Horace Mann Lincoln High School - Lincolnian Yearbook (New York, NY)

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g Gym 1933 Qfomce DRAMATIC CLUB REVIEW Fall ProducTion HE l-lorace Mann DramaTic Club opened iTs sixTeenTh season oT play producing wiTh a bill consisTing oT Two TeaTures: The Changeling , a comedy by W. W. Jacobs and l-lerberT SargenTg and The New Sin , a drama by The London playwrighT, Basil MacDonald Q l-lasTings. The Changeling was a highly enTerTaining one-acT comedy oT English lower class liTe. The casT was small, and The ploT an episode in The lives oT Three richly drawn characTers. As The mischieT- malcer, Ted STolces, Gerald Buerger, in his TirsT appearance Tor The DramaTic Club, was excellenT. The acTor's coclcney accenT and abiliTy To sTay in characTer were remarkable. VicTor Barnouw susTained his high level oT acT- ing by giving an amusing inTerpreTaTion oT a simple, blusTering husband. The Third parT was porTrayed T by RoberT O'Brien, anoTher newcomer To The l-lorace Mann sTage. As The only woman in The evening's program, O'Brien handled his diTTiculT assignmenT wiTh dexTeriTy. , CompleTing The diversiTy oT The enTerTainmenT, a murder drama in Two acTs was nexT presenTed. AlThough iT was generally TelT ThaT The play iTselT was noT equal To The Tine gualiTy oT The acTing, sTill The novel ploT and occasionally sparkling dialogue oTTseT The show's pedanTic and Tedious sTyle. The Three leads were equally played by Bruce Bliven, Keenan Wynn, and RoberT Rice. The greaTesT applause oT The evening wenT To Bliven, who did a convincing and sincere iob in spiTe oT The greaT dramaTic TensiTy oT The role. In hysTerical scenes, where a less capable acTor would have Tailed To TulTill The dramaTic value oT The momenT, Bliven was superb. Keenan Wynn, as The cenTral Tigure oT The Tragedy, was naTural: his ease and pleasing personaliTy lighTened The play when iT Tended To drag. RoberT Rice, in The oTher principal parT, porTrayed The causTic playwrighT and epigrammaTical conversaTionalisT wiTh shrewdness and sense. I-le broughT ouT clearly The biTing lines: and he was appealing as a loyal Triend oT his unTorTunaTe roommaTe, l-lilary CuTTs. .fll8T

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Jhe 1933 Qfomce The lesser roles were placed in fhe efficienf hands of Vicfor Barnouw lfhe only one fo porfray parfs in bofh producfionsl, Rowland McClave, Louis Toussainf. and George Dana. Barnouw, fhis fime in a serious role. porfrayed fhe unlucky recipienf of an assassin's bullef wifh graceful arrogance: lv1cClave was honesf alfhough somewhaf forced in his inferprefafion of a slow-fhinking Parliamenfary lordg Dana was a loan merchanf wifh a fanafical craving for murders, and Toussainf played fhe parf of an elderly and doddering bufler-landlord-servanf. The excellenf dance which followed confinued an inferesfing and worfhwhile evening. Winfer Proclucfion lf is safe fo say fhaf fhe Club's presenfafion of Leave lf To Psmifh , P. G. Wodehouse's comedy, was one of fhe mosf polished and successful producfions ever affempfed by fhe Dramafic Club. The acfing was splendid: fhe sefs and lighfing adequafeg and The makeup and cosfumes realisfic. Bruce Bliven appeared in fhe 'rifle role, and gave a suave and amusing performance. ln addifion, he worked a meafy parf fo ifs fullesf wifhouf any over-emphasis and delighfed a suscepfible audience fo fhe ufmosf in his lasf performance on fhe l-lorace Mann sfage. Forfunafely provided wifh an amazingly convincing makeup, Vicfor Barnouw oufdid any of his previous characferizafions as fhe humorous. likeable Earl of Middlewick. Barnouw has a fremendous amounf of nafural acfing abilify, and in fhis play, as in 'rhose ofhers in which he has appeared for fhree years, he remained in characfer confinually and delighffully. Roberf O'Brien was undoubfedly fhe greafesf sensafion in Leave If To Psmifh . As a seducfive and ingenious gangsfress. O'Brien looked and acfed fhe parf wifh surprising finesse and dignify. Keenan Wynn, as fhe iuvenile lead, Freddie, made fhe mosf of a role filled wifh rich possibilifies nof only by his enferfaining anfics and ufferances, buf by several iniecfed modernisms which broughf forfh hearfy laughs from fhe audience. Gerald Buerger, Alan Raphael, and Richard Bohan were fhe prin- cipals in fhe supporfing casf. Buerger porfrayed a comedian-crook, and his capable acfing combined wifh fiery red hair and a humorously hefero- geneous ouffif made him a perfecf characfer. Raphael played fhe heroine wifh a nafuralness and sfage presence which were peasing and resfful. A sneezing, inquisifive, buf efficienf secrefary is a hard parf ifllcil-