The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-26
BY WILLIAM RAYMOND SILL.


II the eyes of the gentle high-brow,
the coming to this city of Weber and
Fields Tuesday. matinee and night,
is not frautsht with paramount inter-
est; nor does the announcement
awaken the intellectual spasm that
indicates the approach OF an Ibsen
revival; but to the ordinary playgoor
it is an event of rare moment
"Be that as 1t may as George
Monroe is wont to coyiH observe IL
is q fact that pretty mu, % every orc
familiar with the stage las heard IN
one way or another of Weber ara
Fields; of the,r7 tiny music nail. OF
their cotcrie Of stars, par excellence,
and Of the beauty Of what has become
known to nearly two generations as
"the Wcber-Field Girl" For instance,
frankie Bailey or a Bonnie Ma
ginn is better known from the Bat
ferv to Harlem in New York than
Herr Professor Reinhardt. There
are a great many people In this world
who would much rather study
Weber Fields girls figure than spend
az axenlnG in q cloister studying Mae
terlinck. There is no accounting tor
the popular taste. bus the taste Is
there
Very l.acly much q popularity
comes from sentiment ne part OF
ne playgoing public j majority OF
farnancc of The Art OF Maryland"
nd THE Gee2er," and SO on down
M the succeeding decade.
In one OF the shows there was
medley that embraced such Strom-
acrg songs as Rosie, You Are My
Posie." "Dinah" Bring Back My
Honey Boy 10 Me" and Come Down,
My Evening star" The chorus girls
were full Of ginger and grace. and
abandon as they sang and danced.
but not one of the old boys among
tho newspaper group even smiled.
what are you DOING / asked orc
Of them.
"Just thinking" he answered slow
".
I imagine that ia one or The secrets
Of all this remarkable interest in the
Weber and Fields shows II starts
people all over the country gust
thinking There is SO much to think
about ZOO. There is the laughter
THAI aTpse from what ono writer
called years ago exquisite fooiing."
There w3s the intimacy that seemed
- exist between the auditors and the
EaH&erS ii Was always one big, hap
~ family.
i Weber and Fields production was
a5#aVs an event 2n those days You
N4all see The show on MONDAY ana
aa Wednesday il Huuld Dee almost
aather show. with new lines, new
se&a54urs and gags put III here
llfa tharc fast 10 keep things NOV
ms II made no difference Nh"th"r
tha aathor Edgar smith. furnished
the lines or not Every body furnished
them ! remember ere night one az
ne show girls came on the stage
fairly abiaze Win rev Jewels The
sight took Lew Fields breath away.
He forgot his lines absolutely but
he MANAGED TO e7amfnec
My. yuu don't took like q woman;
you look like Tffanys window
This lttlc ippromptu speech he
came Broadway classic. Nm one
wrote st. not even Fields, he simply
Thar was the way it went, night
after night Weber and Fields used
80 say: What is the Use Of paving
these people h3g salaries and then
tie them down 30 certain SIT speeches
Ret them say what they want within
reason, aud do as they want That S
what they're here for" And this
plan was q success. To be sure. This
plan could not he successfully fol
lowed WITH the ordinary Company, but
the Wcber-tlelas were not ordinary
zach was a genius an his OF her
way. a wit as Well SIS d player. And
1t should be very much the saue
now. Weber and Fields fairly hub
bic over with ideas and rapartee. aud
surely no whittier man vVeT stepped in
shoe leather than Frank Daniels.
Helena Collier Garrieb has dry
seftSt Of humcr that was always e.
we'll of tAe stage -or at rehearsal
Fbc ~ just as her pghlIe Knows her
best~~the QUICKEST mi smart ruturt you
WOULD find IN O. days walk While
toth Bessie Clayton and Flayta Ar
euro are wits,