Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-09

New National.

New National.
To say that Raymond Hitchcock is one
of those unctuous comedians who uses his
gray matter and never tires or to say
that whatever he does possesses a laugh
making power that is irresistible. would
not begin to express what he is and does
in his new offering, 1.-THE Red Widow
which received its first Washington pres
entation at the National Theater last
evening.
He seemed Observation-Disclosures orig
inality-personified. intensified and then
multiplied. He kept a capacity house so
we'll pleased with his performance that
many seemed loath to go when the cur
tain Yell on the last gorgeous poem in
white. the white fete" in the gardens of
the cars winter palace at st. Peters
burg. For be it remembered this RED
Widow is spectacular thing of beauty
as well as thrilling near tragedy ITO
which the sombes never entere, but
laughter, danger and de1fgntful melody
seem melted into an unending blend.
Nor was Mr.. Hitchcock alone in fur
nishing the entertainment. Miss Flora
Zabelle never looked more pleasing to the
eye, nor sang more delightfully."-, than as
Anna Varvara, 1.-THE Red Widow" who
persuades Cicero Hannibal Butts, a mil
UOnaire manufacturer of &C. III. B." cor
New York, to pass her as his wife over
the Russian boundary line on her way to
remove the czar." or do almost any
other desperate thing her nihilistic friends
or tendencies might suggest. That IS
what gets Butts in trouble as q nihilist.
Mrs. ''C.H. b." Butts wife, made the plot
possible by her attachment to woman
suffrage and her desire to linger in Lon
don while Cicero Hannibal went on.
1t was very good thing for Butts and
that his young son Oswald Harry Clarke,
and his fiancee, Yvette, a dancer (Ann
Pennington. went to ST. Petersburg also.
for they danced danger out of sight and
demands for encores out Of a delighted
house until, worn out with fatigue, they
were simply obliged to encore with smiles
and bows.
To this quartet go the chief opportuni-
ties of the play, but even that doesn't
mean that the remainder of the cast and
the good-looking, sprightly and be it add
ed graceful chorus. was not busily occu-
pied through all of the three acts. either
IN helping the action, working out the
plot-and there is plot. very much of a
beautiful. which constitute one of the
charms OF the play. True, John Hen
bricks splendid voice is missed in song,
but he is 'all there with the tragic goods
as Ivan Scorpion, chief Of police, while
James Donnelly. as Baron Macmillan
Scareovitch. his assistant; Jean New
combe. as the real Mrs. Butts; Lincoln
Pllmer.. as Dick Graham; George T..
Mack. as the nihilistic hotel waiter. and
Theodore Martin, with a delightful tenor
voice that alone and with Miss Zabelle's
served to bring out the beauty Of sew
eral of the big songs of 1.-THE Red
widow, with host Of others, We're
needful settings for the bright lights that
did full justice to their offices.
So good is the chorus that only the
prominence given by the play to the "bell
boys an attractive group comprising the
Misses Pauly. Cantor Gildea. Darling.
Deyere. Dickson. Mangassarin. Rogers
and Wood. and the five designing dam
sells" the Misses Marie Caldwell, Elsie
Markert. Julie Newell, Olga Markusson
and Elsie Richmond. warrants their men,
ton above the others. AS a whole, in the
last act, the aggregation shines resplen-
IDENTIFY with a glory like unto that of the
Easter lily. 1t is a chorus that can shine
i'm show gowns as well as in the merry
merry
The unique design of the first act,
winch represents the foyer of a minia-
ture theater, where a tenor is singing
song hit, with the audience ranged
along on the balcony above and
miniature curtain in the background,
which falls to start the action of the
real play and to afford Mr.. Hitchcock
one of the most novel entrances ever
provided a comedian. is one of the real
features OF the play. The audience is
seen coming away, the men whistling
and the women humming the song hit,
while hither and thither run the the.
atr1cal attaches. just as might be in a.
real theater. One of this mock au-
dience who complains that his seat was
behind post is told his complaint
should be made to the architect, not
to the manager. Throughout Chan
ming Pollock and Rennold Wolf have
provided bright and witty lines and
lyrics. while Charles J. Gebest has fur
nished music of the catchy kind that
one longs to hear more of
OF course. with all this. added to the
deep design of the management from
the start. as Mr.. Hitchcock himself
said. the Hitchcock speech had to be
made. 1t dealt with the question Of
the presidency and touched frequently
upon a candidate who was running
not on his own account, but because
"the people just made him and he
couldn't help it, That speech added
at least ten minutes of unceasing
laughter to the merriment that proceed
ed and came after IT.
Summed up briefly, The Red Wild
ow' is IAN unmistakable get-there."
probably the best Raymond Hitchcock
has ever brought to Washington.
Belasco.
Gone are the romance, the village maid