Theatre

Spring-Like May has neglected to bestow upon Broad-way any sign of her flowering eagerness this year. The heavy list of closings the past week has stamped underfoot the aspirations of many a producer, playwright and actor. At least ten withdrawals have occurred, bringing the list of current theatrical productions down to twenty-four. Not to be daunted by the fate of most of the recent plays, however, four productions will make their appearance this week…. “The Mask and the Face”, a comedy from the Italian of Luigi Chiarelli, adapted by Somerset Maugham, comes to the Guild tomorrow….

We wonder whether or not Mr. Beckhard will bring “Another Language” to the Waldorf Theatre tomorrow? Will the announcement of the Pulitzer Prize cause a sudden change of plan?… “Moscow Caravan”, scheduled to open Tuesday night, has had its name changed. It is now known as “They All Come to Moscow”…. The Masque will house “$25 an Hour” when it gets to town on Wednesday. Georges Metaxa and Olga Baclanova will appear in the play which was written by Leyla Georgie and Gladys Unger.

Divorce is the subject of “Bed An’ Board” written by H. L. Greene, which will open Tuesday at the Hudson Theatre. The cast consists of Mildred McCoy, Patricia Calvert, Roy Gordon and others.

“Yoshe Kalb” is now on a tour of the key cities after a successful engagement in Chicago. Maurice Schwartz plans to reopen the play in New York after completing his tour….. “The Clown”, a new Yiddish musical comedy, will have its premiere at the Brooklyn Lyric Theatre Friday evening…. The Hitler government has banned “The Return of Nathan Becker”, the Jewish Russian film, dealing with the rehabilitation of the Jews under the Soviet regime, which is now playing at the Europa.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announces the purchase of motion picture rights to “Biography”, the current Guild production written by S. N. Behrman. No selections for the screen cast have as yet been made….The wide-spread interest in psychic phenomena is responsible for “Supernatural”, a story based on occultism, which Paramount is to release soon. According to Paramount officials more than 10,000,000 persons in the United States and Great Britain believe in some form or other of spiritualism.

The success of “42nd Street”, the musical film produced by Warner Bros., has caused almost every important studio to announce a series of musical films. Twenty-seven have already been scheduled for release, ranging from the operetta to the revue. It does seem fitting at this time to remind the studios of a homely saying to the effect that too much of a good thing is not always to be desired.

John Krimsky and Gifford Cochran announce that the screen version of “The Emperor Jones” by Eugene O’Neill will be placed in production toward the end of May. DuBose Heyward, author of “Porgy”, is working on the scenario and Paul Robeson, Negro actor, will play the part of Brutus Jones…. Robert Benchley, humorist and dramatic critic, has been signed to act as well as write for R.K.O. Radio Pictures…. Lois Weber is adapting Edna Ferber’s story “Glamour” which Universal will release this year.

“Little Women” will be the next Katharine Hepburn starring vehicle for R.K.O., following the completion of “The Morning Glory” in which she is now engaged, with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as co-star. Louisa May Alcott’s novel is being adapted for the screen by G. B. Stern. George Cukor is slated to direct…. Richard Halliburton, boy adventurer and author, is starring in his first motion picture, “India Speaks”, now playing at R.K.O. It tells the story of Halliburton’s two-year journey through the little known parts of India and Tibet in search of adventure and romance.

“Forgotten Men”, a war spectacle with official film from the archives of the nations that participated in the World War, will have its first American showing at the Rialto Theatre, Friday.