New Plays in Manhattan

The Sea-Gull. Anton Chekhov's play, upon which the Moscow Art Theatre rose to fame and from which it took the wings which are its symbol, is being presented for special matinees by a group directed by Leo Bulgakov, one of the Moscow group who remained behind when Stanislavsky (Konstantin Sergyeyevich Aleksyeyev) took his troupe home several years ago.

It is the story of a girl who leaves a beaten playwright to cast her lot with a successful author. That is all; yet in its four acts the entire drama of the struggle for expression through the written word is told. The present players do not rise to the play's heights, perhaps, but, on the other hand, they do not seek to make of the play a high-brow holiday.

Jonesy. The Jones family has plenty to talk about: Father Jones is temporarily a jobhunter; Son Jones has a visiting boyfriend whose girlfriend has the telephone habit; there is no cereal for breakfast; plumbers are in the bathroom; a risque play has been raided downtown; Son Jones has sold the family car to pay poker debts and is traipsing around after an actress.

The effect on the audience is one of choked, hysterical amusement, no tribute to wit, but a healthy, spasmodic reaction to shenanigans. Press Representative John Peter Toohey and Anne Morrison wrote the play, based on Mr. Toohey's short stories in Pictorial Review. Raymond Guion is Son Jones.