Judge — January 19, 1929 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

s the table at the bottem of this page last week I I listed hat Ferguson Family” at the Little Theatre among the plays that [ would review I did not know at the time that Mr Gustav Blum was the producer, Some months « I announced that Mr. Blum showed no capacity what soever as a producer, that 1 deelined to. waste any further precious time reviewing his efforts, and that I had requested him politely to refrain from send ing me tickets to his presentations in the future. No review of “That Ferguson Family” will ther fore appear in this department. in this issue. TT two musical shows that I have visited re- cently, “The Red Robe" at the Shubert) and Hello, Daddy,” at the Fields, both offer clements of interest. While I am getting to be a little fed up on the kind of romantic musical comedy in which the heroic tenor elaborately stabs the air with his sword and, backed by chorus men dressed as high- waymen, vagabonds, guards of the castle or sans culottes, glares with fer: us masculinity at the eus- tomers out front and sings indignantly about the joys of the open read or his affection for his trusty blade, I nevertheless found myself sitting at the former exhibit with a considerable measure of enter tainment. True cnough, that mood of entertainment disappeared at such times as the alleged comedians came on and negotiated their particular brand of hilarity, but during the rest of the proceedings Jean Gilbert's ably sung and attractive tunes and the libretto brewed from the old Stanley J. Weyman novel sufficed pleasantly to engage the attention of this professor. The comedians to whom I have alluded are the Theatre tall” (Coburn) business on sputha, Ase, at Insacence . “aretiere® (48h Sire “And on Iifeless dramatiaatc a ‘Animal Crackers” (44th Street) The Ma Reve (Sbetert)—some Gollan inthe gat maer ey “The Squealer” (Forrest) —Tripe. , Wal ver Woolf and 4 s ” ata and) Ha “The High Rosé” (Fulton) —M. a ase to bis mark. but p (Emp —More gon 4 the Mile. Star lobe) —Prof. Dr 1 nifties Caprice” (Guild)—See next week's By GEORGE JEAN NATHAN M. Barry Lupine and the M. Barnett: Parker. I hope Ido not unduly offend the Lupino family wher I say that T have now seen enough of them. The Lupino family’s idea of comedy has from birth econ sisted in periodic sudden falls upon the Lupino fam ily’s separate hinter-spots, and my bookkeeper in forms me that, up to and including “The Red Robe, [ have in the course of the last two decades seen the various members of the Lupino family fall ex actly 315,867 times upon their various rear nate mies. I therefore conclude that I may now call it aday, As for the M. Parker, all that T can discerr in him is a matriculate of the bubble and cho helch-stifling school headed currently by Geo Hassell M. Hassell is in “Hello, Dadi that makes the score 0 to 2. But the o are not on the sta frequently enough to d the show and, accordingly, “The Red Robe” ms y com mended to you for an evening's pastime As for “Hello, I friend, Lew Fields. If the truth must be however, this Lew, once so estimable a za comed ddy,” the star is our old Swiss v5 is no longer the funny fellow of other days. As a fact, his efforts © pretty the lines that he has been given; it may be because, it place of the old Weber-Fields regalia, he chooses te dress himself up very doggily like an English juve nile; or it may be because nothing ages so quickly a a music show comedian, Whatever the reason, the M. Fields is certainly not the gay boy he used. te matter of ent show t low comedy in the pres reble. Tt may be the fault of be. It is fortunate for him, inasmuch as he has money in the show, that there are other supports. Among these supports are James McHugh’s tunes. (Continued on page 28) Digest “Lady Dedioed” (\mbassardor)—Same here “The Gacler’s Wench" (Hudeor ogi Sign of the Leopard” (National) Cheap, dull mystery teller “Whoopee” (New Amstentasn)—T! Rev. Dr. Cantor o bis mettle. Pleasant littl staged and played “This Year ef Grace” (Selwyn) —I sti De engaging features. )—Richard Ben- na ma “The Jealous Moen” (Majestic) —The Mile. Cowl's top. “Wings Over Europe” (Beck) Inter sting for what it migbt have been (Masque)—At_ the “The Front Page” (Times More plays like this and you'd complaints about rotten theatrical b ach Play Without » Mame” ([ooth) (Moreaco) Billie” (Eslanger)—Diverting Cob The Wild Duck” (49h Street) can't agree that there is anything in it A —— comicbooks.com