Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-22
ADJUSTMENTS
Belasco.

One of the most admirable institutions
connected with the stage Is the Belasco
| Theater program. It is well edited, terse
In its methods Of expression and seldom
| misleading as to fact. Its current an
nouncement is to the following effect:
mabel Hite, Liebler & Company man.
ayers, in a musical menu in three courses
called "A Certain Party by a legion of
authors. staged by everybody, but pro-
duced under the personal direction of
William Collier; quite a lot Of music by
Robert Hood Bowers and some more
music by others. The following admit
| their presence in the cast''-here follows
list of the players.
in the same mystery as that which sur
rounds the authorship Of the piece. 1t
permits little room for objection. Pos
sibly exception may be taken to q descrip-
ton Of the entertainment as musical
menu" It is more like a quick lunch,
with everybody helping himself and hop
ing for the best. AS to the authorship,
the word '1egion" is drawing 1t rather
mild. There are traces Of authorship
through successive generations since the
early Egyptian cartoonists. which make
the word "legion," despite it's multitudin-
Gus signihcance. seem inadequate.
AS to the certain party. everybody
knows who he is. While the menu Is
tic strain. everybody is thinking base
ball. When Mr.. Michael Donlin, whose
eminence in the world of sport Is so we'll
known, walked upon the stage with his
and both hands in his pockets to indt-
cate that he was perfectly at ease, there
came q storm Of applause. No demon
stration from grandstand or bleacnerS
could have conveyed a more sincere ex-
preston Of heartfelt regard. Mr.. Donlin
| }e FIJI nd cOianfi0N0 vaarfnFm0r
This is evidenced by the tactful manner
in which he avoids getting in the way OF
the other actors through the entire piece.
Miss Hite is an entertainer Of pro-
nounced and unusual gifts. Her mimettc
sense is extraordinary. and she has a
fund of personal drolleries which are
piquantly irresistible. She is indefatiga-
bic, too. and carries the burden OF the en-
tertainment with unwaverfng vivacity In
the entertainment she Is wen worthy OF
the display type with which the pro-
grams heart-to-heart editorial describes
her Whether Mr.. William pronounced
Wilyum) Golfers claim to the distinction
Of large capital letters as the personal
director is as we'll FOUNDED Is g. matter
less easily disposed OF.
There is a go-as-you-please spirit to the
occasion, which would seem to threaten
hopeless confusion II Miss Hite did not
step forward every now and then and
invoke the gentle influence of song to
calm the rising t,nnult. One Of the num-
beers, courageously entitled "Get the
Hook" is SO fetchingly rendered that the
audience never thinks Of taking the reck-
lessly offered hint that it might join In
the chorus In another dashing aria. en-
titled You're Going to Lose Your Hus-
band If You Do Miss Hite refers to her
husba nd's profession and calls him by his
first name right out before all the peo-
pie. thus making the occasion, whatever
else may be said of it, undoubtedly a
charming little family party.
The production is frankly irresponsible
and seems on the whole to defy the
standards Of conventional review. What
it needs for lucid discussion is an UNI
pire.