What the Players and Ex-Players Are Doing
WHILE many little theatres, both community and college, have been going in for revivals, a tendency we notice in the presentations of EastLynne by the University of North Carolina Playmakers, What Every Woman Knows by the Pasadena Community Playhouse, and Swords by the Carnegie Institute of Technology, the Dartmouth Players have been offering a series of first amateur releases. The vogue for recent Broadway hits began in the fall of 1928 when Warner Bentley, newly appointed director, produced TheBarker. This play was followed by The Queen's Husband and The Royal Family; special permission for the latter's presentation was obtained from Jed Harris.
Then, by arrangement with Gilbert Miller, came Journey's End, the high water mark in the recent history of the Players. The Hanover performance of Sheriff's great war drama received unanimous approbation, bringing great credit to both the Players and Mr. Bentley.
The two dramas of the current season have been first amateur releases. These were the LardnerKaufman comedy, June Moon, and the much admired Berkeley Square. For the final appearance of the college year the Players have fortunately secured Marcel Pagnol's popular comedy, Topaze. As was the case with most of the above mentioned plays securing production rights for Topaze was accomplished through the intervention of one of Dartmouth's able and loyal graduates, Walter Wanger '15, now manager of the production department of Paramount Studios. Mr. Wanger has purchased the rights to Topaze, and has generously granted the Players its use, free of royalty. In passing, note should be made of the efforts of Harry R. Heneage '07, director of athletics, in getting JuneMoon for local presentation. This achievement was largely due to Mr. Heneage's friendship with Ring Lardner, co-author of the show.
Topaze will be presented the week-end of May 8, during the annual spring house parties. The humorous nature and the rapid action of this play make it a happy choice for this occasion. The plot traces the career of a simple French schoolmaster who becomes involved, with a gang of crooked municipal officials and figures, in a series of Parisian scandals before he finally "comes clean" by capturing the female master-mind of the outfit. Plenty of hearty comedy is furnished by a classroom scene, where eleven Hanover grade school children appear sophisticated in contrast to the naive teacher.
For the leading roles, Director Bentley has selected Eileen McDaniel and Abner J. Epstein '31. The former is the wife of J. Milton McDaniel of the College Economics Department. She is a stranger to the Hanover stage, but has had considerable experience with the Vagabond Theatre of Baltimore. Epstein played in The Green Peach and Double Trouble, carnival shows of 1928 and 1929 respectively, but he is better known on the campus for his art work. He recently ended his term as art editor for the Jacko-Lantern, and has done much drawing for other student undertakings and commercial purposes. His uncle is the famous sculptor, Joseph Epstein. This artist-actor has the title role in the play, the part in which Frank Morgan scored an immediate success in the original American company.
Another member of the cast, Edna Elizabeth Hunter, has acted in many plays in former years, notably in The Silver Box and Right You Are If You Think So. Other experienced performers in Topaze are A. E. Hewitt '34, who played the lead in June Moon; J. W. Riley '32, best known for his work in The Barker; J. D. Shevlin, star in Journey's End and M. M. Lieberthal '32, successor to Hall, Marsans, and Pollock as Dartmouth's musical comedy king.
A YEAR OF BROADWAY SUCCESSES
The Players' run on recent successes has been largely due to necessity rather than choice. Hanover's well known isolation, with its peculiar effects upon social life has in the past limited the Players' activities to "occasions," such as fall house parties, carnival, and spring house parties. Obviously, the choice of a play for these party audiences is very restricted, and experience has shown modern dramas with established reputations to be the most advisable. Deviations from this course are made wherever justified, as in the presentation of one-act, student-directed plays before invitation audiences, for the purpose of developing experience in directing, and of training new material for the major productions. Next year's program is being planned with the intention of giving greater emphasis to the aesthetic values and to the experimental work than has previously been done.
Dartmouth is rarely thought of as a preparatory school for the theatre, yet the number of her representatives in the show world is continually increasing. Wanger, by merit of years and progress is dean of Dartmouth's devotees of the sock and buskin. Two graduates who have been writing for the theatre are Jean W. Markey '18 and Clifford B. Orr '22. Markey's work has been largely for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. Orr contributed some of the book for the recent production, John Murray Anderson's Almanac, for which he is less well known than for his sensational Dartmouth Murders.
Showmen are more numerous among recent graduates, many of whom have specialized in the study of drama after receiving their A.B. degrees. The mecca for these men appears to be the Yale School of Drama and Fine Arts, supervised by professor George Baker. After a three year course of study at that school, Edward C. Cole accepted an offer to join its staff as an instructor in staging. Elbert A. Gruver '27 is finishing his training under Baker this year, and is doing some instructing on the side. W. E. Murray '27 is another Dartmouth man who went to Yale. He is now a playwright with Paramount Studios.
Frederick C. Burleigh '28 after assisting Warner Bentley for a year with the Players won a scholarship sending him to Poland where he is now studying the native theatre. Two colleagues of Burleigh in their sentence with Dartmouth dramatics were J. Walton Losey '29 and Stanton Osgood '30, both student directors in their senior years. Losey is now assistant stage manager and has a small part in the cast of one of the season's greatest offerings, Grand Hotel. Osgood is assistant manager of one of the Public Theatre Corporation's New York houses.
We also have our actors. Charles Starret '26 has come along with notable success. He played the juvenile lead in the Paramount Studios' recent release, Fast andLoose. Irvine E. T. Baehr '29 has lately entered the life of glamour. He is working for Warner Brothers as "Robert Allen."
Several members of the present senior class hope to make the grade in the theatrical field. Among them are Monroe Karasik, scenic manager for the Players; J. M. O'Connor, veteran of about fifteen Dartmouth presentations and president of the Players; and N. C. Rolfe, student director.
This review of the activities of Dartmouth men in theatrical work is not intended as an exhaustive study, but rather as an indication of the live interest in this work and of the success with which our graduates are making their way against competition. Director Bentley's work of the past three years deserves much praise. Upon the basis of this record and the rumors about a new theatre which are heard with increasing frequency about the campus, we predict a brilliant future for Dartmouth drama.
Note. The ALUMNI MAGAZINE would appreciate hearing from graduates participating in theatrical work and of whom no mention is made above.
THE HIGHLIGHTS OF "TOPAZE"Players spring house party show. Left to right; Warner Bentley, director; Eileen McDaniel, leading lady;Abner J. Epstein '31, who plays the title role
