THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, rORTTAND, MARCH 31, 1918. 1 r ' . p ' t"v- ; ? l? hi ? Hi - l :XtZ si - :. v . ,- : S w ...... . v ,r I Ji 1 rs. 'S4; t "i 1 .IK ih Vv ; I Y : .5 ..-,. . i - JjM ! H "Wk rnrya I A i fAW rr " - r 1 scots : -77s,v cocjlow9: ffm v-4 - -if- xxu V : v. v- --'AW f fML Wok. . .- . . . . . - BT L:OXE CASS BAER. AVI'JOROl'S dlmtrtb aitainst pres ent condition In th world of theatrical. n onelaught on poor art trie; as the ban of our atace. fol lowed bjr'a eonfjoeion of frank em " karrumnt m aearch. for a remedy U Vontalned la a brUIiantly-wrttten ar :ttcln bT J. Ilankln Tcwm In tha tor :rnt edition of The Nation. Mr. Towae a obeervation wit callrd forth, ha jra. ".br a lona- wail orir the denerac of the Brltuh staae mad by IL W. iniham In the lndon Nation. Str. laineharo lament tha tmpotertcy of the varioo Independent theater to brtn about any true rorre-tion of dramatw art. alludee depairtnly to the vanity of hope founded upon the lnubtant!l proposal for a national or munii-ipal eetablmhment. and a "pUlntlvrly what ha become of the sreat retal predicted aa the Inevit able consequence of the world-wide -traced of war. To all of which wail vi . -rn nskee renlv br aavinar that It i loo early to look for any revival .or even remedied t-p. "The neeneo Ineniration- he eeneibly obeerve. "can rome only to thoeo who have supped . full on the actual horror of the field, and they, aa yet. have other bulnee In hand than the writing of play. . which take time. Fua-uive war poetry of a hlch type we have had. The (treat play may follow, but what aurance i t fie re mat iney- wu.ki v - - la any mm. their effect. If any. would bo transient. The theater cannoi v aaved by sood play alone. The It ' irirtn already are atuffed with them.' -In Kncland. Jut now.- further ay Mr. Towee. "the e Is abandoned to trivialities, mainly because London and the larrer clue are crammed with 'aoldiers cravtnc nothing so much as the temporary oblivion or lausjnter. This i not the rase here, but the con ditions are little less contemptible. Tha theatrical disease Is. and lone; has been. . progressive, in spite of all the nos trums that have been precrlbed for Its cure. This I because the amiable amateur theorists who compound and sometimes administer them take Bote only of the symptom. Instead of prob Ik for the oriainaj and deeply rooted "cause of the malady. The maliKnant canker Is not. as Is commonly supposed, simply commercial, the development of which Is but one phase of it. The : theater, like all other artiistic and edu cational Institutions, roust ba run If it Is to survive and arow more or les nooa a commercial basis. It ha al 'ways been, from KUsabethan day downward, even In Ita beet estate, com mercial. Artist of every dra-rre must have bread and butter, and. It they are to excel, must be made to work for It. They can be fostered, doubtless, to a certain extent, by patronise, but that means stacnatlon and ultimate dera '.il.net. They can be Impelled to tbe .hlahrst achievement even phenome nal genius Is not exempt from this law 'only by competition, which necessi tates the development of capacity by bard work and education. This Is a platitude, but It I also the, sole and sufficient explanation of the Indlsput .able fart that with the extinction of the old system of stock companies the race of creat actors vanished. Today. In the whole Knellsh-speakln theater, there are not six. nor three, actors In rlud.nc both sexes capable of a really first-clas embodlmeal of any ajrrat character In either traced?- or hljh comedy, let alone la both. 'Hero I the true secret of tha theat rical decadence, which wear all chat terms about and dep.Iortna;. Tha old 'stock, companies w ith which tbe so called stock companies of the present -have nothtne. or very little. In common bavin each It own province and he ir tr rivals, supplied tbe two thlncs nec essary to the creation of ajoed al roncd actors, edurstlon In every branch ef the drama, from farce tj poetic traredy. and wholeeomo competition. -Mi the players In taero. were exercised In aa Infinite variety of parts la all . kinds of drama, as enumerated1 by Fo bnniu. la other words, they were sub jected to a rigorous schootinc which qualifte-i them to play creditably a! 'matt anr part, at a pinch, with appro priate atvle aad diction. The best of theaa were equally at homo la Sbert eu or t-hakespearei. la flowery ro tnii't or la sentimental domestic tfrems. Now fcletnoaie education and histrioalo competition have both been virtually abolished, with results that o-o oely too aotortoua. . . Thus the theater la doubly aaadlcapped. first by the hta-h-cravel bliadneeo ef Ita esrec ters. who aro devoid of all artistic OMtise aad ambition, and caa only dream .f mowetary success alone the sine tker know bow to follow, aad secondly, by the almost total lack of actors capa ble or plavm outside the narroearet of femiiiar grooves. What Is the primary the stellar class in vaudeville strictly on her merits as a. songstress. Eho wears a gorgeous Japanese costume, but that is the only touch of the Orient in her entertainment, as she speaks perflct English and her diction in sing ing has not the slightest Japanese ao cent. Remaining acts are Bert Wheeler ana Tom Moran in "Me and Micky"; George W. Cooper and' William Robinson, pre senting .-"A Friend of Mine on the Wrong Street"; La Zier-Worth Com pany in "An Evening at Home," and Oakes and Delour in the antique shop dancing novelty. The Orpheum Travel Weekly will show movlng-pictt.ra scenefi of foreign lands. rectlon and without trained players? How Is It to be lifted out of tbe quag mire in which It la bogged? "Plainly there must be a total up heaval of the present system. That unfortunately. Is not likely to come ex cept after complete financial disaster, which does not yet appeiar Imminent although there are occasional signs of It on tho horlxon. Nor will any con ceivable endowment or legislation avail. The restitution of the ol.l stock company system, in existing circum stances, doe not seem feasible, yet, manifestly, the prime need Is the crea tion, on a broad scale, of somewbst similar Institutions In which a new school of actora could be trained prop erly In all the different branches of their profession. It Is in this direction that the first organised effort for th atrical reform must be made. All talk of an art ist lo theater, without th proper actors to put Into It, Is futile nonsense. A possible nucleus tor sucn a scholastic orgsntxatlon might possl bly be found In the various independent dramatic societies which, or late, nave been springing up all over the coun try. But the administration of them would have to be changed radically. In tho main they are devoted to ama. tenrlsh performances of violent, abnor mal, or freakish pieces of no permanent literary or dramatlo value. Aa schools of acting they are negligible. If they could bo endowed with this capacity, ther might soon prove invaluable. But the Meal theater of the future must be reared upon an ed-o rational and com petltlve basis. The shortest road to It, perhaps, might lie through a great dra matic university, with an absolute con. trol over managerial licenses, to be Is sued only to graduate with honors. e e , e The local calendar thla week show a return engsgement of tbe Kolb and Dill comedv team surrounded by their mu steal comedy company in ine Jimu Cost of Loving, opening next Thurs day night to round out the week at the Helllg. They have Just completed a successful season extending from No vember until a fortnight ago In Chi rago and are homeward bound to Call' fornla to get ready for a new produc. tlon. May Robson will he here In "A Little Bit Old Fashioned" on April 11. 13 and 13. and we are to have Cyril Maude In "Grumpy" some time in early May. Also Otts Skinner Is coming soon In "Mr. Antonio." and Max Fig-roan and Lollta Robertson are returning In Xothlna- Hut ths Truth. "Little I'eggy O' Moore." which Is said to be another Peg o aiy Heart" sort of play, opens today with the matinee for the weeks ens-srement at the Baker. rtutn Gates will be Peggy, a little Irish colleen, and Edward Everett Morton will play L-an, the Irish lad who get all mixed up In politic and romance when little Peg comes over rrom ire land to make more troubles for him. The entire cast of Alcasar players will appear. It looks like a great weeg tor me rmhinn. aa the artist who baa the blgsest type on the top of the poster Is oeorge llmtrtl, wno nas ins repu tation of being one of the greatest mas culine drawing-cards In vaudeville to day because he appeals not only to the lovers of dramatic art. but to the devo tees of music and dancing. Another reason why this welcome-return sr Is so popular is because his principal sup port la alwaya Myrtle VaiL who la at home dancing, einglng or acting and who caa qualify any lime as a com petitor with Venus In any vaudeville act that needs the Venus type. -Tbe Little Liar." a new musical farce, la Mr. Damsrel a vehicle thla sea aoa. Edward Hume, comedian, also looms big In the support of the mati nee MoL Hume and Myrtle Vail com plicate the plot of "The Little Liar." which Is built around aa artlet'a model who bad a perfect ehoulder and who posed for the painting of "The Red at v ey w Danilo" In the lamuul Viennese suc cess. "The Merry Widow." His vaude ville vehicle the past two seasons was "Temptation." which, lIKe "The Little I.lar." waa written by Will M. Uousb, who. a the author of "The Time, the Place and the CJtrl," "A Stubborn Cin derella," "A Modern Eve" and numerous other musical comedy successes, made an early reputation previous to entering the vaudeville field, to which he has lately contributed "The Naughty Prin cess." "The Night Clerk," "The Four Husbands" and others. The other featured acts of the new I to 0 with four erring men. all safely Orpheum show are "in tne ione, an other Washington Square Players' play let, and Haruko Onuki. the Japanese prima donna, who made a big bit here last season. The Kinkald Kilties, one of the biggest musical acts In vaudeville, is coming to top Pantages new bin open ing tomorrow. Thla act Is made up or the original lads and lassies from the heilands o' bonny Scotland and features bonnie Rose Maura. Bob Albright re turns, too. on the new bill to delight with hi singing, and the Five Metzettis acrobat are another big number. Al Franks, the clever Hebrew come dian of the Lyric, who has been sick for several weeks, returns to tbe cast today In "Tho Quacks," a semi-burlesque, which gives abundant oppor tunity for the popular team of Dil lon and Franks in their eccentric work. Aa common bums they pose as doctors In the usual Impossible wsy found only In cartoon musical comedy, anu sec about trying to cure an attack of dumb ness In the daughter of a wealthy Judge. iusieal and chorus effects are inter polated throughout the plot and several new facea and figures are announced to .nnese thla week. They include little Billie Bingham, a well-known soubrette. KOLB AND DILL BACK AGAIN "Tho High Cost of Loving" to Re turn This Week at Heilijr. Kolb and DHL In "The High Cost of Loving." which ha been Impending in Chicago for many months, decided to fulfill their Facinc coast Dooxings, ana Jumped directly to Seattle, where they played for two weeks and will be the attraction at the Heilig Theater, Broad way at Tavlor street, next Thursday. between acts, for the expertness with which Kolb and Dill do things Is evi denced in the same jazz orchestra they carried last year, which entertains while the curtain is dropped. Friday. Saturday nights. April . 6 and 6, with a special matinee Saturday. The. piece by '.Pmnkillandell ran for the Winter season, at the Olympic The ater. Chicago, apparently to the satis faction of more or less fastidious theater-goers. Theatrical memory is short. but It Is possible many will remember the unusually successful engagement of these spirited comedians last rail, when they played to delighted capacity audi ences in this city. Tbe Kolb and Dill farce I a racy and bold breakaway from the usual, having married, but the indecent past pursuing them hysterically. It Is that pursuit, coupled with the parity league's pen chant for unearthing disagreeable things at a mile-a-minute gait, and a strange young man in town, and not one of the four wise men able to de clare positively that he is not their very own son, that calls forth loud laughter and hearty guffaws. Audacious to be sure, but aide-splitting, and from maid to star It is brilliantly played. At top speed the eaucy farce goes Its way and with not a single minute's wait GEORGE DAMEREL BACK AGAIN Former Star of "The Merry Widow' Returns as Orpheum Card. No extra performance of Orpheum vaudeville will be presented at. the Heilig this week, a concert engagement necessitating closing of the Orpheum show with the Wednesday matinee. On account of the Easter show being head lined by George Damerel, "the matinee idol of big-time vaudeville," especial efforts were made by the Orpheum management in an endeavor to extend the engagement of this week's bill, but this could not be arranged because of the advance booking of Frieda Hempel and the Kolb and Dill show. George .Damerel, the new Orpheum star, is regarded as one of the fore most drawing cards, as has been estab lished a big clienteiie among lovers oi music tbe dance and the drama; He Is famous particularly for his associa tion with the sensational success of The Merry Widow," so much so that the "Merry'Widow Waltz" even at this iate date is linked, with the name of George Damerel Mr. Damerel's Or pheum vehicle this season Is a brand new act in which he is supported prin cipally by Myrtle Vail, a reigning beauty in showdom, and Edward Hume, a comedian with a Broadway reputa tion. The act is "The Little Liar," a musical farce," built around a girl with a perfect shoulder who posed for the picture, "The Red Cross Girl. It is vivacious, magnificently staged and the girls in the company are extolled as beauties. "In the Zone," a war playlet listed among the big successes of the Wash ington Square Players in New York, is the added attraction. This act is pre sented by seven men and the scene is laid in the forecastle of a ship that is coursing through the submarine zone. The third big feature of the new Orpheum show is Haruko Onuki, Jap anese prima donna, who scored a great success at the Orpheum here last sea son. The fittle Nipponese diva sings classical and popular selections and is FRIEDA ) HE1PEL TICKET OFFICE SALE OPENS TOMORROW I. HEILIG J8 week j frtoay.' NIGHTS, AP'L 4, 5,6 SPECIAL PRICE MATINEE SATVTUJAY. The Portland Favorites Funniest Duo on American Stage. Music, Fun, Pretty Girls . Sift tS THE Same Excellent Cast Augmented . Jazz Orchestra Eve's $1.50 to 50 c Sat. Mat. $1.00 to 50c MUSICAL FARCE "HIGH COST OF LOVING" FEATURE AT PANTAGES Xew Bill' Includes Xumber of Scn ' sational Comedy Acts. Fresh &S the heather of the Hie'lands is the diversified entertainment given by George Kinkaid's Kilties who are featured at Pantages for the week be ginning with tomorrow's matinee. Rose Maura, the famous Scottish en tertainer, who is widely known as "Six Feet of Personality," is t the head of the company which is the original Kin kaid organization that scored so heavily in the East. Miss Maura is supported by lads and lassies who offer the most intricate of Scotch dances, the happiest of Scotch songs and bits of that bright wit that Harry Lauder made so. popu lar in this country. An announcement of exceptional in terest to playgoers is that Bob Al bright, one of the most popular figures in vaudeville, will appear as the spe cial feature. Mr. Albright comes witn the latest song hits and brand-new stories that will be appreciated by everyone. Mr. Albright is assisted at the piano by Miss Mary Cook, a clever pianist who makes her first professional; ap pearance here. One of the -most amazing acts in vaudeville is that presented by the Five Metzattis, the noted European athletes. They offer a routine of cyclonic acro batics, chief of which are their amazing aerial somersaults. The Metzettis astonished Europe prior to the war with their remarkable programme and with the advent of the war they came to the United States where they iiave scored a tremendous hit. Cuban entertainers are Sinclair and Tyler who -have an enjoyable pro gramme. They are accomplished musi cians who introduce the violin and the "cello. Their routine includes many of the luring melodies of the South as well as the latest hits. June Mills is the May Irwin of vaude ville and she appears with her own company in the brightest of sketches. Miss Mills' humor is infectious and she will be a popular figure on the pro gramme. As whirlwind manipulators, the mem- CITY AND Ol'T-OF-TOWV MAIL ORDERS REC'D NOW Leading Soprano, Metropolitan Opera Company s Direction Steers & Coman. Heilig Theater, April 3 Seat Sale Tomorrow, 10 A. M. Floor V PRICES L50, J2.0(' Balcony $2.00, fl.50, $1.00, 75c 5fc COMING HEILIG APRIL 11, 12, 13 SPECIAL PRICE MAT. SAT. ALWAYS V KI.I OUE COMKDIKXXE May Robson AO HER HPIGMDID COMPAWT OF PLAYERS I.N HKR LATEST AND GREATEST COMEDY HIT, "A LITTLE BIT OLD-FASHIONED" T. mt. ai.nn. 7!W. 50p. 5 -Ax - v- it r " i) & MATINEES 1 E 1Aan 3 i to a soc 3 3 ONLY. THREE NIGHTS t$ 4 MATINEES 4 F( Ey.g S i ll I' MARC H 31 GEORGE! damerel! Assisted by sty MTRTLE VAIL EDWARD HUMERI And a Splendid Cast tfjj In the Musical Farce !? "THE LITTLE LIAR" By Will M. Hough aye Bert WHEELER & MORAN Tom i . in "ME AND MICKY" & : Geo. W. COOPER & Wm. ROBINSON J . Presenting "A Friend of Mine on the!; Wrong Street" HARUKO ONUKli JAPANESE PRIMA DONNA In a Repertoire of Songs AT HOME" OAKES & DELOUR IN THE ANTIQUE SHOP Dancing Novelty Travel Weekly . Concert Orchestra NIGHTS lOc ft a TO 'IN THE ZONE" S - v By EUGENE G. O'NEILL -A Washington Square Players' New YorkjJ Pi Success OalVrv. ResVed 75c: AHr