New Play in Manhattan

Trio (adapted by Dorothy and Howard Baker from Mrs. Baker's novel; produced by Lee Sabinson) had a hard time reaching Broadway -- not only because of the theater shortage, but because of censorship fears over its Lesbian theme. For two months nervous theater-owners (i.e., the Shuberts, who control virtually all of Broadway's theaters) kept its housing problems as snarled up as the lives of its characters.

Now that the play is safely lodged in the independently operated Belasco, Trio does not invite condemnation. A serious study of a young girl pinioned by a dominating Frenchwoman she hates and at last set free by meeting a young man she comes to love, the play is largely psychological drama, a battle of wills rather than libidos. It has some interesting scenes, tense moments, grown-up talk. But it is unconvincing -- contrived where it should seem inevitable, melodramatic where it should be intense. Indeed, were Trio a normal rather than abnormal triangle play, much of its tone and technique would seem curiously oldfashioned.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.