RAGGED ARMY, a play in three acts, by Beulah Marie Dix and Bertram Milhauser. Staged by Crosby Gaige and Felix Jacoves; setting by Raymond Sovey; produced by Crosby Gaige. At the Selwyn Theate.
The authors of “Ragged Army” use an interesting method to point out that if America is to be saved it will be through the spirit of the proletariat and not by the descendants of our original Revolutionary heroes who are pictured as a bunch of selfish reactionaries.
It seems that the descendants of General Timothy Page are about to put on a pageant to celebrate that old warrior’s victory at the Battle of Dunbury. All the sons and daughters of the Spirit of 1776 are on hand. The Page family is of course leading the procession but all is not serene around the family manor. In the background, the discontented workers of today act discontentedly and to make matters worse one of the Page girls is in love with a young and brilliant radical. Suddenly the stage is darkened, colored lights flash on and off, noise rolls from the wings and in pops the ghost of General Page, who proceeds to give the family a piece of his mind.
In addition a ragged army of workers dressed to represent the Revolutionary soldiers file on the stage and make remarks about conditions in America. These men state in no uncertain terms that they had not fought for the present-day Pages, that the common people should be given a better break and that unless things changed America is doomed.
The idea is not a bad one but the authors have been unable to give any life to the lines. Some of the speeches spoken by the actors are so juvenile that it is difficult to believe one is in a Broadway playhouse. The acting, considering the parts imposed on the cast, is good. Lee Baker, Thomas Chalmers and Emily Lowry are especially apt in making the most out of a difficult taks.
Ragged Army would do very nicely for a week-end performance by the amateur group down at the New Workers School but for your critical and entertainment seeking playgoer it is just too unbelievable.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
