The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-21
"The Passing Shop Whoops
Things Up At Lively Gait
Overlooking Audience Rock
ed with Laughter Through
Three Hours Of Travesty,
Vaudeville, and Dancing at
rBelasco Theater Last Even
ing.
By JULIA CHANDLER.

There never comes out OF the New 4 rk
Winter Garden a show 50 chucked fun OF
bubblIng fun as The Passing Show" and
the 1915 vintage which opened week
engagement last evening at the Belasco
Theater whOops things up with untiring
pep" furnishing a hOdge-podge Of tray-
ssty, vaudeville and terpsichorean art
that covers three hours Of rOllicking good
entertainment
As everybody knows, The Passing
Show depends for success upon the
Cleverness OF its artists even more than
upon It's dialogue, lyrics and music, and
this years aggregation OF fUnmakers in
Cludes some who have been tickling our
disabilities for many a moon, while others
are new to this years revue.
OF the latter. there's Marilynn Miller,
premier dancer Of the company, a lis
some. Hsping fun Of blond femininity
who trips the light fantastic with win
some grace; aCcomplishes many difficult
steps with agility and sings several songs
in voice whose contralto richness flow
ing from her dainty throat takes the
auditor quite by surprise.
In the Spring Ballet" Miss Miller
gives terpsichorean Interpretation Of an
adaEiO movement, the freshness and
daintiness OF which quite conveys the
title under which this and other dance
speciaIties are grouped as an artistic
she Is assisted by Alexis Kosloff, whose
name betrays his birth, and stands spon-
sOr for that excellence of Interpretation
which the Russian dancers have brought
US in greater measure than any other
In this section Of the program should
also be mentioned Flora Lea, who &C
composites several brief dances with
skill, and the ballet, which Is effective in
its group formations.
OF the comedians who keep the ball
of fun rolling 50 fast that one has diff
hCulty in following it. George Monroe
heads the cast in a burlesque OF the
young heroine of The Song of Songs
If you saw the Sudermann play when
1t came to US earlier in the season you
can imagine just the sort OF figure Mr..
honrOe's bulk cuts in imitation OF
exquisite Irene FenwiCk. and have no
difficulty in realizing the inevitable up
roar his burIesque creates
This and other travesties are the basic
idea Of The Passing Show" Into them
are injected every conceivable jest, twist
and speciality that is calculated to wiring
an extra laugh from the auditor. There
are the Howard brothers burlesque Of
''TriIby,' for example, with Willie all
rugged out in maidenly attire, carrying
noseSay Of vegetables, singing suggestive
song descriptive Of the night Ben Bolt
spent in a Turkish bath, while Eugene
does the SvengaH act to the nth power
with a spectacular vocal finish. Re
suit? Last nights audience, which over
flowed into the isles and chung to the
back rail, Convulsed with enough laugh
ter to make one forget there's a care in
the world.
Then there's the burIesque OF Tx
perience,T George v HObarts morality
play that has been breaking box office
records thfs season, although it has not
perienCe" travesty threads its way
through the entire evening, beginning the
show in the first act where 1t is spring
time in the country and Youth IS bidding
goodbye to First Love. With Experience
he learns many things in the city-most
Of all the fiCkleness and emptiness Of Gay
Life Wine, Dance Fortune, Frailty and
Beauty. The purpOseful play affords am
pie opportunity for travesty which IS
CleverIy effected with Edmund Could
ing as Youth, MariIynn Miller as First
Love. Helen Eley as EverywOman,
Ernest Hare as Experience and add
tionaI members Of the cast initiating less
Important parts.
Other plays of recent success do not
escape the ridiCule, although all the
entertainers Of the Winter Garden ag-
gregation do not give their talents
altogether to travesty. There's diminu-
tive Daphne Pollard. who is just about
knee high to a duck in, stature. but
embodies sufficient spizerfnktum for a
half dozen soubrettes. She does a deal
Of spirited siHging, trips up and down
the Inevitable runway, and keeps
things humming generally; while
Miller and Mack add their speciality OF
eccentric dancing. and Ernest Hare
sneaks out OF the plots Of the bur-
lesqUes long enough to give a sample
or two of his singing. and a bit OF
grOtesque dancing.
As for the girls-well. they are all there
little girls, big girls, blond girls anG
others with tantalizing dark ringIets
There are giggly girls and serious girls
slim girls and plump girls-mOst Of then
pretty. and all of them as innocent Of
clothing as the law allOws-perhaps mort
sol don't make the law. or know very
much about it, but if l did the former
would howl less about bare eXtremi'
ties and provide covering for a back OIL
two.
The dialogue ard lyrics OF the last edi
ton Of The Passing Show" are credited
to Harold Atteridge, who knows his bust
ness in compiling fun: the music is BY
Leo Edwards, W. F. Peters and J. Leu
frie Hill. written with plenty Of spirit IN
syncoPated time; the dances arranged
by Jack Mason with artistic accom-,