WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1926 fMusic AND DRAMA THE DESCENT OF O'EILL Eugene O'Neill, playwright of "The Great God Brown", "The Emperor Jones", "Beyond the Horizon" anl other serious dramas, has written a new play (this one seems not a drama, but only a Play), which has somehow gotten into the hands of George Jean Nathan, critic, who has seven pages to say on the subject in th current issue of "The American Mercury". The play seems to be O'Neill's nega- tive argument with the critics who have defamed his lack of humor in the predlecessors of the new play, "Marco's' M~illions". From all that Mr. Nathan can say in seven pages it appears that O'Neill's argument ought to be ai strong one, and that he ought to win. Our only hope is that the argument wvon't last long; either that "Marco M\illions" will win in a season for O'Neill, or that O'Neill will be de- feated on the first night and will there- upon retire to his own genius. Nat-' oraly we wish the best to this idolized playwright, but it seems from even a fragmentary reading of O'Neill's play that his best is something above thei ordinary laugh-a-minute comedy which scores of those who live in serf-I dour to Broadway's producers are cap- able of. "Marco's Millions" is represented by Nathan as being sort of a vice' versa of "The Connecticut Yankee ii K£ing Arthur's Court" on the stage, inj which Messer Marco Polo, conqueror of rulers, bravado, shiek, comedian, and possessor of any other modern at- tribute which will add humor to a pre-Columbus explorer, starts a sort of obstreperized "Lord Jim conquest"' of Mongolia's millions. The sweet- heart of his boyhood days is left at Home in Venice, while Marco is pu- TYPEWRITING PRONITI,Y AND) NATY IONH 0. D. Morrill I7 Nick~rcadC . 'he 'rypinitr an statiunry stor It"SA Pleonastic Pen Y size gk bD'eer*. THE SUMMER MICHIUAN DAILY PAGE T"x'r sued by the jungle at tentions ofth beaut ifu Il-Princess Kokh 1ill. At the end of his sexe n lpagc s 111. Nathan quotes a paragi2 iph troin the! play itself which is worl ii repoaW jug ''The lights", writes O'Neill, "coneic up brilliantly in the theater. In an aisle seat in the front row a man getsf up, conceals a yawvn in his palm. stretches his legs as if they had be- come cramped through too loig an evening, takes his hat from under t he i seat and starts to file out slowly wtithl the others in the audience. lBnt, al- though there is nothinig out of thie ordinary in his actionis, his 8 ppearaune excites general comment 811(1 sur - prise, for he is dressed as a Venetiani nierchant of the later Thirteenth C ei- tury. In fact, it is none other th~an Marco Polo himself, looking a bit sleepy, a trifle puzzledi and nzot a little irritated at his thoughts which, in . spite of himselt, cling for a passing' moment to the pl~ay just ended. ie C appears quite unaware of being unz- usual and walks in the crowd without self'-consciousness, very nich as one of them. Arr'ived at the lobby, his face jlbegins to clear of all distui aiavne7 ories of what has transp 1iredon the stage. His car, a luxuriousiPierce- Arrow lim~ousine, drawes upz to t he curb. He gels in briskly: the door is slammed; the cardgsawyin to the t raffle; and Polo, °wit iila::<