The Washington herald., 1911-09-19
LAST NIGHT At THE PLAYHOUSES
THE COLUMBIA.
"The Top o. tn World"

\ Top
On the light and rather fragile wings
OF extravaganza. the theatrical season
CT l9ll-l2-that exceedingly promising off,
spring of our hopes and pIeasurable an
ticipation-was formally ushered into ex-
istence at the Columbia Theater last
evening. All the untamed forces of tom
foolery were let loose. and those dear
coryphees and grisettes, of whom we
have been bereft for 10 these many
months, frolicked and rollicked to the
manifest delight Or a large and typi-
cally Columbian audience, and every
body was happy, as old Frank Daniels
would say.
1t was an opening which not only dis
arms criticism. but brings the highest
need of commentator which extrava-
ganza can command. The Top o. tn
World'' is not of a fresh and untried
vintage from the bauble shop; it has
been thoroughly meIlOwed since first
placed before the public. 1t is a tried
and tested theatrical property. Ranging
from elder London pantimime to the
latest fads and follies Of the great
blight way" it is a musical cocktail. the
component elements of which have been
very Cleverly mixed. Needless to say,
Bailey and Austin-who, like Montgom-
cry. and Stone, are legitimate posterity Of
the old-type song and dance men-are
the cherry.
Some libretto-smiths might quail be-
fore the task of squeezing mirth and
humor out of the frigid arctic regions
sacred to the memory of Doc" Cooks
gumdrops. but no such tremors OF fear
resided in the hearts of the makers of
The Top O. tn World" They boldly
assault the north pole with their pens
and melodies: succeed in gaining an ex-
pansive hilarity while an atmosphere Of
10 below zero Is maintained by sheer
scenic Virtuosity, and create an enter
tainment of staying powers comparable
to its brilliant predecessors and ante
cedents. The Wizard of OF" and Babes
in Toyland."
With the possible exception OF the
Boutwell, Browne comedy OF Fred Wilson
as Aurora BOreals, Queen of the North
ern Lights" there is not even the sugges-
tiOn Of 4 vulgar and indecorous element
in The Top q tn World" The piece
has in no sense 0een cheapened. and
the present production deserves not only
that trite adjective, adequate" but
higher praise than that. The five scenes,
comprising Kris Kringle's workshop in
Christmas Land" "A pass in the noun
taias." The palace Of Aurora BOrealis,
The enchanted hut in the ice foes" and
The city of Illusia' are worked out eX
cellently, and the latter vies in lavish
ocular appeal with that memorable field
Of the poppies in THE Wizard of o."
Fred J. Bailey and Ralph Austin are
assuredly comedians never so hard up
for applause from in front" that they
stOOp to the bald vulgarities and COM
monplaces of less scrupulous funmakers
before the public. Bailey has a genial
and rather bland style of comedy. Aus
tin. like Fred Stone, is possessed of a
certain dry and pungent style which is
far removed from the slap-stick tradl-
tiOns. II is needless to say both are
past masters of knOckabout work and
aCrobatic technique. They were proud
of the reception they received last even
ing. and showed II in their work.
Dainty little Rae Bates as MAZDA, a
little girl who wants to grow up. is the
soubrette of the production. Whenever
she was smiling and chirruping and pi-
rouettlng in the spotlight. the mascu-
line element in the audience could not
fail to radiate its satisfaction. Miss
Ethel Ricketts, was petitely naive as the
Eskimo belle, "Kokomo:" Miss Leonora
Amino was Stalacta, an Ice vestal, and
the other members of the cast gave sat-
isfaction.
The ponies, the show girls, the lice
guards" the dancing boys, the collie
ballet" are all up to the metropolitan
standard. Fred Williams makes an ex-
ceedingly humorous animal out of the
friendly bear The wealth Of scenic ef-
fects and OF skIllfully wrought out con-
certed numbers. including side by Side.
in which Miss Bates was the bright par
ticular star contributed materially to
the merriment of the evening. Last,
but not least. the facile and fluent score
Of Manuel Klein, sugary, smooth, and
graceful is an important factor in max
Ing The Top o. tn World an always
agreeable and an occasionally delightful
A. N. J.