The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-11-08
The Public Be SerUed
AMUSEMENTS


Let music play
Let footlights glimmer
In this painted land
Where calciums simmer.
All must be gay,
Turn Up the DINNER.
On this puppet stage.
Where a must pay his part,
The pub!ic's waiting.
No hesitating.
Our cues are certain,
Up goes the curtain.
Come, now, smile!
Go through your part with laughter;
Forget all else til after.
So do your bit
And smile through it,
Yes, even laugh
Your soul may ache,
Your heart may break,
But-Smile!
Hoop-lai
This little lyric is pdrled by Mitzi., who
charmed as she never charmed before,
an audience Friday night at the Lyric
theater that almost made Frank Gray
have TO take the wall paper off to
get everyone in,
This is MitiZi's philosophy Of life,
h philosophy runs throughout Head
Over Heels" until. before the first act
is over everyone is head over heels in
love with Mitzi just as the millionaire
in the play and his pal. Ned-some-
thing -other-do and thereby mess up
a plot with a number of ramifications
which must be seen to be appreciated.
A poor boob trying to write about it
has his head so muddled with visions
of a little golden headed purling, bub-
bling, sc%intillating ray Of f%emininity
that the plot is forgotten.
Mitzi used to be named Hajos, or
some name no one but her could pro-
nounce, but she has seen fit to drop
it and now is just Mitzi. And just
Mitzi she is. our Mitzi, an American
institution, for the mold broke after
this little comedien was so wonderful
ly wrought. No wonder Henry Savage
| chose to east his pearls all into one
casket and surrounds Mitzi with a com
pany that has the air of Broadway all
over it.
Thank the Lord, there are no chorus
men in Head Over Heels" There are
also no chorus girls, Oh. no, there are
not. There is a spanking good crew
Of female loveliness. lingerie unlimited,
voices, spring-like with youth n bird
like with harmony. But chorus girls!
Again, no. They are actresses. clearly.
clever actresses, who nc doubt spend
their time in planning for a career and
doing line needle work rather than de-
ploring the advent of the eighteenth
amendment or testing the speed Of high
powered motor cars.
Joe Keno, as the over-zealous press
agent, leads in the comedy, and does il
well. Neil Moore and Boyd Marshall
with good voices and stage presence
add polish to a number of scenes. Re
bakah Cauble, alias Ebert Chats tn,
largest peach we know, and Ruth Os
wald, remarkably healthy young womel
with shiny eyes, teeth, hair, 'nevr'thing
lead the oovey of prize poultry through
maze after maze of bewildering dances
songs and ensembles.
An acrobatic troupe whose p~eregrina
tions in the profession add no little in
terest to the plot, would be a ~featur,
even if carried only as a troupe 0
acrobats without being in any way con
cerned with the plot.
I Henry w. Savage's own orchestra in
terprets a score in a distinctive way
Not a note of Jerome Kern'st haunting
melodies is lost by the reading this as
sembly of musicians gives, small thong
it's personnel may be. A penumbra o
tonal brilliancy and melodic charm /
thrown about the orb of Mitzi's per
~sonality that haunts and allures an
makes one want to see Head Owe
Heels all over again.
There are three composers in Americ
who lead in latter-day light operati
work. Victor Herbert is one, Jerom
Kern the other two.
Head over Heels closes the en-
gagement with matinee and night per
formances at the Lyric Saturday.
NED COURTNEY,