The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-06-12

from one shoulder to the opposite
armpit Marie relies on n smooth
back. and exposes IL in a corsage open
behind 50 much wider and lower than
fashion dictates that. when she turns
TO go up stage, she creates an Illusion
Of a slender woman stripped 10 the
belt. There may be rivalry between
May and Marie. bat I guess they are
united In a competition with Florence.
Chorus Girls and Boys.
The aptness Of chorus girls and
boys is noteworthy. These phalanxes
Of singers and dancers are i'm hopeful
training for players Of parts and
gamers OF dramatic fame. IL Is a sin
gular fact. too. that those who served
in the underclass burlesques Of The
Magic Ring" and The Merry Whirl'
prove themselves, in the evOluted mu-
steal farce. to be comparable with
those hired for the most pretentious
productions They took such work
for practice and a living as they could
get. and l ike TO believe that most Of
the girls dislike their duties when
they are indecOrous. For instance. in
one set Of frOcks they are draped
mOdestly to the ankles-until in the
swhirling OF a dance, they are shown
20 have no lingerie under the light
skirts-only fesh-colOred tights and
trunks. None OF the impr oprieties In
words or deeds have been eliminated
in the transfer from burlesque at a
dollar for the front Of the parquet to
musical farce at two dollars.
The shift demonstrates the quick
response OF these chorus youngsters to
sudden demands. Ben Teal. a skilled
director. had a single week in which
20 drill them in ensembles and finalcs
The most pretentious is at the end Of
the show. and It consists Of a march
ing chorus carrying the refrain.
strike up bagpipe tune The girls
and boys wear kills and plaids and
sing the ever-inspiring air OF Annie
Laurie; but they initiate other peo-
pies than the Scotch-such as Ameri-
can soldiery marching to Yankee
Doodle" and Dixie Frenchmen on
gay parade 10 The Marsei1laise." ana
Germans doing the goose-step pre-
scribed by the kaiser for reviews TO
Die Wacht am Rhein." That Ger
man army eccentricity. which consists
or lifting the knees nearly TO a level
with the thighs. here lends itself TO a
saucy purpose; for Il filings up the
Scotch short skirts Of the girls above
their plaid stockings to show a section
OF seeming baroness. The uniformity
and precision OF the rapid Changes
twixt nauonalities, in this spectacular
hnale, proves my assertion that the
present-day chOruses are made nm
largely OF young folks with ability and
ambition I hope that a good pro
portion Of those girls may advance
from the wearing OF frOcks without
underskirts. and the tossing OF plaidies
by the trick OF the gOose-step. to de-
sirable distinction on the stage.
The Mikado" is renewed after
more than quarter of a century Of
with FRITZ Scheff for the
Yum Yum, Andrew Mack for the
Nanki-Poo and Jefferson De Angels
for the Ko-ka. and near-star names
Tor the rest Of the cast A perform
ance half 50 good hasn't been given
since Gilbert and Sullivan tbemselves
picked out a cast for America 20 beat
the pirate crews that had seized on
the property That company contained
no one incapable Of singing every
word Understandings. and all were
kept subservient to the authors ideas.
For example. the Yum-Yum was not
privileged beyond the Peep-Bo and
the Pitu-Sing. but OF the present
three little maids from school. FRITZ
Scheff is allowed to have her own
way with Christie Macdonald and
Christine Nielsen.
A Sophisticated Soubrette.
Yum Yum used to be played by a
naive ingenue. Fritze Scheff is a So
soubrette. FRITZ makes
the bride frisky. Very knowing. too.
with winks. shrugs. pert tricks and
pretty grimaces- ! don't believe she'd
have taken the part. or been wanted
for Il, trammeled by Gi1bert's direc-
tons. And the audience il ali with
the actress. and none with the author.
except for the few who recall sweet
Geraldine Timer. Probably The Mi
kado" is new to half those who see il