The Washington herald., 1919-10-06
SUNDAY THEATER OPENINGS
N.fss.al--FfdaIer. rAree.-

iii
Naf3s.al-@FfdaIers Three.s
That refreshing trinity so seldom
deemed essential for Broadway sue
eesses these days-real voices. real
music and comedy without a blush
are The qualities that make 'Fiddlers
Tnrser stand out As an entertainment
vehicSe.
While the program calls II . musical
comedy. II might better be described
As . charming operetta for the tune
full lyrics blend with the spoken words
in the consistent and romantic little
story which II tells.
Bufft Ground q contest Of violin max
ers to reproduce the tone and art Of
the famous "Strad" with the heart
and hand Of the fair ANNA queen OF
the carnival, as an added prize, the
atmosphere permits of the introduc-
tion logically of music and dance
ravie Beige. the Belgian prima
donna In pulchritude and voice makes
q most captivating ANNA With Just
enough Of an accent TO be fetching,
she acts with ease and full apprecia-
tton Of an too limited moments Can
1t Be Love at Last" Is one OF her
numbers certain to be whistled-
Comedy honors go to Tom Dingle as
a breezy statesmen for egg beaters.
Gifted with limbs that are long and
1.-the. he has the ability to move them
to music in a manner hardly grace
full but more than enough to qualify
as an Al eccentric dancer. II may
be that his ability to amuse was ac-
centuated by the labored effort OF
Horace Sinclair as a "dontcherno"
Engiishman.
As the romantic suitor Of ANNA.
Thomas Conkey was throughly CAP
able as q love maker and altogether
pleasing In his melodious periods
Edna Morn Leo Frankel. Margaret
Royce, Joseph Miller. Kathrin Glare
Ward. Ruth Dvyer and Marius Rogati
are both musically and otherwise COM
petent
Layman and King. evidently recruit
dfverttssenent wholly unnecessary to
. quartet Of encores- J. Rabiron as
q tudge Of the violin contest also has
his opportunity vim q string solo that
was enjoyed
The chorus vas tastefurfy dressed
and ad6ed their full measure to a
musical evening well worth while.
Beiaseo-Nora Bsyes In Ladies
First
when Nora Bayes in the third act
Of Ladies' First" sings the chorus
Of one OF her ininitable darky ditties,
IL occurs to the listener that she
has got out of every word, every
phrase. the last bit of comic relish
that IL contains There is wild ap-
plause, another verse, and she sings
the same chorus over again, same
words. same phrases. but with an
entirely new set of exuberant in
Elections. funnier than the first.
That seems typical and perhaps
offers an explanation. IL one Is nee
essary, of how Nora Bayes is able
to present. at the opening of her
new season. a smashing. crashing.
hilarious hit of a show. though it is
made Of materials rather thorough
ly worked over. Miss Bayes doesn't
check her brains in the dressing
room. as she advises her audiences
TO do. She says in the program that
the show is based on the old Hoyt
farce. "A Contented Woman" and
that Harry B. Smith brought it up
to date. and that she has done her
darnedest to make IL entertaining
with the aid of Frank Smithson- A
version of II appeared last spring
under the name OF Look who's
Here" Now we will venture the
surmise that, whoever started the
thing. the author of most Of the pep.
the finish. the brilfance, the taste,
and the zest that make the present
rendering a delight is none other
than Miss Nora Bayes.
Miss Bayes is irresistibly comic
from first to last This particular
typist has no particular liking for
her kind Of songs-they SAVIOR some
wbet Of the banalities OF cheap
vauderlllers. at least when they
drift into. that droning fiat recita-
tive style. But genius lifts up any
clay. and Nora Bayes has that rar-
est of stage blessings, genuine
comic genius.
The last act Of Ladies First" holds
as a climax one of the cleverest scenes
Of broad farce that memory recalls.
Betty Burt. the character assumed by
Miss Bayes. has been defeated for
mayor Of her fiance, despite the tre-
mendous urging on OF Aunt Jim, suf-
fragist of formidable size and temper.
played by the startling Florence Nor
rison. Aunt Jim has a worm of a
husband. Uncle Tody. and II Is his
alcoholic revolt that turns the tide of
the election and furnishes the hilarious
climax. Uncle Tody is admirably
played by Al Roberts.
The show finished late and there Is
no time to recount in detail the many
exceIlencies OF the remainder of the
cast or the popular musical events.
Tasteful scenery and costunning Is
one Of the outstanding merits OF the
production
Loew-s Palae~-waliaee Reid In
The Lottery Man."
Motion picture attendance would
always be a sheer delight were all
motion pictures so absorbing as to
story. so spIendidly cast as to star
and players and so intelligently and
consistently interpreted as The
Lottery Man" the Paramount pro-
duction that brought wallace Reid
TO the screen of Loew's Palace
Theater yesterday for a weeks run.
In spite Of wallace Reid's known
ability as an actor Of screen parts
and his Violating part in The
Lottery Man." the author of the
story. Rfda Johnson Young. must
come in for FIRST honors. for above