COMEDY CLUB
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
BOOKS AND WRITERS
MUSIC AND DRAMA
RADIO BROADCASTING
AMONOWN.- md
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VOL. XXXIV. No. 135
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 1924
PRICE, FIVE
_
COM.Eaqvam&lY
CLIJI3
NOW
HOLDS
STAG
Plt Of Play Called
Thrilling But Quaint
THE CAST
"CaptainApplejaci
Appears This
Of late,'plot has been rather con-
spctuous byits absence in our larger
campus productions. This season all
the presentations which have achieved
the high position of a run at the town's
only theatre are said to have been
woefully lacking in this regard. Plot
and the Whitney l]ave not gone to-
gether,-so far, but now comes a pro-
duction which has enough plot in
one act to make up for all past defi-
ciencies.
"Captain Applejack" contains a
story which is not only thrilling, but
unusually quaint and keenly satirical.
Walter Hackett's play is in fact, one
of the cleverest that Broadway has
seen for many years.
There are many good comedies, few-
er good melodramas, and the number
of worthwhile satires is not tiny. But
a play which contains all of these,
and in a combination which is as
clever as it is unusual, is a rare thing.
These are some of the reasons which
led Comedy club to undertake its pro-
luction. An outline of the plot is al-
most unfair, for it can give but an
inkling of the charm that "Captair
Applejack" contains.
Romance Calls Applejohn
In England there lived a man who
craved adventure. Applejohn was his
name, and he came of an exceedingly
respectable family. So he planned to
sell his ancestral home, to leave his
old aunt and loving ward, and to go
to far away lands in search of thrills.
But before he was able to carry out
his plans for the welfare of his fam-
ily, romance came to him, and saved
him the infernal bother of upsetting
his regular routine.
Romance came with all its acces-j
sories. It brought love at first sight,!
thieves, a family treasure, and a dis-
reputable ancestor,-one Captain Ap-
n,'M;rwho w a pirate
wanuy nigt,. t ie anc;ent tonme,a!
fireplace, and good old nglsh whisky
and s9da-br eoiff' the beauti-
ful Russian Anna, admirably when,
she niade her startling midnight call
at the Applejohns'. .
Her t rillg ,tale of flteeing, from
Borolsky, the ruthlessly crafty Ru-
sian spy, whio is but a few minutes be-
hind her, wins the innocent Ambrose's
confidence, and he agrees to hide her
in the house. N sooner has he re-
cuperated from that blow, when more
midnight callers arrive. Moved by
the hope that they might be prospect-
ive buyers, he asks them in. Mr. and
Mrs. Pengard furnish the second blow,
he is a Hindu mystic, who prophecies
weird happening in the peaceful home
of the Applejohns. Finally, having
completely bewildered the now des-
perate Ambrose, they leave, promising
to return in a very short time.
But th-is is not enough for one night,
as a climax to this wild evening
comes Borolsky, the ruthless Russian.
He is hot on the trail of Madame Va-
leska, and is in no mood for dalliance.
After a trying half hour, in which a
revolver plays a major part, Borolky
leaves, temporarily beaten but making
dire threats at the head of the house
of Applejohn.
Poor Ambrose, entirely exhausted, is
forced to sit up through the long night
with a revolyer and his ward, Poppy,
at his side,-the one to provide him
with security, the other with coffee
and comfort.
Leadershp,-or Death
Then Appleohn becomes upset by
the unaccustomed late hours, the ex-
tra amount of cocee, and th'e super-
numary exciting visitors, and he has
a bad dream, in which he reverts to
type, and assumes a position as com-
mander of a pirate ship, like his dis-
reputable grandfather, and a name,
not Applejohn, but Applejack. Borol-
sky, the crook, becomes Borolsky, the1
pirate; Anna, the beautiful Russian,
transformed into a Spanish girl, the
cause of rivalry between Borolsky and
Captain Applejack. Romance, satire,
and juggling of character, make a!
most ravishing combination for the
story.
At the end of the second act the
two of them, the pirate captain and
the mutineer, cut cards for leader-
ship, and the fate o.' the loser is death.
They draw, two cuts out of three;
there is suspense as to the winner;
and the curtain descends..
hTF romi Th Files
In the files of the U. of M. Daily of
June 30, 1898, an article appeared
from which an excerpt follows:
"The matinee given by the Comedy
Nelson Tells
Of Trials Met
In Rehearsals
J. Raleigh Nelson, director of the
Comedy club, sat mopping his fore-
head at the close of the rehearsal,
beaming with evident satisfaction at -
the vivid mutiny scene in Act II. Asked
to comment on his impression of the-
play, he ran on in his characteristic ,$: #1{
fashion:
"Cave man stuff! There now, just -.
as I thought! You see this wickedx
old pirate play is going to corrupt
my vocabulary as well as my morals.
I dare say I shall be as profane as's,
Captain Applejack for the next six - -
months. Having been so severelyE-:
scored on a past occasion by a young .
critic for expunging one awful epi-
thet from Higgin's rather lurid reper-:
tory in Shaw's "Pygmalion," I really
didn't dare refine the play too much.:- .- ...,
Rockwell Good Pirate
"The rehearsal of Act II is certainly
one strenuous occasion! I alway.
feel like calling the roll at the end
to see how many fatalities there have
been. Of course Charles Livingstone>
does not count, for he is supposed to -; - - ;
be killed. And how gorgeously and ."' ....:::.:*,.:
with what unction Jack Hassberger
picks him off. But the pirate crew
with men the size and energy t Rock- - -.:.
well and Parnall stage a mutiny that
makes me ear for ears and eyes and
noses. You may be relieved to know
that so far all the cast is intact.
"It's a queer play. It is built up
deliberately of all the stage tricksj
known to melodrama and farce. The
wind whistles about the old house, Comedy Club will present its for- of Prof. J. Rahiegh Nelson. Among 24, and John Hassberger, '25M. Bot-
the waves swish against the cliff, tieth annual play, Walter Hackett's the members of the cast are, left to tom row, Margaret Effinger, '26, Lester
lights go on and off, doors bang, thugs, Captain Applejack, Wednesday and right: Top row, Phyllis Turnbull, '26, Palmiter, '24, Elizabeth Pike, '24, and
vampires and crooks of every sort Friday nights, April 2 and 4, at the Charles Livingstone. '25, and Rhea William Spanagel, '25E.
slink in and out, there are mysterious Whitney Theatre, under the direction Sch-laak, '24. Center, Edward Parnall,
knocking's and, of course, 'the deaf r
of Act II, one wild -melodranatic
thriller: .
Even the text shows' the same emn-
THE CLUB'S HISTORY
plyeto lwr tg eie:'H EL t'H O&Applejohn says to the butler who)
enters suddenly, 'What -is 'it Lush?':
"It is ten -o'clock, sir." --
"I wrote it myself," says Johnnfy -
,Jason of the parc-hment. - By Valentmine L. Davies play which opened the best period of attention to details of setting and
"You wrote it yourself,"m echoes odern English comedy for Goldsmith lighting.
Applejohn blanLky. j ne of the most interesting features and Sheridan were followers of Far- Professor Strauss, at that time
"You wrote it yourself" pipes Poppy. of Michigan has been its steady -h!rchairman of the Committee on Dra-i
"I wrote it myself," affirs Jason. growth from a tiny pioneer school of .u..r.matics, in his report to the University
"ie wrote it himself," fainti gasps the west to one of the leading uni- A number of plays of a similar cali- Senate, on commenting on the play
Applejohn sinking down half dazed. versities of America. No less interest- ber followed during the next years. said: 1
Play Fiiil of Humor - ing has been the growth of the various Barrie's "The Admirable Creighton," "After this most extravagant praise
"It is one consistent fabric of tricks, campus organizations which helped 1909; "The Inspector," by Gogol, 1910; of our two most pretentious produc-
-a sort of convention of venerable to give Michigan the name it has to- "The Title Mart, by Winston tions (the Opera and the Junior Giris'
stage tricks. Farce, melodrama, but day. Churchill, 1911; "The Magistrate," by. Play), it may seem surprising to hear
above all burlesque. For in a subtle Comedy club was one of the first Arthur Wig Pinero, 1912 "Money, that in our opinion the palm for gen-
and persuasive fashion the whole play dramatic organizations to be developed by Bulwer Lytton, 1913; "The Scare- ral excellence this year - rightfully
purposes to make all these tricks ap- on this campus. Organized in 1885 crow," by Percy Mackaye, 1914; "Po-i belongs to the Comedy club.
pear ridiculous. And while the plot as the University Dramatic club, its mander Walk," by Stuart Louis Par-: Club Praised by Strauss
Some Of Club's
Alumni Are On
Broadway Now
{ Of the several former members of
Comedy club who have followed their
collegiate activity in dramatics witl
professional success on the stage,
Phyllis Povah, ex-'16, of course. Is
easily the most striking instance. Fol-
lowing a rather colorful and tempera-
mental career on the campus she be-
came connected with Sam Hume and
his work in the Detroit Arts and Craftsm
Theatre.
This invaluable experience led to an
engagement as a "Lady" in "Abraham
Lincoln." Luckily the play became
phenomenally famous and she was
next able to procure an understudy
role in a Theatre Guild production.
The casting committee of the Guild,
again luckily for her, were so at-
tracted by her personality that she
was cast in the really important in-
genue role of Milne's "Mr. Pim Passes
By. S
With this engagement came critical
approval and her rise then became
meteoric, through parts in "Hospital-
ity" and "Icebound" to the leading role
in John Galsworthy's latest play,
"Windows."
Norman Hackett, ex-'95, is another
recognized actor who once starred in
the Comedy club productions. His
career has carried him through many
successful seasons of Broadway suc-
cesses, always earning for him well-
deserved praise. His latest roles were
in George M. Cohan's "The Tavern"
and Sommerset Maugham's sophisti-
cated comedy "The Circle."
Thenlistinow. becomes thinner and
can only include many whose talents
are well known on the campus, but
who have not yet won specificatten-
tion elsewhere. Mary True, '15, is
one, Mildred Henry another, and Kath-
erine Greenough, Lewis Stoneman,
There is also Amy Loomis, who
seems the most promising of this
group. She has only recently com-
pleted a course in the American Acad-
emy of Dramatic Arts with highest
honors, and according to the reports
is now awaiting that difficult but in-
evitable first Broadway engagement.
And perhaps-one need not laugh
too loudly--there even may be on the
campus today, and in the present
membership of Comedy club, possibly
in the very cast of the forthcoming
"Captain Applejack," budding mater-
ial for future stardust.
Designs Special
Scenery For Play
Specially designed and constructed
scenery will be one of the features
which will make "Captain Applejack,"
Comedy club's fortieth annual play,
rank with the leading campus produc-
tions of the season.
The set is being built by 0. S.
Davis, of the New Detroit Opera
house, from original designs by Prof.
J. Raleigh Nelson, the club's director.
The paintings are being done by D.
L. Cornell, master painter of the
New Detroit Opera house.'l
Professor Nelson, who has made
several trips to Detroit to look over
the progress of the work, stated that
the scenery is being unusually well
finished in every detail, and that he
is more than satisfied.
Special lighting equipment will ac-
company the scenery from Detroit, as
many unusual lighting effects are re-
quired in the production of "Captain
Applejack," and it has been found
necessary to augment the standard
equipment of the Whitney Theatre..
terpretation it demands fine acting.
Mildred Henry, who starred at Eliza,
received unstinted praise. Two out-
of-town performances of "Pygmalion"
were given, one at Port Huron, and.
one at Mt. Clemens.
"Mr. Pim Passes By," last year's
play, is too fresh in the minds of the
public to need comment. In some
ways it was the most perfect from the
standpoint of acting, for a small cast
of unusually even excellence brought
another triumph to the club and to
Professor Nelson.
On Wednesday night, April 2nd
Friday night, April 4th, the Co
Club will present as its fortieth
nual play, Walter Hackett's ami
and brilliant comedy, "Captain A
jack." The two performances ai
be given at the Whitney Theatre
der the direction of Prof. J. Ra:
r Nelson.
As in the old days when the Cor
Club was the only dramatic orga
tion at the University, and its an
play was one of the big social e
of the University year, the pr
-performances are to be sponsore
the President, the Deans, and 1
wives, who are to act as patron
the club.
Added zest is given to the play
year by the fact that the Fridayn
performance has been listed on
program of special attractons -foxi
two -thousand or more teachers in
Arbor for the meeting of the Mich
Schoolmasters Club. It was tho
Captain Applejack-2 col 30 pt..
by the directors that a play give
the University's oldest dramatic
ganization would be of special v
to the visiting teachers in view of
I -great interest throughout the:b
schools in amateur dramatics.
Patronage Increasing'.
CThe play this year is a rather in
concession on the part of the clu
the demands of its patrons for a p
Jar play. Comedy Club has foRf
years maintained a high standar
production and has a Very honor
record. Its aim has ibeen to pre
each year one representative Eng
omedy in a thoroughly adequate f
ion, an'd its choices have been rmx
very seriously. The last five y
have seen "Alice-Sit-By-the-F
"Bunty Pulls thetrins" "yg
Ion,' and "Mr. Pim Passes By,"-
given with marked success.,-
While eaci yearhas"seen 'a
growth in patronage, the ampui
large has rather insisted that for c
at least a recent'ppular 'success
given.Ands so"CaptainAlpa ea
which ran so brilliantly in Lont
and then 1W New York, and which
even invaded the movies, has b
chosen.
The play is quite unlike anyti
else- in the whole: field of dram
literature. It is at once a parod
burlesque, and a satire, and a fa
with very evident intent to make g
natured fun of the mystery play
the thrilling melodrama that has b
so popular of late. Yet It also mi
tains some of the very finest tr
tions of English comedy. It is at- o
robust melodrama, and almost bar
esque in its delicate and subtle ha
ing of situations. The love scene
the third act, as an example, betw
Ambrse Applejohn and Poppy F
is as exquisite a bit of romance as
will ever find.
Will Play "Pinafore" Muse
The production will be well sel
scenery designed by the director
I painted by 0. S. Davis,. of Deti
while the costumes and properties
befits the play, will be very colo
and picturesque.
As an additional attraction, the
school orchestra, augmented by a
professional players, will repeat
both performances the music
"Pinafore" which they rendered at
recent very successful production
'that delightful old opera.
Professor Nelson says that he fe
that nothing could so well put
audience in just the mood for en;
ing the peculiar charm of "Capi
Applejack,' as the "Pinafore" mu
for, while the play is full of h
raising thrillers and has at times
breathless suspense of the mod
mystery play, it is altogether one
the most satiric plays of recent ye
And after all most of its exciting :
ments are quite on the order of "G
ness me! What was that?"
"Goodness me! It was the cat!"
lHassberger Has Lead
The cast intself includes many
the best known players on the c
pus. The leading role of Ambi
Applejohn is carried by John Ha
berger, '25M, who was Rab in "Bu
Pulls the Strings," Freddy in "F
mnalion," and Nedda in the last Un
Opera. Anna Valeska, the' Russ
dancer, is played by Elizabeth F
'24, who was Tai Fah Min i Masq
production of "The Yellow Jack
+,,- tw v c, stn ot, n ._ M r-rthrmt,,, inh "'
is so gripping, and the situations fol-
low each .other so simply and are so
truly thrilling, the whole effort is de-
liclusly amusing.
"One curious difficulty is that, since
the author insists that it all be played
wi.h perfect seriousness,, as far as the
a tors are concerned, it must be ear--
nest work. That isn't so easy. I have'
never worked with young people with
such a keen, fine- appreciation of con-I
edy values as Hassberger, Elizabeth'
Pike and Phyllis 'Turnbull. They are
succeeding admirably - in doing the
thing right, but at times my apprecia
tion of how funny it all is quite upsets
the necessary seriousness of the situ-I
ations.
j
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IlHas(lever Interludes
"Another interesting feature of the
play is the fact that, contrasting with
the rough pirate and burglar scenes,
are interludes as delicately worked'
out as scenes from a Barrie play. Per-1
sonally these lovely interludes are a
comfort and joy to me after the stren-,
uous passages at arms aboard the
pirate ship of old Ambrose Applejack."
The mention of the ship brought
Professor Nelson back to the business
at hand and with a smile he turned
to his. fascinating and painstaking
work of training pirates and heroes, )
villains and vampires, fortheComedy
Club's fortieth annual production-l
"Captain Applejack."
Campbell Lauds
Choice Of Play'
Professor Oscar J. Campbell of the ,
English department has expressed his,
opinion of the play, 'Captain Apple-
jack," which members of Comedy Club
are presenting on April 7, as follows:
,
!
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first presentation was "The Serious ker, 1915; and J. M. Barrie's "The A u 4'v"yr
Family," a comedy directed by Pro- Professor's Love Story," 1916, all help- "The choice of Barrie's 'Alice-Sit-
Lessor de Pont. ed to establish the Comedy club's by-the-Fire' was a distinctly hazard-
A number of plays of the same gen- present position in the public mind. ous one, calculated to test severely
A S.rtenumber of plays theresurcs ofan matur rgaiza
cral character followed, none of which Startd tRegularieetings the resourc ay is eamateur ordaini
were- particularly noteworthy, but Then came the war and with it the fanciful and whimsically fragile than
which at least served the dramatic club's most turbulent days. In an cweuxpendtwhindialBarie thd.
Ian we expect to find a Barrie comedy.
needs of the time. effort to give the campus something That it was 'put across' successfully,
Club Reorganized in a lighter vein, to counteract the' is a distinct triumph for the club
In . the early nineties the old Dra- , grim reports from overseas, the club, and its director, Professor Nelson. Ad-
matic club ceased to exist, and was in spite of its diminishing strength, mirably cast, carefully staged, with
then reorganized as the present Corn- put forth its best efforts to make Je- fine appreciation of the demands of
edy club. This, new club continued rome's "Miss Hobbs" and Mason's ;setting and properties, remarkally
the policies as those of the older, or- "Green Stockings" come up to itsi effective by reason of the exceptional-
ganization, choosing its plays from the traditional standards. ey adequate reading of the lines by
current successes of the day. Re-! With peace and the year 1920 came virtually every member of the cor-
ports of this period are not too satis- renewed life and activity. Regular pany and, above all, entirely free from
factory. monthly meetings- were inaugurated, M the distressing barbarities of pronun-
The club seems to have been a at each of which one or two short ciation and provincialism of enuncla-
closed corporation, which functioned plays Ivere presented by a selected tion that have harrowed us in the
for the most part as a sociel group, cast, staged and directed under the a past, the performance seemed to bring
and membership was gained by dra- supervision of various members of delight to every person in the audi-
matic friendship rather than dramatic the club. The plays were then dis- ence.
ability. In spite of this, however, the cussed and the presentation criticized. "Professor Nelson excels in finding
club had many members of real tal-- Thus, aside from giving a few public the right actor for each part and in
ent, and its annual performances were performances annually, the members training his cast to bring out the most
very popular. Such plays as "The gained a more thorough understand- delicate shades of the author's mean-
Private Secretary," "A Night Off," and ing of drama and the actual problems ing Most praiseworthy, as was hint-
"All the Comforts of Home," were of its presentation. eg before pris fulfillment of his
presented in a quite acceptable man- -,The meetings were continued up obligations to the English language.
ner. to the present season, when, for the: The students who have worked under
The obvious deficiencies of the club first time, they were opened to the his direction derive a permanent ben-
wvere soon recognized, however, and public, with unusual success. The pro- efit from his instruction in this im-
thanks to the interest of Prof. Louis grams consisted of such plays as portant particular."
A, Strauss a complete reorganization O'Neill's "The Dreamy Kid," and "'Op Following a success such as this,
was affected in 1908. At that time the 10' Me Thumb." The final program, it would seem inevitable that the fol-
present system of tryouts for member- which! was one of the outstanding lowing year's performance would
ship was introduced, a change which presentations of the year, consisted of ome as an anti-climax. Such was
was one of the greatest factors in the Yeat's "At the Hawk's Well" and "The cot the case, however, for in 1921 Mof-
later development of the club. Key," by Ferenc Molnar, both given fat's "Bunts Pulls the Strings" was
Chose Good Plays for the first time in America. The t
Followig ' therepresentedonwith equally as much suc-
Following the reorganization, the success of "At the Hawk's Well" was cess as Professor Nelson's first pro-
practice of choosing plays of some such that, at the request of the Ypsi- duction.
literary worth was adopted, although lanti Players, it was given in their Played in Port Huron
this has never been the primary ob- theatre as a special attraction on en For this play one of the most beau-
ject in the choice of plays. Comedy of their programs. For ahi layone se ms eu-
- - ,. , ,.. ~tiful and elaborate settings ever used
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