Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-30


vSor iis1s sspp"rt hgTT stassd @Gd bs %cd wsyRurn
ss-o,r'c decorations by Joseph Urban.
Forrest
THE pRlYcrpAts-wu Rqgsrs Ben! WI
Fi.ids Drn TSerclny Eddie cantor, Russoll
GS's n ana STd h a2s Fair aS Gus
Mildred Richardson.
Broad street looked "woozy" last night
to some 5000 perfectly respectable Phiadel-
rhlans who were carried through a maze OF
hues and Colors for more than three hours
until they fe't that they had embarked
unon the most frenzied bacchanaltan orgy
since the feast Of NebuChadnezZar. Blues,
oranges. reds yellows violets, green's whites
and acks were chasing each other in a
kaleidosc~p riot from one end Of the For
rest Theatre stage TO the other until the
eye lost all rower Of distinguishing IN
dN'dval CClor-: 'hc bra N would have been
helpless to c1-ordinatp thnm had they been
caugl't The c''oF impression t was pos
gih'e to retain was a hazy recollection OF
s"nlng rs many "f the worlds most beauti'
tu' w'm01 ~ svrn the ancient Babylonian
would ca"n to meet.
Al "' v.r',N Co. iuct auothpr--aud longer
way &C env ne '"a' THE Follies' are back.
W IN Flurenz 'eFfe'd TO pick the girls.
with pph T'rbpn to devise the stage dec.
orau'vs with Lady Dun.Gordon to clothe
tNa lassnr ard Ned wayburn 10 concoct
m, "n1e'auCo," something superlative was
h und TO happen. and this superior some
IN nE 8 v'h us in the guise Of THE FOL
lies of 1911"
Fv",ytNi"E that appeals to the eye is
hnt'~" tN10 any previous "FOlltes Ihe
opening scene in an Arabian garden is
one Of the finest sets yet born Of the i'm
aGinatioN o. Joseph Urban, and wherever
the deft hand and colorful eye OF the
Vie7reee scene ConcoCter" have worked
tNeir charm a new wonder has been added
90 the 'riuurnNs Of modern stage invest
ture. The costumes are truly gorgeous. IT
has been whispered about that In the
acc1c ~ the "hr'de's" chamber the cl'n1 !
alone cost some $4,000. And as for the
F'rls--wel although equally large sums
have heen lavished upon their costumes the
gorgeOus~ess of the gowns enhance with
out ove~weighinE their natural assets Of
good looks
Another commeodable feature about the
current show is that one does not have
time to get tired of any particular scene.
There are nearly a score OF episodes all
more or less interesting, many untortu-
nately less So The wit is painfully absent
afte" the promise of rich satire held out
by Tom Richards i'm the opening scene,
But the sparkle of the Shakespearian trav-
esty last year and of earlier shows is
absent There is always a smile. occa-
sionally a Chuckle, but rarely a good,
hearty laugh The music is much the
same. It's always pleasing, nut never eN-
citing II some one would only write an
other Hello Frisco" Flo ZieSfeld would
hand him a nice, fat wad
oh, yes. there's a surreptitous plot Dick
Burton DUDLEY FarnwoTth), at a Won
drous Arabian feast wagers that more in
teresting and curious things happen in New
York in one night than happened in all the
Arabian nights put together. The prize is
the hand of Shahrazad (Mss K;ng). Then
follow the variegated episodes
With the cast of principals which Mr.
Zlegfeld has collected there is no chance
! for failure--if such an institution as the
"Follies" can ia Bert Williams and
Fanny Brice are old favorites. Will Rog-
ers, with his scntilatlng impromptu COM
ment on the days news, is one of the coun-
trys few real wits. The last in the quartet
of stars" is a newcomer, Eddie Cantor, a
blackfaCe comedian promoted from Zieg-
fields Midnight Frolc" On the New Am
sterdam roof to a stellar position i'm the
big show" His feature song, That Kind
of a Baby" was the most spontaneous hit
of the show.
Among the principal scenes are the Ara
ban garden. the Chinese lacquer room the
garden Os girls and the patriotic finale in
which Victor Herbert writes small sym
phony in his own delightful style on Amer
lean patriotic themes ID. G. l..