The Washington herald., 1918-05-13
BeIaseo-.Rock-a-Bye Baby.

neIn8cO-nOCA-h>b b1uys
Musicalizing Margaret Mayos ma
ternal drollery was a happy thought.
In Baby Mine" she wrote an obstet-
rical farce that defied all the good
old precedents. In "Rock-a- Bye
Baby" disclosed at the Belasco last
night, her text and her tale have
been used for the prodigiously pro-
life Jerome Kern to adorn with Kern
esque melodies. and for the deft
hand of Edgar Allan Woolf to be-
deck with lyrics.
The current fashion OF turning
tried-and-true farces into music
shows is fundamentally sound. 1t IL
doubtless more than a mere passing
craze, although, like every other good
idea which hits the theater, 1t Is in
danger of being overdone. But mu-
steal comedy had lapsed into a
chronic state of vacuity when some
body-perhaps 1t was Bolton and
Wodehouse-conceived the idea that
If 1t had crisp. clever, up-to-the-
minute fun in IL, instead of the lum-
bering inanities Of dialect Comedians
and the dreary preparations OF SLAP
stick artists, the public might be in
duced to accept the innovation char
itably. The idea has been successful
and contagious. Everybody's DOING
it. Some OF them are doing II well,
and in this class we must include the
new Selwyn production.
There has not been a more smartly
tailored production in Washington
this season. And the cast is in all
respects an excellent one. John Cum
berland Is seen in his original role of
Jimmy" and for those who know his
method no other word need be said.
He carries the fun easily on his
shoulders, and Jimmy loses moth
ing in his new environment, where
he Is swirled around in tinkling melo-
dies and in bevies OF brilliantly cos
TUNED girls. In fact, the farce is CIV
en- fillip and flourish by the musicale
zation. New high lights of plausible
preposterousness are thrown on the
stage, mere details are rubbed out to
give rhyme and wit and dance a fling.
Edna Hibbard Is a very effective
follow-up of Margaret Clark in the
role OF Zoie, the dainty little make
believe mater. She Is deft and chic
and clever. showing acting skill far
beyond the average prima donna-is IL
proper 10 refer to her as prima DON
na?-to be found in musical comedy
Louise Dresser, OF course. Is more
than adequate in the role of ARgie
Jinks, and resists the temptation of
burlesquing the part, as SO many
others would have done.
Edna Munsey has a role which is
one OF the new thoughts" of the
refurbished Baby Mine" and her
work as the temperamental onera
singer, Mime. Tentelucci is excel
lent. Her singing of Just One
KISS was effective. Frank Morgan
dld full justice to the part of Alfred
Hardy. and Dorothy Dickson CON
tributed a dance in the first act
which was. one Of the distinctive
features of the production.
There are a number of song hits
as might have been expected from
the Woolf-Kern combination. in
Guiding According to DR.. Holt
My Own Light Infantry" "Rock-a-
Bye Baby Dear" II Never Thought
and Not You" The melodies are a
trlhe sugary and sirupy, but for the
most part tuneful and whistIeabIe
AS Tor the setting and the cos
tuning it is only necessary to re-
iterate our allegation that "Rock-
a-sye Baby" il. one Of the most
smartly tailored productions seen IN
the Capital this season.