Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-26
SWEETHEART" SHOW
THE PLAYHOUSE HIT
Opening Performance Witnessed
by q Large Audience, Which
Gave Unstintcd Approval.

"Somcbodv's Sweetheart" which cam'
10 The PLAYHOUSE last night. surely made
a hit with it's Wilmington audience, which
was ecregiously diverted with the ntlc'
of William Kent, highly appreciatlvc O
the bravuras of Nonette. the gypsy
violnist, and deeply grateful for the rca
voices of Eva Fallon, Louise Allen, Walter
Scanlan and John Dunsmure, as well a:
for the lavishlv costumed and well favor,
ed chorus, the ample orchestra and
sumptuous scenic setting.
The offering perhaps has as much night
as many of the current productions to
the title Of comic opera, but that Is a
question OF taste. and does not greatly
matter. II is . mnsical melange-a
'onal salad, if you will. and deity made
nut of strictly high-class ingredients.
The action is ccntered around the per
onalty and reputation of Nonette,
Who is well known TO the vaudeville stage
"a vocalist and instrumentalist, but
not hitherto in any leading character
part In a production, She acqmts herself
almost equally well in each OF the three
fold roles. Her mastery Of certain OF the
spectacular stunts of bow artists Is un-
questioned. though these seem st hrst
view less fitted for the particular purpose
than for turns" where the gaping crowd
must be astOnlss cd.
Eva Fallou's entry WAS made amid
the picturcsquely- -garbed plaza Popu-
lsce-a perfect Spanish omelet OF color,
including paprika flavor here and there,
md her American Beauty Rose song
vas very effective. She also showed 10
rocal advantage IN the sequent duo with
Matter Scanlan, the tenor lover OF the
.ast. and carried the song shared with
William Kent.
The entree Of Zaida, with the gypsy
.hief and his retinue. gives the cue Tor
C;itana effects, which were we'll worked
sp. and introduced the resonant baritone
u John Dunsmure, whose principal NUM-
,er came. however, at the opening OF the
econd act and consisted OF the effective
Sultan" song.
Louise Allen. whose unconcealed long
ing to be Somebody : ~wcetheart' chris
tened the show, sang sweetly, looked as
pretty as a picture and acted with .
roguish grace and abandon that captlvat-
ID. Her dance with William Kent, IN
which plastic poses arc b,Tlesqucly treat
I'd, was most excellent foohng and encored
TO the limit.
William kent's part gives him much
more scope than dld LauleS fHSt. III
which he was recently seen here, and 1t
is only fair to say that he exceeded the
expectations Of even those who expected
much of him. His drolleries were the
mainspTing of the action Of the piece.
OF course, they are mannerlsms and tc
within rather sharply defined limits, but
then there are so many of them and they
pop up % unexpectedly that one only
remembers TO laugh, and even learns 70
have the makings OF a smile ready 70
bscak out At a seconds notice, when he
b on the stage.
The author has gwen him, or he has
bu,,d generous sprinkling of good
lines, and LurH;s,,el better than the
average lyrics and blslII - Tor the other
PARTS, and Arthur Bafunno hiss turned
unt better than the usual run Of melodies
I'D ensembles, some of which are true 90
50m by suggesting earh sr titles in the
HAmmerstein repertory q musical shows.
The orcheetrs, capablv directed by Her
ert Stothart, did full Justice to the
core.
Only one more performance is sched-
1ed here, tonight, which Is pity.