The Washington herald., 1911-11-21
THE BELASCO.


A new operetta that swung seductively
into pure London Gaiety melody, that was
reticent, restrained and a trihe pale in
its comedy, that had a wealth of be-
witchingly pretty girls to intoxicate the
eternal bald-head row, that was so daz-
zlingly colorfuI in its costuming and it's
mounting as fairly to break the seasons
records for that type of managerial lib
erality-"Peggy," witnessed at the Belas-
co last evening by a brilliant audience,
Is all this and more
Remembering the fate of Marriage a
Ia Carte" last season on Broadway, it is
yet too early to predict for Peggy an
emphatic and positive success in Gotham.
The process of Americanizing this Lon
oon piece Is as yet incomplete. There
are snatches of pink tea Gaiety fun
curiously intermingled with the latest
Great White Way slang and quips; the
comedians labor expertly to adjust the
square pegs of an English librettist
to the round holes of American taste
in musical comedy. Only in this ele-
ment Of its makeup does Peggy seem
to waver and fiutter in uncertainty.
Thomas w. Ryley has signaIized his re-
entrance into the producing field by CIV
ing his new opera every managerial i'm
petus toward high success. He has rather
conventional material to work upon, to
- llC 1CSIlt SludTI ue-
hghtful as ii ever is in the ensembles
with its curious ripples of rhythm, is not
catchy in the popular jargon, a trifie
lacking in color for the American palate
The score is the very acme of cleverness
in orchestration, and is sung as no op-
eretta score has been sung in Washing
ton in months, unless, perhaps, The
Balkan Princess be an exception
In the casting of the piece, as-in its
mounting, Peggy represents the very
highest metropolitan standard. The COM
edy honors are equally divided between
Charles Brown, whose work last season
In Marriage a la Carte is so well
remembered. who plays Auberon Blow,
a street hawker;' Alva York who is
almost retncarnation of Connie Ediss,
as Lady Snoop; John w. Ransome, of
Prince of Pilsen" fame, as Montague
Bartle, and Sam Collins, as Albert Um-
bles. Mr.. Brown met with a warm re-
turn reception last evening. scored eff
fectively in his droll English way, and
spent a happy evening. Miss York was
caught in a hopeless mesh of encores
when she sung "A Little Bit On which
was easily the humorous hit of the topi-
cal songs, and Sam Collins, in a true
Jimmy Powers part. was a mirtkful lit
tie Britisher all evening
Peggy fairly overfiowS with pretty
girls and clever girls and charming girls.
Miss Ethel Green, in the title role, had
an opportunity to exercise all the femi-
nine allurements, of which she was not
slow to take advantage Her many songs
were all effusiveIy popular, including
The Things We Love the Most and
Ladies, Beware" Playing opposite to
her was the London favorite, Farren
Soutar who sang and danced and acted
with distinction, and did small things
as well as large things carefully and well.
1t is difficult to see why so pretty and
charming young woman as Louise Alex
ander has so comparatively a small part
as Polly Polino, the American dancer"
Her dance of fascination and the
spirit Of gambling with Tom DingIe, sig
nalized her entrance into the opera; she |
reinforced the excellent terpsichorean |
Impression she made by the song which |
Immediately followed, Go Back to /
School, Miss Esther Bissett played !
Doris BartIe with girIish vfvacity, and |
sang The Lass with Lasso'' with |
romping abandon.
Peggy with its wealth Of color and |
songs. its unabashed gOrgeousness of cos |
tuning, and its exceptionally capable |
EAST, should be a success Its scenes are |
laid in London and Trouville; its book, |
and to a lesser extent it's lyrics, are in |
consequential; its score has a delicate |
and colorful -orchestration; there is some |
excellent comedy woven into the fabric. |
Any one who sees this operetta at the !
BClasco is assured of an enjoyable even |
inC. A. NJ. |