The Washington herald., 1919-08-25
New NationaJIIsek Who's Here"

New Nat1OHal-Io0k Wh0'0 Here
Infinitely the coolest, izziest,
most sparkling unit In the new piece
at the New National this week
broadly denominated Look Who's
Here"-is Cleo Mayfield. Other
players labor with the August heat
and earn their way literally by the
sweat of their brow. Not so the
exhilarating comedienne who sweeps
through the rather humid. moist
humor of Look Who's Here" like
salt breeze on the Maine coast.
She is deliciously cool. gorgeously
funny. hauntingly nasal-that voice
of hers is more charmingly nasal
than Julia Sanderon's, which we
have always regarded as being in a
class by itself
Not that we would intima.c e that
Cleo Mayfield is all there is to the
new farce with music which "Spie-
gels Productions. Inc" opened with
great pep. Zest and ecIat before an
infinitely responsive audience last
night There are a number of units.
human and otherwise which ran for
immediate consideration from the
critical Underwood. For instance,
there is Cecil Lean. the rotund. breezy
Chicagoan, aniably humorous at all
times, brilliantly funny on occasion.
He is a resourceful comedian who ex-
tracts lot of humor out of material
which with others would mean merely
a lapse of good taste and an overdose
OF the crude and the grotesque. He
has an excellent part in the new piece
which is evidently due for a long
life, once it is pruned or certain tor
tuous features OF its plot. brace Of
lines which are clearly out OF place
In musical comedy whose main cur
rent is wholesome and unonending,
and padding which will never be
missed.
Look Who's Here OF course. 1.
conventional in a good many respects
but it is an extraordinarily good ex-
ample of the farce with music"
which is the vogue. Any show which
could boast OF Cleo Mayfeld dispen-
sing real fun on a sweltering August
night just as IL she were dispensing
ice-cold drinks with an Arctic breeze
playing about her utterly exposed
spinal column. and jumping from one
stunning gown to another with amaz-
ing energy, has given a pretty fair
hostage to the god that rules thea
trical destinies. actors strike or no
actors strike
The cast is for the most part ex-
cellent including the brilliant
dancer and actress. Emily Lea. and
the indefatigable Mccarthy twins,
who won the most vociferous re-
ception OF the evening. George
Mack is one of the funniest little
men we know of on either side Of
the footights. The parts Of James
Saunders and Carlos Del Monte.
played adequately by Richard p
Temple and Joseph Latora- should
in certain features be rewritten.
They sound jarrinE note in the
general farce-spirit OF the piece
At least, that is our opinion
Look Who's Here" is exceptionally
well mounted and brilliantly Cowned.
while the group OF coryphees assem-
bled by the producers are sufficiently
pulchritudinous 10 satisfy the most
eHacting frst-nighter. The SIlvio Helm
score is discreetly reminiscent at
times and swingingIv tuneful always
The book has snap, but the lyrics are
for the most part commonplace. Al
ter while, perhaps, IT may occur to
theatrical producers that when they
are buriesQuin- a literary type like
Robert W. Chambers-the Robert W
Holmes OF the cast is rather thin
camoUfage-it may be well to acquire
an actor who at least remotely su--
gests a literary type OF course, Cecil
Lean never does that for a single in
stant. But he is genuinely funny and
that is all that needs to be said