The Washington herald., 1914-10-22
When 'Oihef struck Il bloomin' Tyre
Ed card men sing by land and sec,
And what e Thought e might re1uirk
Z went and tOok-the same as me.

Kipling's modus operandi as explained
in this quatrain seems to have been the
recipe followed in the production Of this
! weeks Offering at the Gayety Theater.
The Happy Widows" with Joseph X.
Watson and Murray j. Simons in a two
act comedy styled 'In Dreary Mexico. Z"
AFFORD a musical melange of old and new
songs and several original numbers that
are rather catchy"
Chief among these latter Is the timely
and tuneful Buy a Bale OF Cotton" Z"
This song was written especially for the
Happy Widows' company. II Is tune
ful and has a rollicking Tilt TO the chorus
that Is making a hit with the standing
room-only houses that are packing the
Gayety.
Led by Miss Fay o'Dell, the entire
chorus of twenty-five big, little and me-
dium-sized girls-slim ones and plump
ones, blonds and brunettes-ten of them
dressed in the oficial flowing calico
dress and red bandanna kerchief of the
Southern mammy-take UP, the chorus
and march through the audience The
merit Of the song and the novelty Of the
girls carrying miniature bales of cotton
and distributing cotton bolls as souvenirs,
marching and singing through the audi
ence. made a decided ''hit."
Two other numbers that won several
rounds Of applause were How Is Every
thing by You?" a quartet by Misses Fay
o'Dell, Marcy Catlin and Messrs. Watson
and Simons, and THE Mississippi Caba-
ret" sung by Miss Marcy Catlin and
chorus. Encores were demanded on both
these songs by the audience. The former
song had many Interpretations OF comedy
and dialogue between 'Brushky' and
'Rushky," alias Watson and Simons, and
the two girls that proved so popular that
half dozen encOres were demanded be-
fore the audience would allow the rest Of
the plot to proceed.
Other numbers that were well received
were AT the Bail" sung by Helen Van
Buren and chorus; Follow the Crowd"
sung by Miss Marcy Catlin and chorus
and the finale to the first act. "AII Ma
tiOns," where the entire chords dressed
in adaptations OF the military uniforms
of various countries, sang snatches from
national anthems that were skiIlfully
worked into a pleasing medley.
The chorus Of the Happy Widows
leaves little &c be desired in graceful
nesE, singing and dancing abilities
Each one OF the twenty-five girls-from
the diminutIve Violet Hale to the
Jupoesque Billie Clark-possesses a good
voice and nlmble neither limbs. The en-
semblaRes OF clever dancing maZes are
all rapid in their execution and present
a Kaleidoscope efIect Of color and
twlnkling toes.
Four principal women are with the
Happy Widows" though two is the /
effects by the introduction Of orr-color |
usual allotment on a buTlesque show |
These arc Marcy Catlin. principal SOU |
5rette; Fay O'Dell. principal ingenUe; |,
Helen Van Buren, and Saide Winston.
The costumes are above the ordinary |
standard of buriesque shows. Silks. !
satihs, velvets and gold braid seem to /
have been bought with a lavish hand, /
despite the rise in the cost OF such ma
erials. and they have been worked up
nto costumes that are dazzling.
The plot-if there can really be such
/ thing as a plot to a burlesque show
$ laid in the land of tOrtilias and
across the Rio Grande. The
atmosphere OF the Mexican hacienda is
we'll worked out. and there Is plenty of
he original Mexican bull in the
comedy.
In Dreamy Mexico" is a two-act farce
hat is remarkable for its genuine hu-
nor and is particularly to be commend
d for the sbsenCe of the usual slap-stick
tuff that passed muster for humor on
he burlesque stage not so very long
go. From the time the curtain rises un-
II 1t sets there is plenty Of real. laugh
rnvoking comedy and yet there is not
line in the entire dialogue that would
e considered outre. The jokes and
omedy have real points that are not de-
endent upon suggestiveness or innuen-
oes to pruduct a laugh.
II is refreshing to find musical trav- {
sty produced without cheap striving for '
Dkes that have for many years been ac-
opted as a necessary part OF burlesque.
An innovation in burlesque was intro 1
uced in the presentation Of the Win g
ions, Sadie and Philip. in operatic Sc
ctions. Both OF them are possessed Of
Ccellent voices and the rendering OF
duet from Rigoletto and lie Miserere"
ON II Trovatore were received en- q
by the audience, and in re-
,onse to insistent applause, Miss Win ,
on sang The Last Rose OF Summer" :
Throughout the entire two and a half :
ours of entertainment offered by the =