New Plays

The Gorilla, by Ralph Spence, depends chiefly on the scenery. Trapdoors revolve and clatter, arms protrude from solid stone, panels slide and lights go black and green. While their surroundings are thus behaving queerly, the company unfolds a tale of horrid humors. It seems that the Gorilla was a monstrous criminal who advertised his criming and then fulfilled his promises. Murders and whatnot were his pastime. On this particular evening, he operates in the livingroom, the garage and the cellar of the Stevens mansion. A detailed report of the activity would sound very much like a 9-year-old child's explaining of the libretto of Boheme. Therefore, let it be recorded that guns are going off almost continually, nearly every member of the cast is kidnapped before the evening is over and that the whole difficulty is finally solved by Van Cleve of Scotland Yard. All is meant to be very funny and, for the most part, lives up to its intention. Two amazing comic detectives, Clifford Dempsey and Frank McCormack, helped the audience to its happiest moments.

The Poor Nut. If you are opposed on principle to plays in which the actors parade as undergraduates with huge capital letters on their chests, you may dislike this one, by J. C. and Elliott Nugent. It has a track meet on the stage and a love scene at a fraternity dance. Under such severe handicaps, it manages to be a genial and, at times, an uncommonly amusing comedy.

The unhappy hero is a Phi Beta Kappa scholar with suppressed desires to be an athlete and a gentleman. Into his life comes Miss Wisconsin, co-ed from an enemy institution and winner of a beauty contest. The next day is crowded for him, what with winning the track meet, making the best fraternity and collecting the best wife among the local coeds.

Some of the proceedings are written as penetrating satire; most of them are slapstick comedy. The former gives the latter just salt enough to make the whole a popular dish. The whole cast plays with the enthusiasm of a negro chorus breaking into a Charleston and their leader, Elliott Nugent, gives a brilliant performance as the Poor Nut who fooled the squirrels in the end.