New Plays in Manhattan

Friendship. For his many admirers, the mere sight of George Michael Cohan on a stage is sufficient entertainment for an evening. Elfishly he wags his head and feet, solemnly marches around chairs, makes quick, delightful gestures with his hands, makes and repeats quiet, sure remarks to the other characters. He is immensely enjoyable because he seems never to act, which means that he is acting hard all the time. It may. therefore, surprise but not disappoint his admirers to learn that Friendship is not a good play by any means. Nor will it prevent them from going to see George Michael Cohan.

This time Mr. Cohan has chosen to act the role of a mature man-of-the-world who has been keeping a girl (Lee Patrick) for several years. Suddenly Miss Patrick takes up with a young litterateur (Clifford Jones) who infects her with a desire to write, and with a holy passion. Kindly Mr. Cohan tries to reason with her, then gives up. He arranges for a publisher to give her an advance of $5,000 on her first work. This does not seem to surprise Miss Patrick as much as it surprises writers in the audience. In the end. however, the boy's family comes to claim him. his attachment for Miss Patrick dwindles and Mr. Cohan, still wobbling his jolly head, prepares to lead the young lady to the altar. Some of the lines in Friendship look even worse than they sound. Sample from Miss Patrick's batch: "I'm just a puppet. That's all I've ever been to you." Mr. Cohan: "I know I've caused her many a heartache, many a tear." Actor Cohan, who wrote the piece, also wrote in a little part (that of the young litterateur's sister) so that his pretty daughter Helen Frances might make her Broadway debut. Cloudy With Showers-- This is the one about the shy college professor and the skittish maiden who bets that she can make him enamored of her -- and wins the bet. At no time does the farce get any closer to sanity than those late famed collegiate musicomedies, Good News and You Said It. But Cloudy With Showers has a certain breathlessness about it which may amuse before it tires you. In the cast are Rachel Hartzell, the emancipated schoolgirl, and Co-author Thomas Mitchell. Each is ingratiating and charming, helps make Cloudy With Showers affable but strictly early season entertainment.

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