Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-04
uTonight's the Night
So Was Yesterday

,.h,,s the Night" An English musical
fsSnfukk cam < Rubens. Lyric Theatre :. r..
Henry ;o;v;iitt.. iioyItt His uncle. TEDDY WeG6
Mon'f3 MMsn f3on. Dudley Mitten. .,. Wuirid Seagram
pnnSS,n Carraway ..'.'..'' = Teyy BuSnapg si,s
isrS TOy head aids9iRts waiter at covent Garden
Alee1' rsnso Teacher ...... Maurice Farkoa
xhetofla. Beatrlce's maid, FaX C9mpton,
ftsseis Lovitt. Montasu's wife, .,,.,.
o,,.v do Monthe. of the Plccadiiiy Theatre -
ps'ss Beatrice Van Drummer
june s: ariswsys House al E'Syy Maydensead Msse5en
Act eno Toysr q oyae, tss Boxes RoSa 0G
House g0,sy snf Fiat 9y in Mount "sn street MARKET
Sg.Toniaht's the Night Is a drama from
az English of Fred Thompson-as we
1ran,a Leaguers put It about Ibsen. Any
tnav at the Lyric could tell IL came from
Snndon by the flora, fauna and indehs-
cent polycarpellarles. When a stout gen.
sinr,an. with dreadnought wife says.
.s1yhat pretty shape that house maid
sss mean what pretty shape he has
.,,ade the house; when that fell remark
~ bra zenly followed UP by illusions to
-, cases and corkscrews; when a stony
stsrs is described, with intent to kill,
az geological survey, tnen you may
,ruly know that you are in the presence
!, English whit and 'umour.
1hnEc
a,dn.t settle the question OF pedigree or
Measure for the audience at the Lyric
r., rIeht. for you can suffer that sort
"a thing In any Frohman Importation.
s-ha nresent specimen was redeemed, re-
d.srned completely and gloriously. by a
,sal London company, doing the piece
,,al as II would have done 1t IL To
rjqbt's tne Night" had been produced at
X az aaiety first instead of over here In
rrt. oba rrpva1 ~ tho min
80 a came on It had ladylike air
ssout II. IL breathed the refinement of
srcbesses in reduced circumstances. Prob
shIv that was because we are naturally
80 unused to the English girl to be able
3 a. detect subtle shadings. No doubt there
are dozens of Englishmen VINO could say,
arhat one isn't a lady or This one
will be some day." But that doesn't mat
,.r There they were with their fresh
son,n,exions-fresh, but not from the
ro,,ae box-their softly curling faxen
hair, their gray-blue eyes. their cleaning
tse,b and tneir large, admirable noses
A ,anpuid chorus, maybe, that dawdled
siopr, while the music kicked UP its heels
and ran off. But a change for us! The
second string wasn't so good, but What
can YOU expect in one show?
AZ any rate, you need not expect so
many excellent principals. Lauri de
rrece. a goodlooking tenor r-or-there-
.houts with a sense of humor, capable or
rolne hunting on the sofa and finging
so1rers 70 himself. Teddy Webb, playing
me sort of fat uncle part James Blakel!
siways does-and used to do In the pres
ent case. wilfrid Seagram, another OF
those good od-looking young Enghshmen,
holding down, quite successfully, George
G.nss,s,,th,s shoes, Edward Mainly,
~ rrotesaue in the style of George
Graves Maurice Farkoa, cooing his
songs with all the art of a chamber
recital Davy Burnaby polite comedian
an added feature.
AS for women-Ethel Baird, as an Iris
Hoey: Allison Skipworth, as matron or
decidedly subtle type, and Fay Comp
ton her delightful self, a beautiful
woman and also an artist in the subtleties
,hat make ladies' maids ladies' maids,
syen II they are adored by sundry leading
men. ,,,
N And outside all this list of the Allies,
Emmy Wehlen, the Won Hindenburg.
the Won Kluck, of "ToniGht's the Night
dashing from the eastern front to the
vest sweeping down on Warsaw, plung-
INK a new drive on Paris. Languid Eng
liSh girls are very nice, ever so much
nicer than American tango fends. But
way for the lady from Germany!
All of which forgets the plot and
music. For the first, understand that
"Tonight's the Night" is supplied with
the dramaturgic details of that veteran
farce, "The Pink Domino"-perhaps
few too many for the amount of music
And as for the music, 1t may not be up to
American tunes as ragtime, but Its COM
poser is aware of the existence of the
bassoon. And that is a good deal.
"Tonights the Night" is fresh from
England, fresh as an English daisy. So
far It has acquired only three bad habits:
illusions to B. v. DIS, Fatimas and the
Inevitable Ford.