Evening star., 1919-04-13

was inclined to forget its
Shakespeare in favor of Its
Dillingham;. later in the week. it be-
came evident that a large playgoing
element was disposed to forego the
modern poesy of "A New Girl" for
ne statelier rythms OF the Bard OF
Avon. The Shubert-Garrick reports a
remarkable engagement for Robert
Mantell. These are days when nothing
surprises. Observers of the stage are
now gravely limiting of the possibility
of an Elizabethan renaissance. Wal
ne< HAmpcen. who is to play. single
afternoon in Washington. the produc-
tion of Hamlet. which was SO sue
cessful in New York. is absolutely
confident that the renaissance is here
The first act of "A New Girl look
ed as il this latest Dillingham; pro-
duction were to be a subtle and well
timed demonstration in favor of
cnrr0 legitimate standards in muSi-
eal entertainment 1t had enough
rcot to render it eligible to associa-
tsor With The Geisha." The Runa-
way Girl" and the other musical plays
which London used to send over to
l.
ing appeal and were consistently re-
lated to the episodes in which they
occurred The coStuming suggested
the ornate profusion of what is call
ed the revue. But until the middle OF
the second act was reached it was a
pleasant revelation of pretty propor-
tisns in comedy and musical effects,
Is we'll as in a stunning assemblage
Of singing beauties And along came
the Duncan sisters.
There are technical terms which
describe success for an act on the
stage. First comes a hit; greater
than this is a Knockout; the third
is riot" and the supreme culmina-
ton is demonstration which en-
ables a proud performer to assert
without fear of contradiction. We
stopped the show" The Duncan sis
ters. in the space of a few minutes,
realized all these stages of en-
comium. There is no doubt of their
wonderful ability as entertainers. The
fact that their speciality had nothing
to do with the case did not prevent
everybody, including the audiences,
from being happy as the flowers in
spring So far as the libretto was
concerned they constituted what a
Sedate analyst of dramatic construc-
tion might refer to as "extraneous
mischievous children. and the manner
in which they played havoc with a
somewhat fragile and delicate bit of
footlight fabric was in character. In
an instant their extraordinary and
unique talents had turned the enter
tainment from a legitimate musical
comedy into a revue. The interest
was eager for more of the same sort
and reverted with reluctance to the
simple boy and girl story which was
really the handspring of the narra-
tive. The wisdom of so experienced
a. n ftyI
bingham. in gauging the taste of met
ropolitan audiences. is scarcely to be
questioned The odd experiment of
creating a dainty bit of brfc-a-brac
for the sake of bowling it over with
a hammer may have some sort of
psychological appeal not apparent to
the conservative sense, but buoyantly
gratifying to the vast theatrical pa
rronage that revels in magnificent
extratagances.
In his music. Mr.. Kern appears to
share a not uncommon desire
among the melodists of the present
to employ syncopations. such as
distinguish what has been known
and reviled as ragtime. as a legiti-
mate means of expressing the ire
pFessible animation of the youthful
American temperament. Europe has
recognised American music on a
not altogether patronizing. It has
been said that music speaks all
languages. An eminent local au-
thority refers to music as the real
Esperanto" The spirit of democ-
racy sweeping the world has assert
ed itself in melody as well. a. In
thought and action. Caruso. himself.
did not hesitate to warble Johnnie
Get Your Gun as incorporated in the
recognised war anthem over There"
for the approval of the nations most
distinguished auditor. Foreign COM
munities many times have Joined
IN the chorus of Hot Time in the
All Here" under the impression that
these tunes were among our
cherished expressions of national art.
The foreign interest in American
melodies is attentive. And it is re-
spectfuI to considerable degree.
free from the cynicism which our
our somewhat academic assumptions
poser. who; expresses himself in
terms Of modern spontanity rather
than in a spirit Of traditional
scholarship. 1t is said that when
'Jaxz" struck France the population
went wild over it. It was some
thing really new. Just how this Jazz
originated is a subject which has
not yet come under scientific scrut-
my. It's method is to heap burlesque
ON travesty and make a joke of rag
time even as ragtime made a joke
of the classics One of the earliest
developments of this tendency was
manifested here in WashinetoP when
Hub Smith created The Country
Band" in which a collection Of in
PHILANDER JOHNSON.