Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-20
Henry. thy name is efficiency
Billy B. Van in "lIaNC Heart.

All. Colonel Savage. have heart stop
putting so many of our musical comedy
producers to shame with the taste. the
dantiness, the all-round efficiency of your
offerings. If you don't. youll make the
standard Of soug-and-girl shows so hlgh
that one or two rivals will use their uh-
doubted hut slumberuG brains and then
Wcll all he going to musical comedy anu
nothing else. and what will become ot
Bernard Shaw? Who but you colonel
would take the pains to import into the
provinces a cast that makes tho average
road company seem 1T On;y FOR the tank
towns, and frcsh crisp costumes ana seem
cry that are as brilliant as on their first
night? II Is not enough for you to have
found in Margaret Romaine, prima donna
with a real voice. You must have another,
Flora Iabelle, with an added sense or quiet
fun. You will insist that your dancing
Juvenile he the agile, but more serious-and-
repressed than-usual Donald Macdonald,
whose legs fly about as swiftly when he has
an armful of girl as when he hasn't. And
you entrench the inherent qualities Of your
show with people like the magnificcnty
pcasurable and Jovianly vulgar Billy h.
Van and other stars and near-stars-Flavia
/ Arcaro. Thurston Han. James Bradbury.
You have not fallen back on the Smith
! brothers or Glen NacDonouEh for your
! libretto. sensing that new blood helps lot.
| You have requsitioned men who know that
| ginger" rhymes with "iniure,' as well as
| "moon" with spoon" and who can pull
! every sort of quip from the easily written
! Marie Jardin perfume is one of our six
| hest smellers," to the neat but not gaudy
| fun of things like this: 81 thought she
| threw you over?" "She did, but you know
how girl throws In the department
store of your librettists' creation one finds
| that the ostrich feather label is only a
| IL, ali, na f,t-. aud
that complaint department is maintained
for the help" not the purchasers. AS for
! the individual side of modern business, the
salesady grows weary selling corsets II
she never lies down OR sits" so she is givef
free cocktails, and so forth.
All these perquisites. so banal paper
! so delectabe in speech. make Have q
Heart a very good evening indeed, Henry
! But there are other matters to be consid
| cred. For instance the music of Mr. Kern
| Sometimes Mr.. Kern is cXasperatnG, and
! should have his composition materials takei
| away from him; he can turn out simple
! taking little tune so easily, and then calmly
rewrite it for the next six seasons II
| Have Il Heart he has wrovS.; often well
and sometimes weirdly, From his Rhein'
golden overture to the frothy. sentimental
hits of the night is almost AS long dis
tance as from New York to Bayreuth The
| crown of Mr. kern's bravery iG I'm here
| little girls I'm here" If that is not. not,
for note the same tune sung by Martin
Brown in "'The Kiss Waltz" years ago W.
| will eat Billy r. Vans purple hat shred by
! shred.
Billy r. Van is, of course. the big main
| spring that keeps this cute little amusement
watch wound up and ticking. This gentle
man. who has been calling persons young
fella" in vaudeville for so long, has Il curl
Gus and penetrating humor that finds il!
chief vent in a Napoleon ditty. He would
be funny even if Have a Heart weren'
| an agreeable ConCOction. As il is, ffteer
| minutes could he cut from it without hurt
| ing any feelings. B, ID.