The Washington times., 1913-02-05
Dialogue Not Spicy, Although
Dancing ls Sensational De-
clares Critic.

| ~
agent who had bflled the show
as '.the sptciest piece on the
road" and enticed by the crafty
advertising which advised one to be
present on opening night, moro than a
capacity audience gathered at the Be
lasco Monday night to witness the first
washington performance OF Gertrude
Hoffmann's new Winter Garden revue.
broadway to Paris"
Half an hour before the curtain rose
on the first scene. the attendants at
the box office were busy explaining
that the fire laws prevented over
crowding the aisles, and that they had
already sold all the available standing
room. besides packing chairs into every
nook ana Granny % tt.es orchestra. mez-
sanine and balcony.
The crowd. Is per cent Of them men.
had coma to zee the zone hundred
fragrant rosshads and shrinking violets
Of the Gay white way" Attracted by
the reputation Of the Hoffman, shows
Of other years. they came prepared-and
hopins-to be shocked at the display
Of nude feminine charms and lines of
double-entendre.
Pretty Chorus Has
Some Catchy Mude.
In the hrst they were not dissppoint-
ed. In the second they were.
Broadway to Paris'-the attenuated
plot Of which. by the way. 10 founded
on the actual experiences Of former
male Washington dramatic critic-is
frankly an exhibition Of the female
form divine. In spots It Is lecture
on anatomy, apparently appesling to a
large proportion Of the audience, but as
surely repelling others.
But to give the producer his due. II
Is decidedly clever In places, contains
q large amount of excellent vaudeville,
number of musical hits Of the essen
TALLY rag" order. and a number Of the
prettiest girls Washington has seen for
some time, not forgetting the beauty
chorus of "The Sunshine Girl
On the other hand the revue contains
Gertrude HOFFMAN.
It has been some time since Washing
ton has had an opportunity Of seeing
| this danseuse-back in the days of The
Mimic World" II I remember rightly,
and Il might not be bad for the morale
| Of the community IL as long a period
elapsed before Miss Hoffman's next
visit IT..
First Hoffman Dance
Comes Early In Play.
There are four Hoffmann numbers In
the present piece-two interpolated
dances and two rags which 1T the re-
n ainder Of the score as well as any OF
the other numbers. The first Hofmann-
ssque occurs before the audience Is
fairly aware that ths curtain has risen.
| The scene Ia a bar olack-walled room
with a huge gilt i~:me In the back
ground. Within .sis frame II a Twins
replica of Sir Burne-Jones' Vampire.
with Miss Hoffman, az the woman and
Lee Chaplin a the man. Follows u
dance which fairly reeks with voluptu-
BUSINESS, fairly saturated with sensual
ty. In fairness to the audience ! must
saw that the applause was very light
ana almost entirely In the back Of the
house--but then there Is no such thins
as n c,aaue In Washington
The next Hoffman, number is a
clever little dance entitled The
Hoffman, Glide. and the second ac'
is opened by another exhibition o.
nudity under the guise OF classic
dancing Of the Blue Danube" anc
othsr wxltIes. While the sensual ap.
| neal In the Garden Of Girls" Is no
AZ strong as In the "Danse Dracula,
the expose OF all that goes to mak'