The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-03-29
The TheQterS
mutt AND JEFF"

mutt AND JEFF.
THE triumph Of Art in Richmond, or
how We turned out to hear Mutt and
jeff" is the latest installment of our
great epic entitled Richmond, the Art
Center of the United States
A comic supplement show" and
hist! step round the corner SO nobody
will hear-a comic supplement au-
dience.
That the worst fears of the pessi-
mists who make the welkin ring with
their lamentations over the degenera-
ton of the public taste by the road
of the yellows, would have been realiz-
ed had they been at the Gennett
where this classic was presented last
night, goes without saying.
For the yells, screams, bowls and
Rawlings of hysteric delight over the
gyrations of the comic supplement
stars, Messrs. Mutt and jeff, transfer
red to the region behind the foot
lights. by the record breaking audi
ence of the season at the Gennett,
went to show which way the taste Of
this Athens of the Middle West drifts.
From pit to dome was our local play
house packed.
No such audience has greeted pro-
fessional production in the Gennett
since the first appearance of the cele-
brated Madame Sherry" and it must
be said that Mutt and Jeff gave no
odds to the former much inflated mess
of banality.
Bad as Mutt and Jeff are--that is
bad artistically. dramatically, officially
and every other way-they were at
least not masquerading as something
they weren't They were frankly rank
and didn't care.
For, curiously enough, the ranker
they were, the more nearly did they
realize the ideal of their creator and
their loyal following through the
pages of the Sunday addendums.
Last nights exhibition-not on the
stage, but in the audience-made the
aesthetic shudder and the lover of
dramatic art grow pale.
1t was an apotheosis of the grotes-
que.
A canonization of theatric vulgarity.
A dedication of the abnormal.
Into what sort of animal the indi-
vidual infant entity of the present
generation, fed on this hideous gro
tesquerie, will evolve is a question.
That the comic supplement has done
more to debase the aesthetic instincts
Of the rank and file in this country,
and is establishing a fixed and vici-
GUS artistic standard, is admitted, and,
after seeing it's vizualization on the
stage the most confirmed optimist
must bow before its inevitability.
Taken as musical comedy-the
mongrel theatric anomaly which has
held the boards for so many seasons
and seems not to diminish in populari-
ty--"Mutt and Jeff" holds it's own
with the best of them, especially in
it's farcical aspects, for Roger Gray
and Shorty Dewitt, who impersonated
these notorious creations of the car
toonist's pencil, are excellent come
dams, especially Gray as Mutt"
Gray, indeed, is a superior comedian
his presentation taking ON Individual.
ay and color.
Dewitt amused largely because OF
his makeup.
Gray from histrionic talents. His
imitation of waiter was as clever a
bit of comic theatres as has been
seen here for many long day.
The story is negligible and hardly
worth the recounting, since it is one
of those usual conglomerates of in
anity usual with musical comedy, but
the principals were all we'll cast and
the solo numbers presented in good
voice with one or two exceptions
when l Dream of You," Just Little
| Smile" and Sweet Land of Dreams
were all effectively sung and charm
ing of their class, and some of the
/ chorus dancing was picturesque, es
pecially that of the mermaids.
, The music was tuneful enough al
though rather brazenly reminiscent al
intervals, and the whole thing went
off with much dash and verve
E. G. w.