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box 35/10
12. Conedies of words and other Plays
Grd.
THE RELIABLE PRESs cllpring-BührnU
ALBERT ROMEIKE °(Co.
26 Warren Street
Nev: Vork City
CLIPPING FROM
(uOn
Terrum
ster, Mass.
SEP 3
physician by profession and a psy¬
WHy ANNIE RUSSELL MARBLE
chologist by instinct. His skill in
Trevealing latent feelings and tense
IA Shelf of New Plays
situations by subtle dialogue is
With the opening of the “season“
marked quality of all his plays.The
Zor clubs and amateur dramatic so¬
Hour of Recognition“ and The Big
Scene“ are typical. Literature,“ is
kietles, comes the demand for new
Pan exalted farce,“ and" His Help¬
Mlays, or revivals of old dramas,
Which will be adapted to acting or
mate,“ an intuitive “study of dis-il¬
group reading. More Pormenteau
lusionment.“ The plays will make
Walker (Stewar
Flays by Stuart
interesting studies for students of
Eidd) contains three interesting plays
modern drama.
Gat are already somewhat familiar.
to students of drama of today," The
Liady of the Weeping Willow Tree,“
The Very. Naked Boy,“ and Jona¬
shan Makes à Wish.“ One of these.
IIit RELAABEE TRLes CEHTine BoRTHe
st least, has been acted in Worces¬
#r.
ALBERT ROMEIKE & CO.
leiIn his introduction, Edward Hale
26 Warren Street
Mierstadt says of the first and third
ays."both have the distinction of
New Vork City
being popular with audiences and un¬
apular with critics, a condition of
Mairs not as unique as it might
CLIPPING FROM
seem.“ Both are original and enter¬
t#ining; the firs is a fantasy founded
on an old Japanese legend, the sec¬
Ger de Gud
end is a modern realistic study of
eharacter, with the first act transcen¬
ding the later scenes in technique
and appeal. The second play in the
trio is "a trifle“ dramatically but
Arusing and well-written. Informa¬
Mye chapters unonReportory The¬
World
##ters and their plays' are appended.
Plays for a Folding Theater by Co¬
4
IIn Campbell Clements (Stewart Kidd)
Indlude three artistie Pierrot-Colum¬
J01 29 1928
bine plays,“ brief one-act dramas
with adventure and much symbolism,
of which the third, The Return of
—E1—
811
Harlequin,“ is ethe most effective.
that Vienna no longer exists in
There are also three colorful, wierd
TRREE WRITERS OF PLATS.
Austria, though there is a good deal
dramas of the East, with touches of
The Desert.“The
fatalism, like “
of it everywhere eise.
Schnitzler, Wedekind and Gribble as
hree Lepers of Suk-el¬
Siege,“ and
The" Comedies,“ however, are
—en
Garab, Moon Tide,“ is a. “creepy“
rendable, and poor Wedekind is not.
They Appear in Print.
tale of the sea and vengeance for the
His tragedies of sex are warped,
In Europe, Schnitzler’s dramatie
murder of"Old Hank.“ Comedies of
crazy and old fashioned. Much the
Words by Arthur Schnitzler (Stewart
pieces are ranked on à par with those
sanest of them is “Spring’s Awaken¬
Kidd) are"Englished from the Ger¬
of his German confreres, Hauptmann
ing.“the play that professors used
man“ by Piarre-Loving, who writes“
an introduction. The author 1s a.
quietly te hide from their students of
and. Wedekind," says Pierre Loving
modern drama, yet Spring’s Awak¬
in an introduction to his translations
ening“ is outdated. The play is a
of Schnitzler’s“Comedies of Words
plea of seg education, written in ex¬
and Other Plays,“ (Stewart Kidd). A
pressionistie form long before expres¬
pernsal of the works of Hauptmann,
sionism was invented. Nevertheless ##
Wedekind and Schnitzler is likely to
is strained and wearying. Sex, in
suggest that Mr. Loving is too modest
truth, is a problem, as-much a, prob¬
in his claims for Schnitzler.
lem with children as with adults.
At any rate Schnitzler’s“Comedies
This is Mr. Wedekind’s contribution
Jof Words“ came over into English in
totthe discussion.
Ja vastly more impressive form than
Harry Wagstaff Gribble’s March
clings to Wedekind’s Tragedies of
Hares“ is disappointing in print. On
Sex,“ translated by Samuel A. Eliot
second perusal it reduces itself to
Jr. and issued by Boni & Liveright.
inlitation Shaw, clever at times and
It may be that this is due to the fact
crammed with bizarre notions, but
that Wedekind Is more of a poet, that
hardly a play to go wild about, as the
more of his effect depends on his in¬
critics did. It is burlesque with
dividual style. Certainly the “Com¬
nöthing to steady it, no background
edies of Words“' are effective mostly
of normality to throw the mad mimic
because of that adroit dialogue and
into relief. That is probably why it
construction. Their basic ideas are
(alied.
trite and repetitions. Their psychol¬
ogy, far from being profound, is no
The August issue of Harper’s Bazar
longer even novel. Anabol“ took
is the Children’s Fashions Number. It
UThe In¬
Uthe English-speaking world by storm
features the beginning of
Tbecause it was composed of sidelights
terpreter’s House,“ a fresh novel of
nastrange and engaging culture,
smartest New York, by Struthers
the Vienna of pre-war days. But Bürt.