The Washington herald., 1907-12-24
AT LOCAL PLAYHOUSES

by Hallen Mostyn and a cOhrus of loafers.
who come on sleepy. sing sleepily. and
lend a sleepy tone TO the whole first act
from which IL never recovers Miss Chris
tie Macdonald puts some life into the
piece when she appears in Fly Away.
Kite, but this song. though admirably
sung has dreamy quality, and by this
time the audience needed 20 be awakened
to the fact that something was going on.
The Cheese Chorus" that followed, was
bit liveIier, but heavy and a little
soggy, Ike the Dutch cheeses, and II
needed the entrance OF BertTam Wallis
as Capt Paap with his song. Soldiers Of
the Netherlands. to liven things up a
bit. The song is a good one aud when il
Is sung with more fire and spirit may
make a hit.
Clever Georgia Caine as Nina was very
dainty and bright III The Flying Dutch
man song and then came the first real
glimmering attempt at humor in "A Little
Bit Of Cheese" sung by Dick Lee, Hallen
MOstyn, Al Ieech. and the chorus. Even
this did not quite reach, and the audience
was prepared TO laugh at John McCios-
key, who tried so hard 10 act and be
serious in his 'Tra-la-la' song with the
chorus. The finale was on about the same
tone as the rest of the act, and the cur
tain fell on an audience that was rather
bored and had seldom been troubled 10
applaud
The second act was decidedly better,
brighter, more vivacious. dashing. funny.
and tuneful. and if the first act were as
good, Miss Hook OF Holland" would be
welcomed not only To New York and Wash
ington, but wherever else she wished to
make a visit The note was decidedly
better on the opening chorus, that went
with a ring and a fervor that awoke the
attention Of the audience and made peo-
pie hope for the best. II was followed
by clever madrigal. Bottles" very
well sung. Miss MacDOnalds song which
followed, Little Miss Wooden Shoes"
was another pretty thing: cute and
dainty, but anything but lively. Then
came the best song, and the one best sung
OF any in the piece, a clever c0nceit, a
Pretty Pink from Peter" admirably
sung by Miss Georgia Caine, who, sing
ing IL for the first time last night before
an audience, gave II with a dash and
Nerve altogether cOmmendable. Il evoked
| the first genuine encore uf the evening
ana all the applause she got was de-
served. Miss MacDOuald's song. Il Want
10 Be Your Wife. which followed. was
| rather poor and listless. and what little
chance il might have had was killed with
the stupid acting of Mr. McClOskey. who
was ineXpressibly awkward and kept
making grimaCcs meant 10 be sentiment
al but which were only funny. The
House that Hook Built gave Miss Flor
ence Nash her only chance. II is a song
with elaborate properties and stage ef-
| fects. and IL was Well sung. but IL did
not reach; the fault lay in the music. II
anywhere. Mr. McCloskey won some
commendation for his "ViolonceIlo." "
which shows that even if he can't act he
mas an excellent voice Then came a
/ chance for Miss Catherine Cooper- a
| pretty and graceful dancer with a good
voice, but she got a bit Of stage fright
and did not do herself justice. She can
DO much better than she did last night
As principal comedian. Mr.. Al Beech has
much too little to DO. but as il was his
climbing upstairs stunt and his dance in
TIE second act. though Old. helped the
show a great deal. The comedy OF HaIlen
Mostyn helped some. too though why a
Hollander should talk with a distinct
cockney dialect is beyond comprehension
Mr. Lee did some good work, as di6 Mr.
| Wallis, but the hit Of the show was made
by Miss Georgia Game and by the chorus
which did eNCelenuy well There is a
| lot Of good material in Miss Hook OF
/ Holland and IL has fine chances for sue
cess, though. as we have said, 10 is dainty.
| picturesque, and tuneful without great
F! deal OF force, and lacking much in
comedy. Most OF its laughter was due 10
/ Al Leech's revival cf his vaudeville ac1,
+ which is bodily interpolated. and its
NbTightness 20 the clever work of Georgia
I Caine IN one song and Miss Christie Mac
4 Donald IN one or two numbers. The first
/ act Is SLOW, the second act almost saves
+ ~ but the piece needs q good deal Of
/ iFening up before il can hope 10 appeal
/ on It's merits HECTOR FI-IJ.TR