Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-29
"GIRL SHOW" MAKES
hit AT THE GRAND
BY sIpLE LAWRENCE

lesque gun play that comes In the sec
ond act The powder went Off yes
terday afternoon quite as 1t used 10
when Lawrence Underwood was being
Tracked Around the World" by his
avenging nemesis, Harry Won Meter;
but the results were different. The
audience laughed, little, instead OF
applaudlng a great deal. AS Tor the
rest of the show the powder most IN
evidence was not the kind they use in
the army.
First of all, 1.-THE Rounders" is a
girl show. There are big girls and
little girls, show girls and ponies,
fluffy-ruffles girls and girls who, for
the time being, disdain all such allur-
ing concealments. There Is a direc-
toira gown girl-it's a particularly
hideous directoire, by the way;
Dutch soubrette of obvious fascina-
tions; an exceedingly demure and pret-
tily blonde girl with chin dimple
that should, and probably does, add
largely to her salary; and then there
are girls. Just girls and more girls. It
has been long since Grand audiences
have seen so many girls and so much
Of them.
"The Founders" "RevieW"
Secondarily, as w. H. Lytell, author
OF what is by courtesy termed the
book" frankly confesses "The Round
ers" is a review; review not only
of recent New York attractions, but OF
many other shows that have gone be-
fore. Here is a bit from 1.-THE Girl
Behind the Counter" here another
from "The Waltz Dream" This num-
ber was suggested by 1.-THE Red Mill"
The original of others is lost in the
obscurity of antiquity. There Is slap
stick comedy along less undignifed
lines. Yesterdays audience applauded
both sorts Unfortunately. The house
was well filled and well pleased, which
augurs well for the season.
AS O. hot weather entertainment 'The
Rounders' has much to commend 1t.
You are not required to think. You
are not unduly excited. Even If you
sit in the johnnie row and stare
through field glasses you will be un-
able to discern anything like plot
that might serve TO distract your at
tention from the really important fea-
lures of the performance-pretty girls,
kaleidoscope costumes, tinkling melo-
does, and comedy closely approaching
horsepl1y. The silly season is at hand
and Gee, but it's great to be crazy.
LyteII Not AceIlmated
There are some few jokes in the
piece that miss fire because they are
too New Yorlky. AS librettist Lytell
is not yet acclimated, but 1t won't
take long. Within a few weeks we
may expect to hear all about Watts.
the peaceful; the peculiarly dry quail
ity OF Los Angeles river water, the ex-
cellence of car service on the belt line,
and other jokes to which he have be-
come Injured through frequent infiic-
ton. For the present, however, we
must content ourselves with the humor
which thrives best In that fierce white
light which beats upon New York's
Broadway.
There are seventeen musical num-
bers in the show. One or two Of them
we have heard before. The others are
novelties. One of them, the telephone
duet, Aren't You the Girl I Met at
Sherry's," is SO clever a conceit that
I marvel no one has used the same
idea before, at least in Los Angeles.
In Miss Libby Blondell, Miss Edna
Sidney and Miss Elise Schuyler the or
ganizaLion has trio of principals that
should give a good account of them
selves. Miss Blondell has knack in
humor that Is an absolute specific FOR
that tired feeling. Miss Edna Sidney
is an actress of ability. Frederick Be-
lasco, who met her on the street tag
day, says so and Brother Frederick can
pick an actress when he sees one quite
as readily as Brother David. Miss
Sidney, too, is decidedly pretty in a
dimpled sort Of way, so pretty in fact,
that you forgive the dimpled quality
of her almost still, small voice. Miss
Schuyler, as a Dutch soubrette. is fun
nier than a comic opera tenor with
grand opera aspirations.
Yes, There Are Some Men
AS for the men-there have to be
men, you know, even in girl shows
they do acceptabiy what is required Of
them. Thomas Haverly is the Irish
man, Harry Wardell the German,
Charles w. Giblyn the suave promoter
and money spender and Aubrey Carr
the decadent scion of British nobility.
Carr can sing. 1t was matter for re-
grer yesterday afternoon that we
weren't permitted to hear more from
him.
The chorus shows several familiar
faces and-er-figures. The ponies and
some of the show girls were brought
here from the east. Others were re-.
cruited in Los Angeles. Some of them
sang with the late lamented Temple
organization at the Auditorium. It is
a fairly musical chorus. a comedy
chorus and it knows it's business.
IUd pTDuuCtiOn is SOOQ ana the cos
Tunes picturesque, though the color
schemes occasionally spell riot ito the
eye trained in harmonious coloration.
One thing more. For some reason or
other an automobile has been made to
do duty as an airship. I don't know
why and l wish somebody who does
will tell me. II it's. Joke missed it.
The Los Angeles theater reopened its
doors last night under the manage
ment of Harry w. Reid, who has
leased the house for a summer season
of popular priced vaudeville, presented
in conjunction with the Royal Italian
band. The theater was filled and the
audience applauded literally both the
band and the other features Of the pro-
gram.
The Royal italian band is already too
we'll known in Los Angeles to require
extended comment in this column. I'm
der the baton of La Monaco 1t is a
musicianly organization, presenting
music of popular and semi-classical
character. Thus, last nights program
included two medleys of patriotic airs,
1.-THE Suwanee River and the sextet
from Lucia di Lammermoor, the
parts being carried by the brass in
struments. Perhaps It is worthy of
note, too, that the Lucia sextet was
received with the most enthusiastic ap-
plause of the evening.
Apart from the band Manager Reid
offered a good program of moving pic
lures, an illustrated song and monol-
ogist who made palpable hit with