New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-24
By HAYWOOD BROUN.

The music of VERY Good Eddie IS
not pretentious, and no muses. lesped
and clapped their hands when the book
was written, but for all OF that it is an
agreeable entertainment. Its charm
lies in the possession of more or less
artless high spirits. OF course they
are not really artless, but merely seem
so. Clever work by accomplished play
ers was needed to gain the effect.
The most accomplished member of
the company is Ernest Truck, who has
played BOYS parts ever since he was a
Young man. At last he is a juvenile.
lie is not exactly grown up at that, FOR
one Of his best songs concerns the
woes 70 be found in life when you
wear 10 collar and your shoes are
No. g." There is some more about
the privileges accruing TO the man
whose shoes are No. II, but we know
that there is nothing in that.
There Is much that is boyish in the
performance Of Truck, and it is de-
light to see a young man in musical
comedy who is not in the least con-
seious Of good looks and does not eX.
press that satisfaction in continual
simper. There ia nothing more ag-
gravating in the world than this shipper
OF a musical comedy juvenile, unless
it be the triumphant smile of fellow
who has Just mastered a new step.
Next to Truck the most engaging
member of the company is Miss Anna
Orr. She, also, knows that girl need
not smile and smile and smile 70 be ar
ingenue. She sang and danced agree
ably and fitted well into the intimate
atmosphere of the Princess Theatre.
In some respects the Princess is an
excellent theatre for comic opera. II
is a theatre in which it should be pos
sible to recognize members OF the
chorus from any seat in the house
And il is an individualiZed chorus
Each girl has dress of her own. No:
that's not exactly what We mean. What
we intend TO convey is that each girl
is costumed differently, as suits her
STYLE. This is boon to those who are
not quick at mental arithmetic. for
there is no necessity of saying THE
third one from the left" or "The fourth
from the right, in the second row." II
may be "the one in pink" or brown,
or green" as the case may be.
From a purely aesthetic point OF view
this marks a step upward. After all, a
chorus girl has "a certain individuality
IL it il only given a chance. To make
them all sailor boys, or nurse maids, or
Spanish dancers is 20 show some types
below their best. In Very Good Ed
die" there seems 20 have been most
laudable effort 20 devote a certain
amount of attention TO what eacn girl
should wear. And, by the way, wear is
not used in its usual passive musical
comedy mood. The costuming of this
chorus is synthetic, not analytical.
Yes; We meant what we said when
we stated Each girl has dress Of her
own" One is not called upon to gaze
at the knees of the world and weep.
The cast contains a number of we'll
known players. We doubt if any Of
them will make any new regulations
on the strength of Every Good Eddie, y
but at the same time they will lose
none either. John +. Hazard is par
ticularly amusing, even though he does
allow his voice to run into greater vol
ume than the Princess Theatre re-
quires. One of the best things in the
show is a burlesque problem play be-
tween him and Ada Lewis, in which
he finally bids her farewell, saying.
There is mans work TO be done in
Mesopotamis."
Miss Lewis is not lowered with a
happy part. IL is not very funny that
a woman should call man named "Riv-
ers" "Mr. Lake" nor is it any more
side-spltting that upon their next
meeting she should greet him as "Mr.
Brooks" OF course, that is not the
fault of Miss Lewis. Alice Dewey
makes a cute foil for Truck, and Helen
RAYMOND is amusing as his lofty wife.