New Plays

The Grand Street Follies (Third Edition). The Neighborhood Players will not dim the glitter of their reputations by the third edition of their follies. A purification committee inspects Manhattan's entertainments and, in a series of plays within the play, one gets a satyr's-eye view of the season's theatricals. The items include:

They Knew What They Wanted--Under the Elms, where, in the four rooms of the famous sectional house, 1) The Show-Off makes love to Aloma (of the South Seas) ; 2) Helen Hayes--Cleopatra encourages the advances of George Arliss--Old English; 3) Robert Armstrong--Pugilist grows passionate with Lenore Ulric--Carla; and 4) Pauline Lord--Amy falls for Holbrook Blinn--Don Jose, until Joseph Schildkraut--Cellini enters and kisses each lady into a swoon.

At Ciro's, where Clifton Webb and Mary Hay dance themselves to fame.

Americana, wherein retiring Gloria Swanson presents her Marquis, and Lillian Gish (leading a Duell life) her George Jean.

What Price Morning-Glories, a purified play where Sergeant Squirt in lavender pajamas gets gloriously drunk with Captain Sagg, on chocolate malted milks and chocolate nut sundaes, until the Captain turns on the sergeant with: "You lilac!" and the infuriated sergeant screams: "You son of a bachelor's button!"

Mr. and Mrs. Guardsman where, in an opera box, husband and wife make clandestine love.

And then the opera itself: L'Irlandesa Rosa dell' Abie with "Gigli as Abie," ''Jeritza as Rose," "Chaliapin as the Jewish Father," "Scotti as the Irish Father," "Galli-Curci as Mrs. Cohen." The words to nearly every high note are "Oiy Oi."

A Harlem Cabaret, where Othello, Emperor Jones, Al Jolson and other famed characters take part.

Albert Carroll leads the parodists a hurricane pace in the several roles of "Joseph Schildkraut as Benvenuto Cellini," Sergeant Squirt, Lynn Fontanne (in Mr. and Mrs. Guardsman) Pavlowa (L'Irlandesa Rosa dell' Abie) and Florence Mills (in the Harlem Cabaret).

Engaged. Over the hazards of heat, an inadequate conception of what is a Scottish maid, a purely imaginative conception of what is the Scottish dialect and bunkers of arid waste in the first act, W. S. Gilbert's "most famed" comedy does it in two under bogey. In fact, one might be tempted to say that nothing like such perfect work as appears in the end of the second act has been done on the musical comedy links this season. Then it is that Cheviot Hill, so excellently done by J. M. Kerrigan, a gentleman of property who is dangerously susceptible to femininity, finds himself beset with a small stage full of weeping and demonstrative ladies to whom he has quite innocently made love on other days, beset also by the Svengali-eyed villain, Belvawney and by Minnie's papa. Gilbert's fooling here is perfectly, magnificently silly, and what is gayer than untrammeled silliness?

Gilbert, of course, frequently went it alone, just as Sullivan did; and, in its original appearance in 1877, Engaged was a straightforward comedy. It was left to Brian Hooker to perceive that it might just as well have been written with lyrics, and to bring forth the lyrics and music that are used in this production. They are all good and some of them are hilarious.

One should look upon as well as hear the fair Minnie Symperson, played by Rosamond Whiteside. No radio entertainment will ever compensate for her. Antoinette Perry as a "lady in distress," and Jay Fassett as Belvawney aid J. M. Kerrigan to make the most of a good thing.

Kosher Kitty Kelly. Because Kitty Kelly kept company with Mr. Rosen while her friend Rosie Feinbaum went with Pat O'Reilly, a policeman disguised as a milkman, Jew-Irish vaudeville nifties known to everyone who has ever eaten a peanut were served up between the singing of such numbers as Cuddle Up to Me and the delivery of brief but maudlin orations in behalf of race tolerance for the entertainment of an audience that could not but be conscious that, at another theatre only two doors away, leered, as it has for many a long year, a great yellow sign--the advertisement for Abie's Irish Rose.

Stephen Rathbun--'The funniest line is the announcement that the production had an art director."

Percy Hammond--''There is a good hornblower in the band. . ."