Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-26
Trentini and Crawford
and a Christmas Show

1t is a Christmas show fast enough
THE Peasant Girl" which dropped into
the Lyric Christmas Eve. It fairly
breathes the spirit OF winter. The
chorus wears muffs above and imitation
lace imitation skirts below. Indeed. IL
the snow hadn't come the girls might
have suffered terribly from such a lot OF
oppressive wraps. And all TO prove that
the pettlcoat makers-lace ones included
have been guilty Of a campaign lie Pet
tlcoats haven't gone out Skirts have.
There are other ingredients to this
newest aphrodisiac trife besides Valen-
ciennes, Good music and Emma Trentini,
to start with-inseparable associates
Oskar, Nedbafs score has verve and
originality without descending to, "play-
it-oyer-on-your-pia tunes. The spirit.
rather than the melody. attracts. II Is
backed, moreover, by musicianly handling
OF the various voices in the orchestra
And where Mr.. Nedbal wasn't tango-y
enough. the producers threw in some
Friml.
The remaining ingredients are largely
personal. Leading them all comes Emma
Trentini herself, singing, bouncing, wrig-
ling and, in the present occasion, scratch
ing herself into the affections of the audi
ence She sings In the same Metropolitan
Opera House voice. She scowls and smiles
III TIE sdllfg lIipNluOus lIhlldl way. she
becomes furious when the tenor refuses
wedding In which she was to figure as
the savior OF his financial fortunes She
disguises herself as a housekeeper and
puts his estate and himself I'm order-but
not until she has broken a whole set OF
china In the true Trentini manner. And
she fights duel with the gentleman in
order to prove his love and to play her
last operatic triek-dlsguise a la boy
Then there are the gentlemen Clifton
Crawford, first and foremost, with his
disgruntled baby voice and wrlnIxled
That brain surely produced the reflection:
''Do they keep liquor I'm the cabinet? They
don't In the navy" II Is always a sub
ject for pleasant speculation in Mr.. Craw-
ford's case as to whether he or the lib
rettist wrote his lines. For instance, Is
It Mr.. Crawford's critical sense as
musician which caused him TO say that
when his EweetheaFt's shoe squsRks he
thinks it's John Mccormack; or IS IL the
llbrettlst's notion Of a compliment At
any rate, Il Is the exigeneies OF the plot
that make him describe the tenor as "a
milk-fed baritone, "a ehieken-hawk." !"
and "a butterfly In the garden OF love,
leaping lightly from goat to goat" For
the tenor Is always stealing his friend
crawfords loves. ending up with Miss
Trentini.
AS for the rest OF the men and women.
there Is Francis ]. Boyle. with his optics
/ In evidence but his voice entirely, and
unfortunately. neglected. There Is Mary
Robson, as a dancer who turns mems
heads with the tips OF her toes" but who
looks statuesquely incapable OF anything
except place on a monument 10 Beauty,
And there Is the most eharmlngly EiFlish
OF dancers In Frances PritchaFd.
But those are not all the ingredients
and virtues OF THE Peasant Girl" Dear
me; mol There is one feature designed
solely az q never ending delight for that
much-neslected person. the dramatic
critic. 1t is furnished by one Of the
great unnumbered thrOng, Peasants,
Servants. Guests, Members Of the Ballet.
OF course. the young lady has no idea Of
the Joy she Il giving the members Of the
press. for Il 10 only a matter Of chance
resemblance. But there she Is. with
baby-do face and calculating innocence,
giving the reviewers the stupendona aat-
isfactlon OF At last seeing Fannie Ward
Ia the chorus