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Show METROPOLITAN SEASON Ogl Managerial Row Causes an Early SfQrt PLAGIARISM OF IPEFctiARjj And Thereby Pi omoters of Coming Farce Sect I Much Advertising From Production Play : i mg on Broadway f By VANDERHEYDEN FYLES ' New Yo k Ju y J 9 4 APARTMENT K A now fared n hrce a s by Law en e Bang Max ne o s the a e D J hn New bouse Robert Obe De by Bishop Eda d B g ey Bu g a A an Brooks Cjp ess A on gomery F ank M Co mabk Se gean ot Po e Harry Eng Bh Pa o man Geo ge Fen h A rs Newbouse 1 ay A son 1 s Go don H Newhouse He en Lowe Ms De by B shop Jean She by THE dramat c season of 1914 1915 has begun It started w th a sc ap Indeed if there had not been a n anage ia ow It wou d not have got under way unt 1 a fortnight later The theatrical New Years day n New Yo k has gradua y ad anced from September 1 to August 1 but Ju y 1 Is stl 1 a month of vaudevi e and open a r entertainments at least so far as novelt es are concerned As a mere natter of record then the f st p ay of the one to two hund ed that w 11 make up the dramatic year of 1914 191o is ca ed Apartment 12 K is a loca farce in three acts was written by a young Amer can expatr at named Lawrence R s ng p ev ous y known only for the one act sketch It Can Be Done and was re vea ed at Max ne B ott s theater Monday evening July 20 About a ear ago Edward Sal sbury F eld pub shed a nove ette ca ed Twin Beds "Wll am Harr s Jr thought he saw a prof tab e farce n it bought the stage rights and com miss oned Marga et Mayo author of Baby M ne to make the plaj The resu t 'tvas staged expenmen a ly in Pittsburg and Ch cago last May was so favo ab y rece ved that Mr Harr s announced it as the opening p ay at the Fu ton n New York early in Augus and M ss Majo went ab oad to rest In comfortab e anticipat on of another b g success A week ago it became noised about t at Apa tment 1 K, in prepara t on for product o by W i am A B adj 1 mited c osely resembled Tw n Beds M ss Mayo was ha t y summoned 1 ome lawjers were con su ted and Mr Harr s s representa t e rus ed into print exc ted y Mr Harr s has d scovered enough 1 e sa d to ead h m to be eve t at t e main Idea of Tw n Beds 1 as been put n o this new play and he has at once taken steps to pro ect h s r gh s A not ce was sent to each of the actors n Apartment 12 K ca 1 na attention to the fact that under the aw anjone tak ng pa t in a p rated p aj is equa y gu t w th t e p oduce s of the play The Ac to s Equity assoclat on vas not f ed th oug Its pres dent, Fran Is Wi son at Mr Har is probab y wou d take steps aga nst al conce ned n the pro duct on but that he wished to see the ac o s t emse es p otected as far as poss be Ir Fie d the author of e o 0 na sto v of Tw n Beds at ame t me not f ed the Authors L.eaeue of America of wh ch nston C u Is pres dent and Theodore Roo e e i e pres dent that 1 e be 1 e s book was n danger of be n0 f ed and asked for the e p of t e ega depa tn ent of the eague. A h r T a he at o ney for t e .ut o eaeue has taken the n at te up On t e other managerial side t e on v acton taken was to mo e tl e open ng date forward fo r nights om t t e tr al performance of p rtn en 1 I on the Jersey coas The t e ver day before tl e p em e e ab eg ams from "W am A Brady e e 'rece e"d f st frant ca ly de yi k that he ad anythng to do vi t e en erp e and then sa ing t at e e e and hen w hd ew from t Announcements and advert se n ents were ast y changed eliminat In" Ir Bays name He was the producer of Bab M ne and other pays b Ma ga et Mayo and M ss Mayo (M s Edgar Sewyn) and Mrs B ady C a e Geo ge) are the verv c osest of f e ds and 1 ave been s nee the r h s r on o teg nnw f teen yea s ago 6 mtk ALL ths exctement pro- ' f - tempest in a teapot Nflnl legal suppress on- Apa me! t was bo n to d e of i Ya!?L I should not be at al. had exp red and been buffi, these 1 nes a e read The ml! of the hum d evening was Tp exctement of the audenei, much d scussed pay beean the better known rfnt n A S Ing greeted one anothe co dlall a very short vaca on f om fij Margaret Mayo who had MmTi as fast as the Aqu tanta could ! her was n the fi st ow &. probab y t e on y pe son in the. ence who t orough y enjoy d and had a .good laugh, Bu far tod gene ous and a fu am s derate to adm t such a thlnt she wou d say when I me heri ing out and sa d I congra uklt on ton ght s p ay was And having sup h. a good me n l 1 don B Still, with a apo og es o 1 the most charm ng women a wor d after Apa ment 1 K ' reached Its lugub ous end Mirp Mayo cou d not he p bu look t the cat that had shallowed canary Her managere, agents henchmen n genera al r doubt ess be as emp a c from not n stating that the Apartm ' farce bears no resemblance ttai w ever to Twin Beds as th y loud and t re ess befo e la uu that It did , The p ay is wr tten a ound 1 1 -j and numerous pa s of pajamas. 1 , spring Maxine Ell o t s thea er e i an otherw se sucessful season i t an equal y do efu bedroom fir This bed oom beongs o a ft n phys c an s wife, n an aparia $ on TV est End a enue He is a! away on an eme gency case tberi his dictatorial mother from Bro u 1 ne Mass arrives o pay tt She is shocked tb find tha thtit u, fo ks ten months married, nc separate bedrooms Deta Is of cj ing arrangements a e gone into i a thoroughness doub ess supposiiB, be dar ng and naugh y bu ic&lK ju t stup d, vu gar and uniatdB Ing The author s very youi f e der Mrs Newhouse goes to , r son s unoccup ed room to speed n ght and the younge begins to i j , robe W hi e she s n the bathn , an lntox cated ne ghbor from t tn apartment ove head ro s in bji k take, gets into a pal of her a bands pajamas and staggn t bed T e br de has no soo eri r horr fled by d sco ering the flrc T than her mother-dn awcomesint , the other room drl en out by il f om t e bathroom o erhead t r has soaked her bed She prepaid t spend he n ght on a cou ii h u i young foks room he ( young Mrs Newhouse s Ton! tn j man discern b e under the shs' i Dr Newhouse returned uneuw f ly soon so dubious y ba sbeBS; f on see ng her daugh e t w nto bed with hm Then si J ; o e a screen to dscoer ua s tting on the far edge of w w e the fat and drunk n m p snores There Is nohng ra r sque n a 1 th s The a toy . cepted it in bored and humdatl THE author had respeclrf Greek un ties of time and , By go y perhaps the toe G eek tragedy and e judpfl t e wrong ang e W th tog of the th ee ac s n he p more pajamas appea A . WJ evenng c othes en e s throng fi e e cape He has oo ed W t abo e At the pso s 1 J awakens' the s eep ng a Mff forces 1 m to go in o lj J and land out h s-or n berw , &ent doctor s pajamas opu a d su se From ths pon o era e v. h ns"c2SfJ : ped ents of humo TheMF (Continued onFoUoffingJW THEATRICAL SEASOW OPENS IN Kfflf YORK (Contlmed from Preceding Page) above w fe of tl e lntox ca ed Fa u aft comes down w th one to re o er her Jewels Phe has seen Raf f om e ter this fla lie offe s Is pu Ja man as an u b pot. k an e phys un and po n ng to 1 a man who veu h eve ng o es na ay h r to 1 b own as e ef T n fo n vh r w nd Ann o en po les a e broug a a d do npour of pis on u a an b h fi and everybodj h no r wh ar ph Was tea o s o u rents d ha isuh o b o dl 1 nut answer u One of t e few ou 17 h of e a e wan h end A d 1 do o nea a v, o y e a use an en W d romp at 0 a 00 n e be e en fo farce ad so o ed le pn paja a Raff es n one ou d eee 0 way o go h m o t of F den y at wub how e au 0 fe t 00 fo when hlngs go too te y th k o n he s mp y J mped rgh o oflepot Wh 0 t warn tec o c e foo g a and ran u e ce ter a s e a d out of view w e a a o a on the stage exc ted y offe ed a reward of $600 to anyone nte aud ence who could a oomp Ish 1 e arres of t e man who robbed apartment 12 K Mr lilting on tl e other hand may rest assured tha nobody woq d take the tro ble to steal Apartment 12 K Howe er there 0 no reason to abuse a author au t ough he were a crln lna just because he has been no unfortunate as to write a poor Play and because rid cule ls ho easy He had been unjust y treated H s farce ad been us led on the stage w tl out proper preparat on Pace Is the ery 1 fe of lurce and pa e Is ImpoFstb e w en not an acto Is sure of all his 1 nes Then too the pre may semlrehearsal perform ancea out of town absolutely essen t al n get 1 g a farce of a I plaB Into shape had been denied him at t e eleventh hour And not with n n y reco ec Ion has a mo e nade quate cast appeared ln a first class Broadway theater Evidently the Shuberts, who almost 1 ariably engage the best pro ur able actors but who are bo h abroad trusted the se ectlon to soma utterly Incompetent underling Tl ere are tl ree exceptions ln he cast Robert Ober as the young "phys lan pa s a co orl ess role aa wel as It needs be plaed He en Low el as the mother In law gets some fun out of the chara er In her broad fam lar way and the a tor of the Inc denta ro e of a negro eleva or boy Is exce lent H s na ne as not on he pro gramme hut Broadway first n ghte s had no difficulty n recognizing him as Frank McCormack an actor and stage manager of good repute long associated with Minnie Maddem Fske Did Mr McCormack black his face and keep his name from the pro gramme because e was ashamed to be discovered ln such company9 The other actors might better have done as much and more If they hope to e er appear on Broadway again The leading woman acted like an HI bred chorus girl unfamiliar to the stage but as she Is advertised aa only 1? she may live to learn to act aay about 193t. The others are too 0 d to hold out much hope. The au thor on the other hand ls only 94 His farce Is crude but It ls by no means barren of deas and it shows promise He has two other pieces scheduled for this season In short If I were not afraid of losing your friendship and good will at the ery start of the season, I s ould say he ls a promising and a rising oung man CIaSIE UOFTTS had beet hasten back to America and look to her laurels The Mjstlc Bird Is In town He has captured Broadway The broilers squabs and chickens of The Zlegfeld Follies don t run one two three with this canar He Is head liner at the Palace which Is going some fox a performer only thirteen months old The stage is set to represent a con servatorj Several painted cages are the homes of painted b rds In the center bathed in a mys erlous blue 1 ght an actual cage hangs with a very actual anary In It But 1 e Is not like any other canao at eaa not like any I ha e e er met. He has two dlst net specialties two de velopments of the same Inborn ab 1 Ity He 1b a mimic and he Is an opera singer Master Paul a jou h ful violinist, and h s trainer he cal s the MvBtlc Bird his dearest f end and said M B makes no comment on the matte requests the aud en e to name whate er birds it would like to hear Imitated A thrush a n ght Inga e a- robin those and many more are in the repertoire of the Mystic Bird When someone has named a b rd Pa 1 paB Its most fam lar notes on his lo in Then the star repeats them with extraord nary ac curacy (Think of poor o d A. O Duncan and his w ingless dress suit ) The Myst c B rd s performance is really quite remarkable but he ap pears to be ready w th each Imita ton without a pause of hesitat pn and h s repertoire seems m t ess Remarkab e as s port on of the entertainment i the bird s m metlc genius s more de gh ful w en ap p led to opera Master Paul plavs a 1 selection c assical or tri ial and the feathered mim c chirps through it from beginning to the end The even ng I eard him Mr M B sang the best 1 noun par s of Xa Bo heme and the G owworm mus c that Pavlowa dances to and the marvel of the th ng became lost In enjoyment of the airy beauty Paul did not stand near the bird but at another corner of the stage and du ing one song he wandered w th his ol n among he aud ence The ef feet was no less than enchanting the stillness of the listeners, the plalntl e noteB of the vlo n at one end of the auditorium the glad f lghta of the caged bird at the other soaring gh and w th the very joy of llv ng trl ng from its throat In deed not t e least del ghtful ele ment of the act is the chief per fo mer a Joy In It Eva Tansuay her self gets no more pleasure out of working the star Just simply would not stop When Pucclril or another had no more music for him the bird Bang on improvising trll ing hap pilv When the bird was first exhibited last Monday afternoon severa news paper men refused to believe In him Master Paul was accused of having an accomp Ice ln the wings He an 8 we red that charge simply and final ly by inviting us to a private re cltaL And there the Myetlc Bird went through his extraordinary per formance without the possibility of a hidden a d Of course the home life of a new operatic star is of the greatest ln terest The M Bt c Bird who was horn thirteen months ago has been on the stage two months His habits are regular Every morning (ac cording to the sacred word of Mas ter Paul) he wakes at 4 a m and practices with his accompanist until 7 He affects a simple diet conf n Ing himself to lettuce and apples When on tour he has Mb private cage It Is hung ln a day coach with a special guard both day and night Of course he has a temperament What opera Btar so lowly as not to have a temperament For hie stage turn he insists on a steady and sub dued blue light Any movement In the wings or fluctuation of the lights and he goes right up ln the air Of course too there are tiresome things the Mystic Bird has to go through for the sake of advert s ng Before he sings to prove that he is genuine he Is passed through the au d ence ln his cage an ordeal that any Mary Garden would object to But what would you ln these days of advertising' However when It comes to exhibiting himself out front In the lobby where the commonest passer by on Broadway might paruse and comment on his plumage the Mystic Bird objected He slmplv put h s foot down So a substitute canar equally soft and golden but with no especial ta ents files about a cage on the stand n the lobby where Ruth Boye s silver oving cup pre sented to her aB the Queen of Rag time usually shows tself and above the cage the lying words appear The Mjstlc Bird |