The Washington herald., 1916-04-04
NationaI-''ziesferd FoIlies.,


At last-they're here! After this week
theatrical Washington can now sit down
and piacidly wait for next year. The
ziegfeld Follies' Of 1915 came" saw"
and conquered. The show comes UP to
your expectations, whatever they are
On the whole, its as good as any former
follies. In spots. it's better.
The Job OF telling what's In the show
Is IKE that or the man outside the big
tent. Inside we have girls, girls, girls;
the only Leon Enrol, Ed Wynn, Bert Will
liams and VIII West; the worlds great
est collection of dancers and singers; the
most wonderful scenic effects ever
shown; etc, etc, ETC." Be thankful we
have a program handy-it could never be
done without program. Here they
come as they come:
A wonderful under-the-sea scene opens
the show, in which a mere man in a sub
marine navtgates among mermaids in
search of an unspoiled woman" There's
no such person on the earth" ne ex-
plains to an inquisitive siren. We sud
denly jump to the front of a gorgeous
drop, THE Home of the Sum-" and hear
Vivian Oakland and male chorus sing,
Hold Me In Your Loving Arms" and
you wish you could-that is, hold Vivian
not the chorus-that is, also, II you are
a man The kaleidoscope shifts and
song in the midst of a crowd OF girls in
stunning striped costumes. He has fin
ished and we are in the Catskills, watch
ing Rip Van Wrinkle mannikins-or, grill
ktns would be better-do a weird dance
Here is where Enrol, Wynn and West
get in their first broadsides. as Rip Nut
Sundae, the baseball evangelist. and Jen-
nings B. Ryan, respectively.
Supply your own adjectives for Anna
iya
She dances next. Bert Williams caroms
in for Jungle scene with West and a
Phil Dwyer lion. The scenes a scream.
Radiumland, in which Charles Purcell
and the Radium Girls sing and dance,
respectively. makes about the most stun
ming effect in the show. Nothing fun
nIer appears In the whole performance
Ed. Wynn. in real life, directs a motion
picture rehearsal with the other mem
bers OF the company, in reel life.
Dainty Ina Claire makes her bow with
Charles Purcell by means of the Hello
Frisco" song, the heads Of girls sticking
out of a huge map OF the United States
to represent cities en- route across the
continent A newcomer to the Follies,
w. c. Fields, recruited from vaudeville,
has a great trick pooltabIe act, In which
he is ably assisted by Wynn, the Oak
land sisters, and others. A typical Zieg-
field finale TO the first act comes In the
shape OF a parade OF the Rulers OF the
World" the audience testifying to its
neutrality at the appearance of each
foreign ruler by trying to outapplsud
those who are trying to outapplaud
others.
A dainty second-act opening is in the
shape Of a Christmas scene, in which
Purcell sings I'll Be a Santa Claus to
You" and several girls appear as light
ed Christmas trees Fields does another
comedy juggling stunt all by himself,
and another real laugh comes with the
Hallway of the Bunkem Court Apart
ment." with Bert Williams, ErroTs jag,
ct al Its a constant scream. Ina
Claire makes her second appearance
with her Marie Odile" song, in which
she tells how the little novitiate gets
away with" her innocence. Purcell has
another song, "A Girl for Each Month
in the Year" written solely to get a
bunch OF girls on the stage in wonderful
creations. Miss Pennington and George
White do a clever Irritation dance" and
Ed. Wynn comes on disguised as him
self and gives away a lot of secrets
about the show in general and his salary
in particular The big dance number,
under the heading of "EIysium,' is gor-
geously staged and skillfuIly performed
by Emma Haig, Lucille Cavanaugh and
Carl Randall Leon Enrol and May Hen
nessey do their familiar acrobatic dance
with some additions Miss Hennessy is
remembered for her work in The Belle
of Bond Street. and 1.-The Pink Lady"
Bert Williams sings a new song about
being a prolific murderer and another,
Don't Let the Same Bee Sting You
Twice" The grand finale gives every
body a chance to show what he or she
can do in the dancing line, Lucille Cav
oil
Chas. Purcell being featured.
The show is real ''Follies," UP to all
"Follies" standards. If that is your
kind Of a show, don't miss it.