Judge — September 28, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Revelry in Rela By Lawton Mackall ys: edy is a: series of agreeable interrup- tions. The open- ing ensemble is in- terrupted (after the giddy gathering of curtain raisers has sufficiently sung and en- sembled) by the frolicsome entrance of the comedian; his antics, in turn, are inte rupted by the knotty-ankled dancing pair; their eccentric lilting and climbing over fur- niture are interrupted by the hero who has a song on his MUSICAL com- When a row of young women come prancing in, agitating their nether limbs in a fervid manner, don’t think them forward; they are merely doing their duty in covering up the retreat of some personage whose with- drawal at that time seemed best for the general good. Besides, they too must give away as soon as their activi- ties cease to be an indispen- sable industry. As in serious opera, the chief dramatic conflict, or chest which he must get rid of even though he has to pucker his forehead severely while doing so; his lyrical heaving is interrupted by the chorus, disguised with a fresh set of costumes, who sneak in upon him in the encore dusk through various doors, hedges, stairways, colonnades and other recognized approaches; these lesser ladies are in- terrupted in their parting kicks by the entrance of the pensive heroine and her expensive father—and so it goes, till the alas-it-can-never-be misunderstanding scene at the close of the first act, which staves off the inevitable clinch and provides an excuse for a second act (after an intermis- sion interruption), is interrupted by a lustily despairful finale. And so, through this second section, till the grand and long- awaited lineup at the footlights, when everybody is songfully clasping the nearest convenient mate and teetering to the tune that hopes to be a hit—till this culminating event is interrupted by all persons in the audience grabbing for their hats and grub- bing for their rubbers. If these interruptions come often enough, it is a good show. Truly, in musical comedy butting-in is carried to a fine art. Modesty is shielded; the fair one who is ready to sling herself gracefully into her tenor’s musi- cally outstretched arms is re- strained from doing so until a seemly number of stunts have in- tervened. Think of the anemic jests which a comedian might at- tempt were it not for some happy imtrusion! <A statistician has computed that even a dull hero who rescues the heroine only once saves the audience from seven and three-eighths feeble fooleries each time he comes burbling on the scene. 5 a deportment les Enter a Drat Violet Heming, spy-catcher in “Three Faces Ea on entitled: Horo to g-Room in Berlin, mutual-interruption bee, is between the music and the acting. When the eyes have it, the ears are overruled and must take what they can get. There is a certain crow-like quality of voice which indicates that the per- son endeavoring to sing is presently going to do a clever dance; just as there is a birdlike quality of voice which xplains why they let in an apparent sea-cow. When the famous beauty chorus of “He Didn’t Want to Do It” kicked up their heels, there was no occasion for the Three Graces to feel shelved. A thoroughly pleasing vocal recital is given by Tavie Belge in “Fiddlers Three.” She sings several pretty songs with a rich- ness and power such as have not been heard on our light amuse- ment stage in year: and she enunciates faithfully the English words she has learned for the oc- casion; nay more, she duly tod- dles out in blue knickers at the exciting moment when the violin contest impends, and registers plump anxiety. Not many con- cert artists would take that much trouble to please an audience. Interrupting her recital from time to time is quite a bright operetta. Hal Skelley is amusing as a lanky rapid-fire comedian; Louise Groody is winsome and all that sort of thing as a song-and- dance lady (she can actually do both effectively); Josie Intropidi is droll as a semi-suppressed yet flirtatious mama, and the chorus keeps things moving. There is in this town a di- minutive person so bubblingly re- sourceful that one hates to see her interrupted even by a good com dian and a ripping chorus. She herself is heroine, mimic, acrobat, comedienne, prima donna. Don’t miss Mitzi in “Head Over Heels.” comicbooks.com