The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-08-20
By JOSEPH c. CHILEAN

After 10 weeks of watching plays at the Litchfield Summer Theater, a man is bound to begin making choices. Choices of who'll make the grade on the rougher boards of Broadwau, or who'll slip in a try at these same boards-or who'll give 1t all up as a bad job altoghether.
 Your revolver, who has covered 10 of the 12 plays on the summers schedule (there are two more to go), may not be qualified to predict who'll fail to make the grade; but perhaps it would not be amiss on his part to try picking winner
 A whole host of talent had passed back of Litchf1eld's footlights this Summer-Lawrence Slade, Sarahe Bodge, John Martin. Vern Arm strong, Sylvia Stone, Chester Adams, Leonard Altobell and Gene Lyons, just to name few of the permanent members of the conn., pany-but one in particular has talk en more bows, has garnered more applause and has made more of a pleasing impression than the others.
 Aims At Hollywood In the opinion of your reviewer then, the one personality whose star bears watching above the others is 25-year-old Gene Lyons. One cold winter morning in 1921, Feb. 8 to be exact Gene Lyons saw the light of day through the smoke of smoky Pittsburg, Pa. Since then he's come quite a rough and rug ged distance along the path to the goal he's set for himself: Broadway and Hollywood
 Standing about five-feet, l0-inch- es, with topping of wayy, straw colored hair, Lyons has appeared in most of Litchfeld's productions this year He'll also have featured parts in the seasons final two plays,
 Neither his father nor his mother was of the theater. His three brothers had no desire for grease paint either. But somewhere along the family line there was an uncle, in Dublin, Ireland, who, years ago, owned theater. It must have been from him that Gene took lis Ihespian cue.
 Started Humbly
 At South School in Pittsburgh, Gene began his career. A humble beginning it was. He first applied the grease paint for two or three small high school dramatic bits.
 Boy" he recalled, lighting cigaret, i've sure thought we were artyl"
 After high school, Gene learned the scripts of Summer stock com panies He played in these after high school graduation, and then enrolled atthe University of Pitts burgh.
 Here. where he lasted only one semester. Gene engaged in school dramatics The lure of the theater, however, was more than he could withstand Tossing his textbooks behind the nearest blackboard he made a beeline for local stock company and appeared in series of plays that though they weren't successes. locally or otherwise, pro- vided a gold mine of experience"
 It was in plays like these and in one-night stands and in Summer stock that the talented lad from the Steel City learned acting the hard way-and, (. he said himself, the right way
 Tn that Pittsburgh theater, Gene recalled we often played to some pretty small audiences; never more than 30 and often a lot less. One night we even did show, The Cherry Orchard, to an audience of exactly one man. After it was over, we invited him backstage for coffee and. We found out why he stayed through the whole three acts-he was hard of hearing"
 Started With Shakespeare
 It was in 1939 that the Avon Shakespearian Company passed was all the stage-struck lad need ed. Then and there, and for long time after, he did many one night stand intoning the Bard of Avon's masterful dialogues.
 up at 5 A. M.," said Gene, and off on the road travelling until A. M. the next day, setting up the scenery, knocking off two or more performances, getting little sleep and then off again. That was our schedule; it was tough, but we all loved it."
 Gene has played in Summer stock in Buffalo with Gloria Swanson, in Rochester, in Newark, in Cape May and in Pennsylvania at the Chapel Playhouse in addition to this years stint at Litchfield. He's emoted opposite Billie Burke, Zach ary Scott and Helen Hayes. With Helen Hayes, he said, one really learns theater-and really likes it..
 In addition to all this, Gene re- gently completed a 65-Week run ln the Theater Guilds smash success, kiss and Tell' In that play he enacted the role of Lieutent Archer before New York and Chicago audi ences. During the war his career was interrupted for while because of greetings" from the President. He was discharged from the in fantry after a little over five months of foot soldering; but just the other day he received the unhappy news that his career may meet an- other setback-yes, another IA card
 Wife Waits Screen Test
 If the Army doesn't want him again and Gene certainly hopes it doesn't he'll join his wife in Sep tember and journey out to the West Coast where Warner Brothers is awaiting her arrival for a screen test. His wife, whom he met in Atlanta, Ga, while touring with the Avon players in l941, is pres ently engaged at two MaSSachu-
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 TIES WED,