The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-10-23
OPENING NIGHT AT THEATERS
Lively Elsie Janis In the Hilarious
Vanderbilt Cup"

Lively Elsie Janis In the Hilarious
''VanderBiIt Cup"
When a company Of farce comedians,
with lively little Elsie Janis at their
head start out to do an automobile play,
with Eddie Bald and Barney Oldheld as
pace-makers, it is almost as easy to i'm
agine beforehand what is going to hap
pen than to see distinctly or understand
clearly what is happening while the pro-
ceedings are going on, OF to recall pre-
cisely what has been doing when it is
all over The makings Of a thought Of
this kind probably took vague form in
the subcOnsciOusness of many of the
large audience that Witnessed the swift.
bewildering. and hilarious hodge-podge OF
dancing, singing, burlesque, moving pic
lures, automobile racing. and limitations
Of noted stage people by Elsie Janis. which
constitute sydney Rosenfeld's new auto
mobile musical comedy, The Vanderbilt
Cup put on at the New National Thea
ter last night. n Is a rapid performance
from start 20 finish, and no mstake-so
rapid that the fun Is almost disintegrated
and sWrled at the audience in the form
Of dust that gives the flavor rather than
the substance But for those that like
that sort OF thing. there is a-plenty in
THE Vanderbilt Cup" and there was
plainly no lack Of people at the Ma
tional last night who were i'm search OF
IL and believed they had found what they
were after, as shown by their laughter
and applause. Pretty little Elsie Janis
was rather lost i'm the swirl and rush
Of of F,ftf br
generally managed to dctach herself from
the confusion Of the background and
come 10 the front where the friendly au-
dience could get the fun benefit OF her
dainty person and graceful dancing. That
her singing voice should be foggy was
not at all surprising, considering the riot
Of hilarity and nonsense, and the dc1fen-
ing whirr OF mogul motor cars going On
about her most Of the time She had
her uninterrupted inning i'm the third act
however, when she gave her Wcll-known
and remarkably clever limitations OF most
OF the noted stage favorites of the day
and some that have crossed the divide.
In these she is very amusing, as those
who have seen her i'm previous seasons
well know.
At the end Of the second act. she came
before the curtain and thanked the audi
J..
and hoped they were having as good "a
time as her stage uncle was giving her in
New York Eddie Bald and Barney Old
field, still with the dust Of the race on
them. also appeared before the curtain,
as did Otis Harlan and Henry Y. Donnel-
~. who make things lively as a sporty
lawyer and the gay old uncle Of the
heroine. respectively. The illusion IN the
automobile race was not good and prob
ably could have been made more effective
50 far as working up the interest Of the
audience was concerned by the expedient
used ia so many plays Of the kind Of
letting the characters describe g. one Of
the Hyeiiest dancing intcTludeS seen here
IN long time was given in the second
act by the flowers Of the opera c0miquc 80
pets Of the sporty lawyer. whose knOWl-
edge OF brands OF whisky and other bev-
erages by the way was impaired To the
audience with a frankness that would
have excited suspicious Of attempted adj
veTtisinE if the performance were going
on al a minor theater AS it was. the aim
OF course, was to give "a necessary touch
OF realism 10 a sporting play.
Otis Harlan. as the gay lawyer. Henry
v. Donneliy as the 'get-rich-quick uncle.
Jacques Kruger as Boxwood. buTiesquing
John d. Rockefeller in makeup. Arthur
Stanford as Dexter. tbe wine agent, Edith
Decker as Clariuda. and Grace Griswoid
as the heroiue's mother. contributed TO
the fun and interest OF the absUrdity iu
very large degree. Otis Harlan. in fact
must be put down as the leading culprit
In the scene in the Office Of the woman S
hotel. the sextette Of lady stockholders
made big hit. This scene is cleverIv
devised and the GREATNESS dialogue and
busting succession Of absurd gags keeps
the house in a roar. THE Vanderbilt Cup
viii be on Wow at the National all the
week. with matinees Wednesday and Sat
urdav