Theater: Dark Side of the Masque

The escaped convict in this week's production of The Desperate Hours at the Mineola Playhouse on Long Island is a Negro—Sammy Davis Jr. When first seen on Broadway seven years ago, he was white—Paul Newman. Davis' talents give the role a snarling power it has seldom had since Newman played it, and it scarcely matters that the convict has changed his race. All the same, Davis' presence in the play is remarkable; it is one of the very few times that a Negro actor has stepped into a part specifically written for...