The Washington herald., 1919-02-03
shsbert-Bei..es-~oh. Lady, Lady:!,

shubert- -Belases-SsOk. Lady: Lady w.
The Princess Theater school of
musical comedy-alias the oh
school, or the Bolton, W. dehouse-
Kern schools maintaining with
out difficulty its primacy, and keep
ing it's leadership almost in fee sim
pie. Sir Joshua Reynolds, who
mixed his palette with brains, has
had few successors-few who had
the courage to follow his formula.
Particularly is this true~ in the
world of the theater, where the
blend of brains with any sort of en-
tertainment has been regarded, un-
til recently, as almost criminal
chance-taking.. A considerable share
of the success of the Princess The
ater school has been due to the,
sublime faith of its faculty in the
loyalty and discernment of that ele-
ment of the public which leases its
cranial area on a higher basis than
merely as parking space for head
gear.
As long as Messrs. Bolton and
wodehouse and Kern can repeat
as effectively as they have in "Oh,
Lady! Lady!T disclosed at the Shu-
bert -Belasco last night, they need
have no fear that the economic law
of diminishing returns will begin to
apply to their royalties. As con-
seryative and a reactionary' we VIII
have to record our opinion that 1t is
not superior to "Oh, Boy" from
which il springs. But it is precisely
in the spirit of cold and scientlhc
truth-tellmg, il there be such in so
fluid and mercurial a thing as dra-
matte criticism, or what passes cur
rent for IL. that we register YER
dict that il is every whit the equal
of that celebrated skit. slipping
into the vernacular of the sporting
page, this means that the Princess
Theater rhyme-trimmers, fun-com-
FOUNDERS. and melody are
stin batting 400 on Broadway.
Those who file a demurrer to this
verdict will point out that there is no
even pressure of plot development IN
"Oh. Lady, Lady" no fasudious pal
ancins of melody against character
ization, not even the tart tang OF those
vers libre lyrics which gave "Oh,
Boy" such unique distinction. Per
haps some will say that even Jerome
Kern was caught in several uninsplred
moments in the fashioning or MS
score. Against this we will interpose
/
is an easy, ballet-like kind of sophis-
tication woven into "Oh, Lady,
Lady" that to>the sophisticated is
the rarest caviare. ard a joy forever.
Bolton, of Broadway, and Wodehouse.
Of New Rochelle. erstwhile of Fleet
street know how to escape raw haVors
and cheap blends in their. distllla-
tions. and their smart WITNESSES win
because they are not loaded with
punch" or burdened with weedy friN-
olity. Even in their >cynicism they
are blithe.
Vivienne Segal is the Philadelphia
soubrette who contributes a medicated
sparkle to "Oh Lady! Eady."-not the
sparkle Of a meadow brook, but the
kind that is charged and put in bot
ties. She is the latest Broadway edi-
ton OF innocence. II she were less
measured, less studied, in her demure-
ness, her sparkle would be less carbo-
naceous. Carl Randall, youthful edi-
tion OF Joseph Santley. plays opposite
her, and dances with rare skill. Ed
ward AbeIes, a rare fsrceur, has
rich part in Spike HudEins, post
graduate of Sing Sing. hhile Florence
| Shirley is entrusted with the magnifi-
cent role of "Fainting Fanny" Welch,
| from which she extracts a portion of
| its possibilities-but by no means
all. Helen Bolton was an excellent
May Barber. and Ernest Cossart bor-
rowed a few mannerisms from Cyril
Maude in putting the detective
/ Twombley over" Harry Fisher con-
| tributed the single note OF grotesQuerie
to the piece in William Watty," the
Greenwich village elevator chauffeur.
In the second act, chockful of com
edy as it was. there was an absence
| Of definite satiric values in the pic
ture of a roof garden in a Greenwich
] Village studio-but in as much as at
that time the plot had thickened into
a rather gelatinous paste. the work
of unscrambling it was a Job of itself
without counting in side issues. The
weakest parts of oh, Lady Lady"
is where it is distinctly reminiscent
| of "Oh. Boy" the best. those in
which it swings along in its own cur
/ rent.
! The chorus was not "dashing" nor
'peppy." but colorful and discreet.
| The entire production. from its first
insinuation of gayety to its last leap
Of fun, is one of the delights Of the
season.