| Show I EUROPE ABOUT READY TO T WELCOME REAL AMERICAN DRAMA TO ITS STAGES By Dy r U n-U HARDEN DEl Europe's lo t Pub Pub- Publicist Pub Publicist heist Special n DI patch to Stand Examiner ard-Examiner ard Copyright l IUS 1936 lf by Consolidated Press Association BERLIN B BEN Feb Is 27 27 Is the time near when the th Amer Amer- AmerIcan American ican lean drama dram will wiil becom o as Irn- Irn Im Important for Europe Europ Europe as Amen Aim America's cas ca's movies dances dancs and aDd dan dan-co dance music T 7 TA A year ear ago o lo the question would not have been asked The continent nt pt of f Europe Europ was Wal convinced that It was wu chosen by Providence to f furnish In- In Intellectual In Intellectual nourishment for th the world Only small quantities ot of American literature came over o the tir thi Atlantic Naturally all civilized peoples people had read Cooper Harriet Beeche B che Stowe Bret Upton Hart Harte Mark Twain Up Up- Up ton Sinclair and Jack London and all aU polyglot leaders knew Poe Foe Bryant Longfellow Whit Whit- Whitman Whitman Whitman man and Emerson Young masters of American satire and short hort stories also allo have a ft big bif public t since sine It itis ItIs is 11 frequently forgotten how short hort American history Is Its literary production seems hardly worth discussing along alone side reat great names like Homer Dante Shakespeare and Goethe Goth Among Amon political non-political Amen Ameri American can authors there thero ther really Is not Dot ono one without whom th the world could not be b imagined We W had heard hurd nothing of American dra- dra dra dramatic matte matic art That is I I to say lillY we had heArd that the th scenic sc and masterly presentation of sensa sensa- sensational melodrama lamed by prudishness and sentimentality Insured across the ocean This belief which was nourished from Hollywood was as first shot full of holes here her by triumph In a language not understood by Americans and with unsympathetic unsympathetic whiskers these the Russians carried Chekoff's most charm charm- charming log ing drama to success The Th American public cannot have hav been dominated by such sueh coarse instincts Instinct as many crit critics ics assert or otherwise It could not have hav recognized the th pay py- and artistic worth of this drama In ft a foreign tongue tongue Then Then the th main pieces of Eu- Eu Eugene Eugene irene Eu-irene gene ONeill O'Neill were produced In Germany But they did not ot produce the effect which would have been possible In Europe Europ If their atmosphere which In la our view Is strangely erotic and shows how a mythical dream world should be b brought o out t more strongly Since Sine this did not happen since It did not look m much ch dif dlf dit terent ferent under the th elms than thanIn thanin thanIn In th the tho setting setting- ot of any German peasant drama and since the emotional conflict between fa- fa father fa father a ather ther and ion son did not disturb nerves which were w r accustomed to other gruesomeness ono one on saw In ONeill O'Neill more the th Celtic de- de descent descent descent scent and a dramatic relation relation- relationship relationship relationship ship with Sheridan Wilde Wild and Shaw than the th poet of American life liCe Randolph's Mauchan Rain R ran somewhat loncer lo er than De Do D sir sire Under the th Eim Elms Max Reinhardt's staging would have made permanently successful the export article on Rain which really lacks poetical or on even culturally descriptive value it If the th girl eirl from San Francisco and Honolulu lu had hadnot hadnot hadnot not appeared to blase bias Berliners as a harmless decorative poser posey and the th fall of the th pious mis mis- missionary missionary as a ft a mis- mis misstep step mis-step step which everybody had ex- ex expected ex expected and aneL which In the th judg judg- judg judgment judgment ment of both sexes here ought not to have hv been punished with Ith death The American assault there fore fore has ha not yet made mad a breach In the th European stage BlaiC front But that front was nev- nev never neven nev never er en more thinly covered than It ItIs iti ItIs Is i today Frances France popular theatre Industry Is weary wary and It now treasures the theatre al- al almost al almost most solely as an Instrument for political propaganda Germany has ha countless counties thea thea- theatres theatres tres but she has hal hai not three authors who can write writ usable pieces Instead of utterly silly and smutty things thines and the country must therefore even plunder the th treasure treasur chambers of China and India In order to teed feed Its occidental hunger In Italy only ap- ap appears ap appears pears pearl above the tho th horizon and he be Is already a bit autumnal and the th general dramatic fam farn- farn In fam-In me Ine Is so o gre great creat t that for tor the first time since the days day of Eliza Eliza- Elizabeth Elizabeth Elizabeth beth and Shakespeare Shake pear e Great BritaIn with Shaw Wilde Wild Galsworthy and company Is the unchallenged master muter of the th Eu- Eu European European Eu European market Everywhere else els the th stages are aro empty A dramatist like Walt Whitman bears with him the breeze of Americas America's open spaces or even a ft a clever citver copy copy- copyIst copyist copyist with a ft dramatic Instinct who would show a II picture of that young stormy laughing life would make mak his hia hi entrance Into Europe like ft a triumphal conqueror |
