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=r zr 5 a December 29, 1928 WINNETKA TALK THEATRE GUILD STARTS REHEARSALS ON PLAYS "The Dummy" and "The Old Homestead" Will Be Pre- sented Early in 1929 An unusual announcement from the officers of the North Shore Theatre Guild names the plays selected for the two coming productions, that of Jan- uary and that of March." Under the direction of David Owen, the Guild is planning diligent work for the next several months, with these two of the four annual plays taking the center of the stage. "The Dummy" is a four act comedy which will be presented in January. The play is the result of the collabora- tion of Harvey O'Higgins and Harriet Ford, and it has had much successful professional handling as well as ama- teur. "The Dummy" is the story of the adventures of a little girl who is kid- napped by a New York gang and held for ransom, and the plot centers around this twelve-year old girl and the four- teen-year old messenger boy of the Detective Agency, who furnish most of the thrills. To begin at the beginning, the girl is the only child of a mother and father who have separated, and her disappearance causes them no alarm at first because each thinks her to be in the custody of the other. The mother, however, has secured the services of the great detective, Bab- bing, and his trained operatives have located the leader of the kidnappers. Faced with the facts, the parents be- come frantic and demand action to- ward the release of their daughter. "The Dummy," a loquacious messenger boy who aspires to be a "great detec- tive," feigns to be deaf and dumb and manages to be kidnapped by the same gang. They hide him in the same rooms with the little girl, and adventure fol- lows adventure until at last the final curtain falls with the lost child re- stored and the messenger boy counting his reward. . Unusual Drama "The Dummy" is unusual among plays because the leading characters are both so decidedly juvenile. The Guild's technical department is faced with the necessity of constructing a three-set production, one of which is the interior of a cabin in the Eastern mountains, and scenery of more than usual interest is promised by Richard Woellhaf, technician. In March will be presented the big- gest of the year's productions, a revival of "The Old Homestead." "The Old Homestead" is a play which was played extensively all over America as long ago as 1890. It was written by Den- man Thompson, written by him, for him and around him, and he alone played the leading character part, that of Old Josh Whitcomb. Story has it that Denman Thompson was cast in the role of Josh Whitcomb in some lesser and not so successful production of which the main attraction was Thompson and his work, and that when that play went to the discard, taking advantage of his personal suc- cess, Thompson wrote "The Old Home- stead" and cast himself in the first presentation. At any rate, we know that the piece was immensly success- ful and that it was presented every- where from the dramatic centers of the world to the smallest opera house in the rusticity which the play so com- pletely describes. Age-Old Story The story is age-old and never with- out popular appeal. It mingles the humorous and the pathetic in excellent, fashion. Old Josh Whitcomb's boy has left the farm in Vermont and has gone to the big city of New York, and nary a word has been heard from him since he left. So Josh betakes himself to the big city in search of his heir, Change in Scout Leadership Walter McPeek North shore people interested in Boy Scout activities in this vicinity are soon to say farewell to one Scouting leader and welcome his successor. Which is to say that Walter McPeek, Scout executive for the North Shore Area council, Boy Scouts of America, is re- linquishing his duties here January 1 to engage in Scouting leadership at Milwaukee. Mr. McPeek will be suc- Myron O. Rybolt ceeded by Myron O. Rybolt, for the past four years on the staff of the Kansas City, Mo., Scout council. Mr, Rybolt assumes his new responsibilities here January 10. Firemen's Benefit Ball to be Held January 26 The Winnetka Fire department has announced that its annual benefit ball will be held Saturday, January 26, at Community House. The proceeds re- ceived from the dance are used partly for the Firemen's Pension fund of the village, partly for the benefit of the Winnetka unit of the Illinois Firemen's association, and partly for the benefit of individual members of the Winnetka Fire department. GREETINGS FROM EUROPE Christmas greetings have been re- ceived from Frederick E. Clerk, super- intendent of New Trier High school, who, with his family, is in Europe this winter studying educational methods on the Continent. and the rest is his adventures in this land of wickedness and bright lights. Under North Shore Theatre Guild handling, "The Old Homestead" will be produced in the style of 1890, with authentic costuming and incidental music of the period. Old songs will be revived, songs not heard for many years, and it is certain the Guild au- diences will contain many who will re- member seeing the play and hearing the songs when the play was the big- gest hit of the American stage. The cast of the play is large, and the Guild will take advantage of the opport: so seldom afforded to develop some of the new talent which is so plenteous on the north shore. In Winnetka January 18-19 "The Dummy," in its itinerary along the north shore, will reach Winnetka Friday, January 18, and will also play Saturday, January 19. The place. will be the Jane Kuppenheimer Memorial Hall at Skokie school. Mrs. Merritt Lum is the North Shore Theatre Guild chairman in Winnetka, and Mrs. James C. Murray holds the position in Kenilworth. Information about the Guild and its activities may be secured from either Chairman, or you are in- vited to call at the Studio of the Guild in Tvanston, the Varsity Theatre Building, to see and hear about the Guild in the several phases of its work. "The Christian Y ear," Subject of Sermon at Christ Church "The Christian Year" will be the subject of the sermon to be given to- morrow morning by the Rev. E. Ash- ley Gerhard at the 11 oclock services at Christ church. There will be a Communion service in the chapel at 7:30 o'clock tomorrow morning and the Church school will meet as usual for its two sessions in the Parish House at 9:30 and 11 o'clock. There is to be a celebration of the Holy Communion New Year's Day morning in the chapel at 9:30 o'clock, and a Communion service Thursday morning, January 3, at 9:30 o'clock in the chapel. At the turn of the year--turn to the CLASSIFIED AD PAGES where it's always your turn to share "in opportunities. THUNDEROUS OVATION ACCORDED HOROWITZ Master Pianist of the Age Plays Before Host of Music Lovers at Gymnasium By Rutheda L. Pretzel Vliadimar Horowitz, startling Rus- sian pianist, played to several thous- and Chicago and north shore folk at the New Trier High school gymnasium Wednesday evening, December 26. He received rapt attention while he played, and deafening applause when he fin- ished. Unusual intelligence, extraor- dinarily accurate fingers and the inde- scribable, intangible divine spark make him one of the greatest pianists of this age. Against a background of sturdy pine trees and stripped bareness of the gymnasium wall, he seemed almost un- real. A black silhouette hunched over the white keyboard, part of the dyna- mic lines of the piano. A man of angles, electric force. Tall, pale, and remote with his high forehead, bleak nose, sharp chin and deep-set eyes. One does not have a sense of ease as he plays, but of perfection accom- plished through conscious, complete control and intensive concentration. He has hardly any arm movement, and few mannerisms. When he wants power one merely sees his shoulders rise up as he draws a tremendous, un- believable amount of it in a complete line from his toes through his body and out his finger tips. He is like a runner straining at the rope, ready for the race, every muscle alert. One is reminded of Wanda Landowska, for both have the same crisp, controlled finger action. Dining on Ambrosia To hear a Scarlatti Sonata and Caprie- cio played by Horowitz is to dine on ambrosia. Absolutely clean playing, it was, amazingly flexible. The Chopin Ballade in G Minor was a different piece than that played by all other pianists, for Horowitz goes at it de- liberately, making it grow and grow until one is breathless. It was even more exciting when he made a mis- take and described an impatient, elec- tric, circular gesture over the key- board. The two Mazurkas and the three Etudes of Chopin were meticu- lously executed. He does the impos- sible with the pianissimo and always there are his pedal effects to add new beauty. He caught the spirit of the dance, purified it and made it marvel- ously graceful. The Minuet waltz was offered as an encore, and here again he approached it in a distinctly original way. Miniatures of Daintiness Poulenc's Trois Movements Perpet- uels were miniatures of daintiness, and there was a dresden fragility in De- bussy's Serenade a la Poupee. Sharper contours were reserved for Ravel's Jeaux d'Eau. As for the two Liszt numbers, the Sonnete del Petrario and the Valse Oubilee, one can only say that they were perfect. In them his hands looked unearth- ly, almost immortal. He concluded his program with variations on two themes of Bizet's Carmen. It was superbly played, and it was so full of fire and color, so boldly conceived, that it brought cheers and thunderous ovations. Horowitz is a comet. Whether he will still be blazing his way through the music firmament when he is as old as Paderewski re- mains to be seen. Needless to sav, the eves of critics and all music lovers are riveted upon him. CLOSE FOR HOLIDAY The Winnetka Public Library will close at 6 o'clock Monday . evening. December 31, and will be closed on New Year's day.