Life — May 13, 1915 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

THE LEADING WOMAN CHARGING FOUR DOLLARS FOR TWO-DOLLAR SEATS. Nef THE PLOT ALMOST ANY DRAMA Moral from a Musical Show bs MODERN EVE, suggestive of humor, fun and clever satire, tuneful Good title that for a musical piece, mus‘c, of course, being incidental. In it there is also an ig) intimation of that liberal disclosure of feminine charms. to which the girl-and-music show of the day is sup- posed especially to lend itself. In all these things this piece is a disappointment. “A Modern Eve” provides an excellent example of the principal grievance nursed against critics by producing managers. The managers allege that after they have spent oodles of money and large quantities of energy, all this goes for nothing and is utterly destroyed because the men who write for the newspapers tell the public that the final result is not artistic or entertaining. There is not so much frank criticism to be found in the daily prints that this accusation has much foundation, but the managers never fail to urge it when any critic is permitted by the advertising de- partment of his journal to tell the truth about an expensive but stupid production. C~o F the critic would keep his mouth shut, a large part of the public might be fooled, temporarily at least, into thinking that a show with nothing but glare and glitter to recommend it was really worth seeing and hearing. The manager ts quite right in his belief that a great many of the people can be fooled all the time and in basing his plan of investment and expenditure on that theory. Honest criticism is sup- posed to be written with a somewhat higher degree of intelligence than that which can be fooled by the tricks of the showman. It would be a mighty poor critic who would base his judgment of merit on the managerial standard of what might possibly be put over on the unirtelligent crowd which goes where there is the biggest noise. RELVES Ik the case of “A Modern Eve” it is not possible to say here what the statements of the reviewers on the daily newspapers will be, as this is written before their notices will appear. Those of them who are permitted to write with a free hand are likely to coincide in the opinion that it is the same old thing done in the same old way. It is the product of several persons listed on the programme, none of them of eminencc. There is the usual pretentious scenery and a profusion of costume without regard to cost. One of the costume combinations, with every one in strongly contrasting red and white, is the most effective thing in the piece. The score is a conglomerate, with no attempt to get away from the sort of thing which the restaurant orchestras pense daily and nightly, and have dispensed to the point of weari- ness. The book seems to bear no relation to the title, and certainly gains no inspiration from it. The comedians get most of their few laughs by individual gags or horseplay rather than from anything in the way of wit or humor supplied by the authors. It is depressing to see the possi- bilities of Messrs. William Norris, Ernest Glendenning, Miss Geor; Drew Mendum and Miss Leila Hughes wasted on such matcrial. The young women of the chorus are numerous and up to the prevalent standard of good looks in their line of work. As usual, they provoke wonderment in regard to why chorus girls, presumably young and good looking, are permitted to disfigure themselves with the absurd and inar- tistically exaggerated make-up as they affect. RR CRERHEA9S3S OMING at a very slack time, “A Modern Eve” is prin- cipally valuable as an object lesson. Like many other pieces of its kind, it shows that in America we need a lot of the artistic brains, the artistic refinement and artistic spirit which makes most of the musical plays imported from England so much better than ozr own. If they turned their comicbooks.com