The Washington herald., 1907-12-08
The Anna Held Show

There have not beeu' such throngs as
visited the National Theater during the
past week since Florenz Ziegfeld's other
SHOW, THE Follies OF 81" was there
some weeks ago. There seemed to be,
in the early part of the week, some doubt
as 10 whether Anna Held were really with
the company. as reports of her Illness
had preceded her, but she was there all
right. very much in evidenc.. hard work.
ing ali the time. and showing "A marked
Improvement in her art and in her sing
inG.
The first and last thing 10 be said about
The Partisan Model is that it is a
rattling good show. a tempest Of laugh
ter and music and dancing. making no
pretensions to be anything but Just an
entertainments real vaudeville show.
That the piece owes a good deal to Mr..
Otis Harlan. a clever comedian. is very
true; that il owes much more Of its sue
cess and its drawing power to Miss Held
the best advertised actress in America
lis also true. but after all the show is;
made I'D Of clever stage-tricks, elaborate
scenery. gowns that are marvels Of their
art, and q stage full OF pretty and viva
cious girls with good voices, merry laugh
ter and a sponfaneity of humor that
irresistably communicates Itself 10 the
audience.
There are some who seemed to think
that the show was risque, and this be-
cause there was rustling of frills and
furbelows, dancing in short dresses. and
such like. The answer to such obiec-
tiOns is that mere entertainment OF
froth and frivOlity is not to be judged by
the standards that are applied to the
drama Certainly there were no feminine
costumes in the Anna Held show nearly
as abbreviated as those worn by the ballet
dancers In the Od-time operas. These
were enjoyed by our fathers without any
thought that they were suggestive or
that they meant anything other than
mere picturesque display. The very word
suggestive" has come &c be much abused
and warped into one, and that the worst
meaning: as il a thing could not be as
suggestive Of good as of i'll. To the pure
all things are pure, and if a spectator
at show where lot of merry chorus
girls dance and sing. chooses to read into
the jollity something hIdeous. it is not
because the suggestion comes from the
stage, but from himself
Ladies in great numbers attended the
performances at the New National all
last week young ladies and old. and the
note Of appreciation and enjoyment.
without any hint Of anybody being
shocked, was most apparent.
Theatrical entertainments such as THE
Partisan Model" while they are not the
highest class OF show, yet have a de-
eided place on the American stage: they
offer good, healthy distraction from "the
cares that infest the day" they create
two laughs where only one grew before.
and they affect no one III except perhaps
some yellow-minded individuals Of the
type Of that old maid who wanted the
legs OF the piano draped, and who spoke
OF the legs of her chairs as limbs. And
in the making Of this sort of combina-
ton show Of vaudeville borrowed from
the French and grated on to American
smartness and up-to-dateness. Mr.. Flor
enz Ziegfeld is a past master. He
anuses his public. gives it full value for
its money, and he reaps his reward.