Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-02
STOP LOOK !! LISTEN \!
NEW SHOW AT FORREST
If You Stop You Have to
Listen-If You Listen
You Look

The show with the danger signal for a
title and Gaby Deslys as starred attrac-
tlon opened at the Forrest last night.
Charles Dillingham; presented" a musical
comedy which is destined to follow Chin
Chin" In New York, and which will prob
ably follow that success c1osY;y in respect
to popularity. A pleasant time was had
by all.
Man wants but little OF everything In
a musical comedy, and wants that little
good. lie land his wife) care not much
about logical order, and care less for all
the things which critics generally assume
a musical comedy should have. In stop!
Look! Bisten! the batting average OF
good things is about $40, which Is con-
siderable. But the things are so jumbled
up that II takes an hour or two to sort
them. In general there are the music,
which is by Irving Berlin, and the book,
which is bad, and the stars, and the
stunts, and the stage management, and
the scenery.
To start in reverse, the scenery Is cred
tied to Robert McQulnn, unknown to
fame. 1t is scenery of such surprising
beauty, such wonderful effects, that wild
guesses were made last night as to who
had painted It. 1t is just what Joseph
Urban would do IL he worked In that sim
pie, discreet, quiet manner. The splurge
of purple-blue In the Hawaiian set, the
marvellous sunlight and clouds and trees
in AT the Farm" (built by Homer Emens
who is Eenius) and the fiery checker
board in the final scene (by the same
hand) are merely the hghlghts of n
series of most notable sets. The costumes,
many with the assistance OF Helen Dry
den who must have had much to do with
the total visual effect. are all in good
taste. and many achieve the next to i'm
possible in costuming, freshness and
originallty. So the show Is n pleasant
thing to look at.
Before this glowing and magnificent
decoration there pass, from time to time,
n number of the most admirable OF musi-
cal comedy stars. 1t was the most ex-
traordinary thing that as scene melted
into scene different sets of characters
seemed to dominate the whole perform
nncc. First chat is. after the chorus and
the settings were sufficiently admired
Frank Lalcr began the fun with n drol-
lery and economical manner that lasted
well to the end. Doyle and Dixon en-
tered. but their time had not yet come.
Gahy herself and Harry Fox took turn
at leading, hut they, too, were being
saved up. Joseph Santley danced and
sang. and his Girl on the Magazine
Cover was the first smashing hit, at
tended as 1t was by some of the cos
tunes mentioned before. Sunshine and
Tempest, not properly taken care of in
the allotment of characters, took the out
side. and held 1t until Marion Harris
stepped in from nowhere and with
two numbers, the second with six pianos
and n gorgeous arrangement of girls and
dresses, broke up the show" That ended
the first act of what seemed II very beau
tifully finished musical comedy.
The real punch comes later. Nothing
so overwhelming as the success of Doyle
and Dixon In three separate character
dances has been seen here in months.
They are perfect performances, with good
business and an agility and grace far
beyond the ordinary. The second act was
theirs by right of conquest. Then the fun
came thick, II slightly risque song, and
roaring "ragtime burlesque," in which
Harry Fox returned 10 his own, with
Gahy as his partner. Mr. Santey was
given better opportunity, and his own
charm of manner and of cultivated dam