan
from the Army.
Another Theater Inc. Irish drama
project is even more exciting to
many who have been depressed by
the absence of Erin's plays and
players. That is the contemplated
production of Sean O'Casey's RED
Roses for Me-" The O'Casey work,
seen so far only in Dublin and
London, has aroused a deal of in
terest on this side of the Atlantic.
At least three outstanding pro-
ducers were reported anxious to
offer it in the fall. Theater Inc. is
the one most likely.
It's idea Is to have Eddie Bowling
direct the O'Casey play, a sound
idea in view of his success with
previous Irish dramas as Shadow
and Substance" and "The White
Steed."
It's unsoundness, however, lies in
the fact that Bowling is not merely
committed to continuing in the
leading male role of "The Glass
Menagerie," but that all his other
wise spare moments must be de-
voted to direction of Eugene O'Neil's
1.-The Ice Man Cometh."
With or without Dowling, how
ever, the O'Casey play is likely
Broadway offering.
Washington, as always, is a pre-
Broadway possibility.
Another honor has come to "State
of the Union," which won the
Pulitzer drama prize even though
the critics could not vote it such a
distinction. That is the award OF
The Sign play prize, the decision OF
which rests with the magazines
critic, Jerry Cotter.
The four previous winners OF the
Sign-Cotter award have been '"The
Glass Managerie, "Othello," "The
Patriots" and Spring Again"
x X X x
What with Reg Allen and Glenn
Taylor having announced a summer
of country theater at the Olney, the
Cross Roads comes along now with
the news that it will open its season
the tenth one under the same
management. Opening date has
been set for the Baileys Cross Roads
house on June 18.
First offering of the group, which
remained In operation during the
war years, will be Pursuit of Happi.
ness" the dramatic composition o1
Lawrence Langner, administrator o1
the Theater Guild, and his wife
Armina Marshall.
Howard Wentworth, responsible
for the best work the Cross Road.