Theatre Notes

Next fall will see another foreign importation. The players of the Grand Guignol--who specialize in broad farce and recherche horrors--will come over to New York under the direction of the Selwyns, associated with William Elliott. The cadaverous M. Max and the agile Mile. Paulette (who has been murdered in more different and spine-chilling ways than any other actress on the Parisian stage) will lead the company. Eye-gouging, vitriol-throwing and premature burial are some the jovial themes employed in previous Grand Guignol productions. R. U. R. is opening in London shortly. A robot with a genuinely English accent should be the height of something or other--ingenuity, perhaps. The outdoor show business at Coney Island is almost in full swing. Hot dogs sizzle along the boardwalk--barkers bark--"the only genuine saltwater taffy" clogs conversation everywhere. The most popular new attraction at present at Coney is said to be a ride--The Caterpillar operated by the owners of "The House of 1,000 Laughs." John Barrymore is at present in Morocco, perhaps preparing for Othello. Theatre tickets in Berlin now run to 39,000 marks or so. " Give us a couple of million, papa. We're taking the girls to a matinee!" The Hairy Ape has been passed by the British censor of plays for future production in England--all but one little word. The word is "bloody." You can write it, but you can't speak it--at least according to the censor. Another well-known novel will appear in a stage version when Margaret Anglin opens in San Francisco this June with The Great Lady Dedlock (adapted from Dickens' Bleak House) by Paul Kester. Mr. Kester is said to have worked four years on the play. With the decline of the New York theatrical season has come an increase in the use of the "twofer" system by managers who are not yet quite ready to send their attractions to the storehouse and would rather have them play at bargain rates than close them. The " twofers " are two-for-ones--two tickets to the same production offered at the price of one.