Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-26
BLITHE INFORMALITY
MARKS "HITCHY. .KOO"
Raymond Hitchcock "Person-
ally Conducts the Audience
Through Intimate Revue"
MANY AMUSING SCENES

intimate revue IN two
lvrics by Glen MacDonough and T. RAY
Goc,2 Music by =. Ray Goftn styro STAGE rTei
Coca, Lyric Theatre. Christmas nlsht'
Americas most original comedian and
Philadelphia's drullest ex-ri'izen has
achieved that rara avis something new
under the stage calcium. II is the init
mate revue aud its function is to per
form for the T. u. NJ. what the little
theatre" idea aims to do for the more
esoterlc playhc',"e patron. Fer. as intro
duced to Phi and personally
conducted" II .-ytnond hitchcock.
"Htchy-K Koo" is the auintessence OF In
formality and intimacy and II those
qualities are not. strictly speaking, new
IN musical shows. they are at icas'
given the scmblance of novelty through
the camoutlagc of "llitchy's' bland ana
beguillng methods,
From the moment "IIitchy" saunt2red
down the aisle of the Lyric and con-
fded to the audience his ideas about
footlight offerings, everybody in the
huge holiday throng felt deep personal
interest in the proceedings. And the
condolences continued intermlttently
during the evening. ."liitchN hcld col
loquieS with moro or less embarrassed
friends "out front" ambled before the
curtain to discuss Billy sunday and the
Kaiser. and even squatted crossleGged
on the piano in the orchestra to chat
with the musicians aud the front row,
while members Of the cast sustained
the atmosphere of inforinalty with
various local illusions that might have
been inspired by the rreprcssiblc Ray
moud's former residence hero
While "Hitchy" ia tho moving spirit
Of the performance. he is by no means
in the popular parlancc, the whole
show" Leon Enrol. of former "Follies'
fame. is as hilariously inebriated as on
any previous occasion. His scene with
Hitchcock in an old-fashioned photo.
graph gallery is veritabc riot Of
laughter while his antics in n haunted
bedroom" during the second act are
even more convulsively funny.
Oue Of the funniest scenes "apitally
burlesques the rustic general store.
with all its familiar small town char
acters. Hitchcock further reveals his
comic versatility in this scene as the
chief Of Baldwn's Corners Fire De-
partment. aud as a player on n tenor
: tuba. with a prediction FOR "nattering
the notes The village band introduced
at this iuncture would make the aver
age Broadway jazz" organization writhe
with grecneSt envy.
lgnatio Martinetti and Sylvia Jason
acccptably play tho quantity appealing
and exotic little Chinese letter" scene
originally done in the Broadway days
Of "Hitchy-Eoo" by William Rock and
Frances White. 1t is to be regretted
however. that Philadelphia audiences
cannot hear the latter sing "SiN-Times'
Six" and "Missssppi." The beauty OF
Irene BordGui lends further vlrety.
The score Is almost as negligible as
the plot. but there are several mildly
attractive songs. the best of whCl
is when You've Picked Your Basket
Of Peaches" followed by q Charminr
photograph album" succession o
tableaux yisualizing the bride and groom
Of each decade from civil~ ~War days tt
the present.
\ few Of the scenes in 'llitchy-koo'
have tendency to drag, and this Is
true particularly of the final episode
But there Is so much else that is d
verting and original that only the mos
captious would cavil at these few lapse,
/ in "A light entertainment that is cxcep
, tionally rich in merit. l.. L. NJ.