Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-20
ADJUSTMENTS
New National.

The prominence given to the name OF
the producer on the program at the New
National Theater this week makes it look
as If the title of the show might as Well
| be Charles Marks, Inc The produce
tons real title is Three Million Dollars,
| which suggests box office antic1pauonS
| CT a praiseworthy, though sansuine. ma
ture. In arreSating to itself titular prom
| inence the mana cement does not violate
a sense of proportion, for it is a pro-
ducer's show as distinguished from an ex-
ploitation of author, composer or star.
Liberality of purse combined with the eX-
ercise of ingenuity and good taste IN
scenery and costuming and with some
wonderfully happy results in the selec-
| ton OF cast give the entertainment us
| claim to distinction in the somewhat
density tenanted domain of musical COM
edN.
| In spite of the extreme simplicity of
| the story, that of the young man who,
| because of the eXaCtions of uncle
worth S3,OC0,Go0, finds himself obliged to
become married in hurry, opportunity
! is found for novel episodes in the way of
| song and situation. The music has
graceful swing that heightens the effect
| of several cleverly contrived lyrics, in
| which the scenic artist has collabOrated
finely with the author.
| No musical comedy was ever entirely orig
inal OF funny all the way through. In many
cases one or two numbers, or some indi-
| vidual hit in the cast served to win sue
| cess. This musical show has at least
| three striking numbers-the song, ..P. S.
| | Love YOU" illustrated by tableauX vi
wants at the back of darkened stage:
! Down at Nanny Jinny's." in which
| cotton field and cabin appear and disap-
| pear as if by magic, and little Dorothy
| BrennerS song mOnolOgue about the jig
ger Man. in which she depicts in a key of
| h r,,S STOOL fyacr lflx- HID <1of tod nv
the destruction of its playmate, a huge,
| grOteSque doll
The production is modelled on English
rather than American lines. 1t mildly
| traveSties everyday types. The gentle
man with the putty nose, the citizen with
| the exaggerated Waistband and the I'M
| earthly dialect, the girl with heroic but
| ungrammatical IDEALS are not in evidence.
4 Whether these perSonageS are SO eStab-
| lished by custom as to be absolutely ELS
| sential to a croWd-pleasin production
cannot be reliably stated. But their alb
sence is unquestonably something of a
| relief to the habitual playgoer.
| Johnny Ford has the role around which
the story revolves. He was brisk and
breezy except in scenes where he was
plainly unfamiliar with his work owing
to the limited time he has had for re-
| hearsal. His methods of comedy are
occasionally initiative in spite of the fact
| that he possesses quality of his own. He
is at his best in his dancing numbers.
| Louis A. Simon, the valet. who re-
members his thank, you SIR in the face
of all sorts of colossal impositions is a
refreshing incident of real humor and
clever character work. He is one of the
| hits on which the piece must base pros
poets of a more than usually extended
career May Boley is another If Miss
Boley is not as funny as Marie DRESSER,
il is only because there is not so much of
| her, and time may efface even this dis
| tlnctiOn. She has an unctuOuS emphasis
| that is irresistible in laugh winning.
| The presentation shows evidence of hard
! work and the zea1ousneSS of the quest for
comic speeches leads sometimes to re-
| search for old favorites and sometimes to
| a. covert tendency to cut loose from
the severer standards of propriety.
Scenically the piece is a series of gor-
geous pictures and the coStuming is elab-
| crate including in it's variations range
of specimens from crinolnes to hobble
skirts,