Evening star., 1952-07-22

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The grisly exhibit which brings
tinction is Good Night Ladies"
Scribeable out it resembles an e
terms that permit it to sneak by
the police.
Two minutes after the curtain
rises on its bordello decor, the
spectator finds himself longing for
the good old days when the Shub-
ertS' were sending US their 32d
moth-eaten editions of THE
Merry Widow and The Student
Prince" These may not have re-
f1ected credit on the theater, but
they were paragons of respect
ability as compared with the cur
rent dilapidated and degrading
exhibit.
BY way of making the occasion
of the Nationals reopening more
miserable. the cooling system fiat
ly refused to associate with the
current production. 1t broke down,
physically and spiritually, leaving
the embarrassed handful of first
nlghters simmering in the shame
of gruesomely misspent evening.
The single funny thing about
the opening was that, even at
such hysterically cut-rate prices,
so many customers should have
turned up, mostly in their shirt
sleeves.
Responsible for this slur on
civilization is a man programmed
as Cyrus Wood. which certainly
should be an alias. He adopted it
from a farce out of the unfumi-
gated 20s. Ladies Night In A
Turkish Bath" by Avery Hop
wood.
In addition to being repulsive, it
is also dull in its mistreatment of
a situation in which an expert on
spiders is taught Author Woods
concept of the facts of human eX-
iStence.
On the theory that they would
not want their names mentioned,
this department will skip any OBJ
servation on the performers in
Good Night Ladies" 1t is bad
enough that these are the victims
of the most pitiable way of max
ing a living since the dark ages.
Good Night Ladies" is booked
for two weeks at the National
which should make it the loneliest
place in town from today through
August 2.
X x x
Employment department: 1t is
getting so one never knows who
will turn up where in the chaos
of today's entertainment trades
The single exceptions to this rula,
of course. are Katharine Cornell
and the Lunts who still think Of
even the movies as an upstart
medium.
Now. further agitating the
waters of stage musicals into
which Bette Davis has flung her
self comes the news that Rosalind
Russell will do likewise. The chore
Miss, Russell has selected for her
self is that of starring in the mU-
sical version of MY Sister Eileen" D"
Ruth McKenny's account of life
with her irresistible sister is being
adapted for tuneful revival by
George Abbott, Joseph Fields, and
Edward Chodorov.
With reference to Miss Davis
decision to start in the revue
"TWo's Company" the producers
had no notion that she would.
AS a jest, via long distance tele-
phone. they Tipped the question
at her. She boWled them over
with her instant yes.
Perhaps. after all, Miss Cornell
will make a movie and the Lunts
will tackle E. musical before the
trend has run its course.
X X x
Beauty contest: For a serious
minded director c'Home Of The
Brave" and The Champion
Mark Robson is up to one of the
summers most frivolous projects.
He is reported to be seeking the
IL most beautiful girls of Samao
to lend flavor to Return to Para
disc" That is the filmed version
of James A. Mitchener's tale of
an articulate war veteran who
goes back to the scene of his, and
Gen. Macarthur conquests.
Robson is having hard time,
not because Samoan girls are de-
ficient in beauty, but because they
aren't.
Echo department.: From Wi
nooski Park, VT. (where it also
is hot) comes word that Catholic
University's summer theater group
is reviving Jenny Kissed Me" this
week. Directing the play is Bren-
nan Moore who went with the
Jean Kerr comedy to Broadway
after its production at the Uni
versity theater.
Broadway was not notably i'm
pressed with Jenny Kissed Me. %
but it got Moore his first New