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Show Dramatic Comment 1 By EMORY B. CALVERT. By International News Service. NEW YORK, May a 7. New York may soon have a Shakespeare theater. It will be devoted to the bard's works and other classical productions. produc-tions. This is the permauent outcome of the enthusiasm engendered by the tercentenary ter-centenary celebration of Hhakespeare 's death. Many leading theater managers, playwrights and managers indorse the idea, and men of wealth are behind it. The idea first took shape at the dinner din-ner Otto H. Kahn gave to those engaged on the coming Shakespeare masque. David Da-vid Belasco was heard today on the project. He suggested founding a school in connection with the theater and endowing en-dowing it liberally, so that we may have artists capable of playing Shakespeare. "Those artists from whose lips the words of Shakespeare dripped like honey from a flower are dead, nave retired, or ; are about to retire," he said. "The art of reading Shakeepeare is not known to the younger actors and actresses of today." Daniel Frohman thinks the theater should be located in a part of the city which is not fashionable or expensive. "It Bhould be distinctly a theater of the people, run at a modest schedule of prices," he said. James K. Rackett said the acting profession pro-fession would welcome the theater. E. H. Sothern said; "I have always been enthusiastically in favor of presenting pre-senting Shakespeare'at cheap prices." Lee Schubert thought the Century theater would be an ideal place for a Shakespeare policy, and opposed building build-ing a new playhouse for this roason. Alf C. Hayman believed the theater would succeed if native talent was developed de-veloped and used, instead of calling in foreigners. Hardly a voice has been raised in opposition. op-position. Charles Burnham, president of the New York Theater Managers' association, asso-ciation, however, believes the outcome of the enterprise will depend on the manner man-ner in which it is approached, that if the theater is to be educational it should be called such, and that our actors are now inadequate for poetic drama. Marie Tempest, in the role of a make-believe make-believe cook, is as bewitcning as in anv I yfF jP. fT 1 ' hit , Jl I 1 From "The Girl in the Taxi," which will be given for the week's I engagement at the Wilkes by the Wilkes Stock company. 1 - I of her other parts which have delighted j New Vork tne last winter. Such in her vehiclo for comedy (or farce) in "A Lady's Name," the much-delayed much-delayed piece by Cyril Harcourt now pro- : duccd at Maxiiie Elliott's theater. This English playwright is remembered here 'principally for his doiiglitf ul piece, "A Pair of bilk Stockings," which ran all last scuson at the Little theater. Mabel Vcre is a novelist who believes in getting her material from life, her own life. So she advertises for! a husband. hus-band. She Bigns her advertisement "Miss X." (she is called "Exies" by one of' the aspirants) , and soon has plenty of things on her hands. From the applicants lor her favor she selects a butler, and he invites her to a cup of tea in the servants' quarters. This has a dreadful effect on the cook, in love with the butler, and her case of hysterics leaves Miss Vere to propare tho meal. While she is peeling the potatoes and letting several dishes burn on the stove, the master comes down and assists. He is an amiable employer, em-ployer, and several days later, of course, asks the lady novelist to become his wife. On this light base Mr. Harcourt has built up a host of amusing incidents, just tho kiud Miss Tempest uses to the best advantage with her twinkling eyes. The playing of her associates is also admirable." Stanley Harrison was tho butler, Daisy Belniore the cook, Berloy Mercer the kitchen maid and Ruth Draper the langurrous parlor maid. Graham Browne, Rex MacDougall, Harry Lambert and Algernon Greig were also entertaining. " There was something akin to consternation con-sternation along Broadway when it was learned the British government had ordered or-dered homo for war service all men of military age now abroad. Several hundred English actors have been seen on American stages this winter. win-ter. At first there was some tendency to protest on the part of American rivals, ri-vals, but when the season developed into the most successful one known room was found for all comers. In fact, managers man-agers could not get enough talent. So it was unwelcome news all around. Most of the British actors accented the inevitable gracefully. Many of tnora had good reasons for not enlisting before. be-fore. I do not doubt they will make brave soldiers of King George V. But their places here will be missed when tho season opens, for, barring unforeseen unfore-seen developments, America will have lots of money to spend in the theater next winter. The three leading Englishmen who have acted hore this winter Sir Herbert Her-bert Tree, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson and Cyril Maude- aro all well outside out-side tho military age limits of IS to 41. But in their companies are many affected affect-ed by the new order. At the clubs and restaurants frequented fre-quented by actors the Britishers have made many friends among American brethren. "Also, a few feminine hearts will beat faster as they read the war headlines several months hence. The first summer song show is here. It arrived at the Columbia theater Monday Mon-day afternoon, under the guiso of "Bel- I lo, New York," and, if its reception can ! be taken as a criterion, it will occupy the stage of that popular temple of "extravaganza" for toe remainder of the summer season. 1 ' Hello, New York ' 1 is the latest mode of musical revues. It is a musical panorama pano-rama in two acts and nineteen scenes that leads the audience a merry chase from the opening scene (a replica of Chatham square) to its finale, which is supposed to occur in, a submarine under the Hudson. The piece is the latest effort ef-fort of Junie McCree, remembered for having contributed 1 ' The Happiest Night of His Life ' and ' ' Mamma 's Darling" to Broadway stagedom. Featured in the cast is Lew Kelly, , whose characterization of ' ' Professor Dope J ' is well known to habitues of burlesque. Again Kelly was the life of-the of-the party and kept the audience roaring every moment he occupied the stage. There is a plot to the revue, but it would take an expert statistician to define de-fine it. |