Evening star., 1962-01-13


other. Any two or three of
them might be the best of per-
sonal friends, as they are in
Washington, but opening night
is deemed no time to show
this.
The Circles awards session,
held every April at the Algon-
quin is something else again.
Nevertheless, it is colored by
the opening night behaviour
pattern.
Another irritant at work that
second -Tuesday-in-April after
noon is that for weeks every
one in midtown New York has
felt the Circles meeting is
merely a routine session to con-
firm his own prediction of how
it will vote. Down through the
years, these churlish prophets
have been so often right that
some Circle members account
themselves yeS-men.
Quite unpleasant, this feel
ing can be.
+ 4 4
IT'S ON, EVEN NOW: AS
of the moment, for example,
there are few midtown Man
hattanites who have the Slight
est doubt that they cannot pre-
dict the choices the Critics Cir
Gle will make in April.
They will tell any listener, or
one another if no other listen
er is available, that the win
ners are as obvious as John w.
McCormack's selection as
Speaker Of the House.
The major of the two critics
prizes. of course, is the best
American play which is deemed
to be Tennessee Williams
Night of the Iguana. With
six out Of seven favorable no.
tices from the daily reviewers
who constitute roughly one
third of the Circles population
- no one can see any other
native playwright winning over
Williams. Besides, as the
prophets minds run, giving
Tenn prizes is one Of the Cir
cle'S most firmly fixed habits.
AS for the other award, that
for the best foreign play, that
one was made even longer ago
by the midtowners to Robert
Bolts "a Man for All Seasons.
These are so confident of
their rightness that the Circle
might as well call off its April
meeting.
1t won't, of course, but it's
balloting could be merely a rou-
tine act of confirmation.
\
RDAY SUMMARY:
Robert M. Weitman, newly
named executive boss at Metro
Goldwyn- Mayer studio is a
draftee from, of all realms,
televiSion. He has spent |
the last two years as direc-
tor of the company's extensive
video operations. . During his
first few months in his new
job, he will be working in close
association with Joseph R.
Vogel, MGM's president.
Robert Dhery, the creative
genius of French revue enter
tainment including La Plume
de Ma Tante," found his stage
name with no trouble at all
when he decided to drop Four
rey, the family name. He
simply took that of his home
town, d'Hery, but with a more
Simplified spelling. Four
rey he dropped as too difficult |
to pronounce. He will be
accompanied by his wife, Colette
Brosset, on his visit to Wash
ington on Monday. To
dine with occupants of the 10
cal drama desks. "Romulus,"
adapted by Gore Vidal from
Frederic Duerrenmatt's original,
is off and running on Broad
way. With critical reserva-
tions limited to the first act,
which is fully redeemed by a |
brilliantly sardonic second one.
. Washington's experience
with Duerrenmatt is the I'm
forgettable one of the Lunts
in The Visit" Its Latest
with Mr.. Vidal is the current
THE Best Man" at the Ma
tional.
Show, Huntington Hartford's
new magazine, will be giving a
party at the National Press
Club on Monday afternoon. :.
Guests will be drawn from the
Government, arts, and press
fields. On the premise that
politics occasionally enters the
area of the performing arts, Mr..
Hartford says the magazine is