Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-16
LY FARCE AND WELL-STAGED COMIC OPERA FV
"THE GRASS WIDOW"
FRESH BUT NOT GREEN

SAh OOA wv OANAkA<l
Very Sophisticated Young Per.
son Heroine of Very Sophisti-
Gated Musical Show"
BREAKS THROUGH ICE
Skating Over Pond of "Frenchy'
Farce Not Skillful Enough to Avoid
Splashing Cold Water on Moralists
'.rHE GRASS WIDOW" musical comedy; play
and iyrlcs by ChanninE Pollock and Rennoid
1semsies BY MAY sehsgh ,sdS and ,DIni william FoI =.
rest rhester The cast:
. Fanchon d. O.. ............... Marion Pulsr
Babette Insz seblnE
sIisstte .... ..,!........,....... Becky Shetpe
Annette, '.'...'.'. Pose NJ na ssnSr
farSS fafrTSSS poyie 5sHsr AUNT AbisaiD OTIS Harlan
Soiiette .,.a, gretchen Eastnan ,,i,,,I
Jseaaes, JaSU the otsoufn count or casei-Guyen.
Lucille. Jacquess sister. . Nursueriis.i.. FTitts
Act IA railway station restaurant.
sES5sny France Act S h2ms Sof. % %a'i 81 n.
Golden Pheasant. Fontainbleau.
Before the great war taught the gen
erality Of Americans that the sacrificing
devotional French people were serious, sim
cere and clean cut reviewers would have
dismissed The Grass Widow" with the
statement. crystallized into convention by
frequent repetition. that - was typical
French farce, despite its programmed origin
on Broadway through the medium of Rem
mold Wolf and Charming Pollock, they would
have said with a smirk, wink or a
frown according to their code OF ethics and
esthetics, that here was y devisement Of in
decacy that was beltevsble in France, but
something that did not chime in harmony
with the home-a nd wife nd mother ideals
Of the solid Anglo-Saxon qualities The
badness of the situations and the boIduess
OF the language would have been cOntrasted
with the reserve in action and reticence In
dialogue Of the English speaking stage
The truth is-and has been, OF course
that the French people have been misrepre-
sented by the farceurs and borilevarders
who have written for an exceptional public
pieces that were formulary and restricted
both in their fidelity to a limited class and
TO a specialized audience And as for unco
guild Saxon reticence and hOlier-than-thou
attitude. these pieces had their relishtng
audience this side Of the Atlantic
though they did suffer a sea-chanRe into
something more innocuouS in the passage
over the water, But we have known pretty
we'll all along that the Girls from MaXiin's
and Rector's and In Taxis and with Whoop-
ing Cough had their limited appeal on this
side and that the audiences which took
Joy in them were by no means typical OF the
real sense and spirit OF America. And since
the Great War we have come to know the
French better. 10 realize their national
worth. TO drop the old hctons of their
racial fckleness lascviousness and within
sicality and to learn that their lightness is
that Of wit mood and touch and not Of
mind or morals
SO no longer will it be fair or even under
standable TO call a theatrical entertainment
which stirS objection, even in the least
prudish moralist. French" We must if
we have to- reserve the deprecatory diminu-
tive "Frenchy" for such labelling
The Grass Widow then is a "Freucby"
farce with music. II began couyenti0nally
and somewhat tediousy aud about midact
In the second developed situation which
kept a big Forrest audience in uncomfort-
able and somewhat tedious suspense till The
finale. Theatregoers in these trying times.
when the darkiinR gloom of strange issues
invest life and life is shadowed by the
tmmenence of the supreme sacrifice OF death
for great cause want and need what is
simple and sweet, not necessarily treacle
and prunes-pyramids-and-pri but GER
tainly not consciously cantharidian con-
ooctions or slab brews OF salacity and bore
dom. The clever if immoral Partisan de
vtsers Of this sort Of thing at least had a
hnesse that rs alien to the art Of Messrs
Woh and Pollock The pond Of Ganic
farce, stagnant beneath is usually skated
ever with sufficient skill to prevent a break
N the ice. In the current offering the thin
nlm cracks and even a faIliabIe human
being OF merely average morals gets more
than one splash of cold water The con-
oonation or at least excuse for the old
fashioned "Frenchy" farce was ingenuity
ana clever audacity that did not overstep
itself.
At least The Grass widow has some
excellent music unusually melodious and
orchestrated resonantly by the composer OF
several "Follies" scores and cast that
includes such capital entertainers az
Natahe Ait. of the clear and vibrant So
prano; Jess Dandy who has two bits" Of
sutnentle acting TO redeem much that must
ne unpleasant TO him. Otis Harlan ana
victor Morley, who can make fun without
straw by sheer comic ability. and Rose
hessner grotesque actress who is as
amusing, and in like manner, as Emma
JsnVier or Alice Hagemsn The dances
ana ensembles. arranged and drilled b,,
Max Scheck and W j. Wilson dasar,,a
praise for liveliness and colorfuiness
W. r. NJ
"Forward MarchV CIoL