The Washington times., 1909-10-24
Scale of Lavishness Shown
III Stage Settings Not
Sustained.
CHIEF VALUE LIES
IN A RICH SCORE
Motor Girl Play of Comedians
Light Theatrical Menu for
Amusement Lovers.
By ]. R. HILDEBRAND.

Had Henry ". Savage spent money
in recruiting a cast on the same lavish
scale he expended it for stage settings
and on an augmented orchestra, THE
Gay Hussars" might have been d. reign
ing success.
Then again it might not-which is one
of the sad rubs of theatrical experience
and very recent experience at that. a
success that probably inspired The
Hussars" was THE Merry Widow"
This production, Hartley Davis, writing
in current magazine, reminds US, was
ore OF the most inexpensive light operas
OF recent years. It was by far the big
gest money maker. THE Waltz Dream,
or the other hand. was one OF the most
costly and is career was not remark
able.
From these facts Mr.. Savage may
have decided tIat the chances were all
IN favor of his new opsretta succe sding
with a cast exploited for quantity rather
than for quality. But the chances
should have ben stiu greater had he
played the game for ali, it was worth
and engaged a few light opera stars.
And 1t would have been a far better
sporting proposition
Company Below Standard.
1.-THE Hussars' is yet young and is far
from being a failure. It is not breaking
confidence TO say it has yet shown no
signs of being a second Merry Widow"
If if is q success, It viii be in spite of
the cast.
Careful scrutiny OF the program dis
closes one name known to the average
theatergoer. that OF Bobby North.
North was the leavening OF the shows
serious side and he did his part well.
The other principals work painfully
hard, but II was unfair TO expect from
them what was demanded.
Their failure Is not so much a com
mentary on them as an appreciation of
what THE Hussars'' requires. This
operstta- Is far more exacting than was
The Merry Widow" It calls for a
lyric tenor OF wide range. for a so
prano capable OF sustained effort. for
a baritone who can also act. It had
none Of these.
Music Worth While.
The music. By Emerich KaIman. is
worthy Of serious consideration. The
theme, pronounced in the Gay Hussars'
Chorus was adhered to and the op-
eretta bore other unInistakabIe ear
marks OF a standard light opera. The
finale Of the first act was effective. that
ef the second original and equally ef-
fective. The duet arranged for Risa
and Lorenty. ''Oh. Silver Moon" was
notable for its incidental music as well
as for its melody. Tie solo bearing
the same name and sung by Risa IN the
s5coud act vas another gem The score
is InmistaEa bly, Hungarian but not
enough SO 70 be freakfsh. The lower
toned wind instruments and the deeper
notes OF the clarinet are a little more
In evidence-that is all. It has the unb-
versatility that is the stamp OF all art
am not enthustng over this operetta
III adVisedly- II Is by far the best
or all the lmportations in several sea
sons II deserves 20 1--we and TO prosper.
motor Girl" Contrast.
In richness and in volume the music
OF Emerich Kalrnan is a relief from
that OF Julian Edwards which is pleas
ing, certainly. but nothing more. The
score Of THE Motor Girl is tissue, and
the plot Is himsy.
In Its comedy, "The Motor Girl"
found much saving grace. The per-
Torrance. as IL now stands. is one
after the type OF those used by Mont
gomery and Stone. and does not de-
pend so much on fits feminine star
James T. Cook and John Lorenz should
be able 70 furnish the needed comedy
Il they polish their methods 10 the
standard OF a drawing room theater,
and not q buTlesque house There IS
not a line that is offensive or not In
good taste-but their work is crude
The ColumDias Offering last week
suffered from an ailment just the op-
posite as that which worked against
The Gay Hussars." In Miss Rus
sells company are number Of ca
pable actOrs-capable in the sense that
they show prOmise-but THE Widows
Might IS a handicap TO the company.
AS q comedy. II IS dull AS a play fl
Is poorly constructed. AS a vehicle
for Miss Russell It Is as good as any
other, Tor when Miss Russell comes
the play Is distinctly not the thing.
kAght theatrical Fare
The tired business man who is sup
posed to need light theatrical nour-
ishment is surely waxing fat It has
been so long since serious drama
has been here that even our most Sc
rious-Tninded critics have stopped aim
ing heavy guns al those light things
And there are more. We are 10 have
another widow. She Is 1.-THE Golden
Widow this time, and Is Of golden
promise. Just Ike any other widow
she must have a little longer 70 array
herself, and she Will not appear until
Tuesday night.
KITTY Grey win be around early
and very bright we are told, on Mon
day evening. genuine reception
from personal friends. as well as from
admirers. awaits the coming of Louis
Mann, who has not been IN Washing
ton for several years.