Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-12

GO TO THE FORREST
FOR A VICTROLAFUL
Little Miss Springtime" Arrives
With the Loveliest of Music
and Other Things

LITTLE MISS sPRINoTIME. An operetta 81
three acts. Music by Emmerich Kaln,an Hook
ReynSlds sg stssed BY Julian SIsp StV,ehsl1 and Her
p. bert Gresham. Scenery BY joseph urhsa,n; S,rs
Editor Of the Piota dsSe,ts. sSiss ., D
Micheel ROBIN. assistant editor John p Hazr Hazssrrd
,, 80 ,,. se RO;is maiden aunt SO' ''. nsS..
DIR DrueGis; and p;ostnsstsr, err"
'-N.' ..Natiys aonn;, az IS,ietsl
Rosika wenzsl. wenzeis daughter. .sari fetTass ss
a igypsy. .pholosrs pher. -.
Dustin Stone rich American. lied PTSuty
inspeetor block. Of budapest. Percy weedIey
Secretary 70 Rudolph Mario ..... Wayne Nynn lynn
ys%isFs Psn.su:e P Aas Mssss
Act i1Ths yi4sse OF P,ots. Act a@Swensei's 5
the Budapest Opera House.
The marvel OF Vienna Is not the Busy
Bertha. but the all.round operetta. There
and there only can mortal man produce
scores that score and books that insure
good bookings. There and there only Is
sentiment possible without vulgarity, emo
tion without heroics. tragedy without
pathos. There and there only do we meet
gay tunes with the manners of the academy.
grave harmonies with the touch OF romance
upon them. There and there only do
stories start with real people and real cir
cumstances and go through real plot to a
find such delectable things as Little Miss
Sprlngtime" for our import trade.
The new piece. which inaugurated Its
own American career and a fresh season at
the Forrest last night has the Characters
tcally simple and neatly developed plot. II
concerns a famous baritone who is due to
sing at the "Old Home Week Of his long.
deserted native town, who elects to visit II
as gypsy photographer. but who finds
himself before long passed OFF as the great
IGt. l.. H.
ness Of young girl who hopes to sing be-
fore the great man and the fortunes of the
bouncing speculator who has introduced the
''Old Home Week TO Austria The results
| In disclosures and crossed loves are as
natural as they are well handled. They
make a consistent and intelligent book that
takes itself Just seriously enough.
For the cast there is, frst Of all. John
| F. Hazard, the comedian that once knew
| man whose uncle died leaving a store
| full Of dollar watches and who wore out
| his health winding up the estate. Hazard
| does a lot of other good things in such a
! good way that just now, when he has
| turned playwright. too II is easy to sus.
| pect him of being much more of comedian
| than he really is. There are three other
distinguished features of Little Miss
| Springtime's" excellent cast. One OF than
| is George MacFarlane, who makes the
famous singers voice plausible, to say the
least; how easily and strongly he sings
and yet what a pity that he will not give
| an absolutely perfect performance by
watching that faulty nasal tone which oc.
| casionally creeps into his singing An.
| other high light of the cast is the new.
conner. Sarl Petrass. from that same land
| which gave US ELSE Alder last season, AZ
well as "Sari" and Little Miss Spring
| time: her voice Is lovely and clear anc
| land, and finally we have Charles Previn
! who is supposed to be only a musical con
| ductor. but who danced and sang larg,
| sections of the operetta last night and pu
through all the rest In fine style
Others off-stage besides Mr.. Previn die
| much for Little Miss Springtime." Pro
| ducers scene painters, costumers and re
vampers Of music all demonstrated, Al
they did in the case of Flora Bella" tina
| II is possible to take Viennese product
and without doing violence to its inheren
| qualities give IL a little of the zest and ZiI
which the American public relishes ant
| which IL about all they get from nativ,
| productions So something Ziegfedian wan
| dered into the costumng OF those sub
| timely confident leaders of chorus to sug
gest the Follies Of tho Fatherland, ant
the lights went mad In the second act, anC
Nice and Weeks had a good time, AM
even Mr.. Kalman, the composer JOINED
the merry-merry- making with n bit o
Viennese ragtime. But mainly Mr.. Urban
among the improvers, was to be mos
thanked for three lovely settings. agains
which nothing could seem fat. before whIcl
it must have been an inspiration to dance
As for Mr.. Kalman, who gave Vi
"Sari," he has left some of that charming
music far behind in Little Miss Spring
time" II is not alone that he knows hi
violins. his flutes and his horns, and thei
beautiful fuslng. He has that eterns
viennese faculty for tune. for the lovelies
and slightest Of themes endlessly sung int,
melodies that ripple and evanesce and ye
remain forever. There are half dozen o
them in Little Miss Springtlme." Go hea
| them. 1t means a mental Vctrolaful fo
you the rest of the season. X NJ