The Washington herald., 1919-04-28
Natfonal-fLa, La, Lueflle.S
By EARLE DORSEY.

ny EAfhAAh Dou56As
There is said to be throughout the
provinces and in Manhattan as well.
a most tremendous demand for tho
musical type of comedy. 1t Is hard
to contest that statement when one
stands by and witnesses the sue
cesses of plays like THE Velvet
Lady" (nee she Took a Chance.O
Good Morning. Judge" and others
of similar calibre, and IL is accord
ingIy dificult for the cautious re-
viewer to predict a lesser vogue for
La, La, Lucille" Mr.. A. E. Aarons.
new production. which flashed
across the National horizon last
night.
La. La, Lucille" had little op-
producers, for the ingenue had an
awful cold-she admitted 1t in an
extemporaneous line-and the drum
mer, who makes or breaks any mus
ical comedy. got lost somewhere be-
tween Thirty-fourth street, Man
haitian and Thirteenth street. Wash
ington. 1t Is possiblee. however, to
set forth a few impressions of Mr..
Aarons' vehicle. notwithstanding.
Fred Jackson, who attained con-
siderable vogue with his farce. "A
Full House." which was musicalizcd
first as She Took a Chance" and
which later issued forth as The
Velvet Lady" is the author of the
book of La, La. Lucille" The story
starts off quite conventionally as a
rather trite comedy Of errors, with
younEster married to a juggler's
daughter and a rich aunt bequeath-
ing the lad s2.000.o00 on condition
that he divorce his new bride. The
nd nf faala that the
plot is solved right there. It's plain
as day that the couple will first seek
divorce, get the money and then
remarry. But there are complica-
tions. Young hubby seeks to COM
promise himself with the janitor's
wife, there is a horrible mix-up In
hotel rooms, whereby a girl from
down South is thrust upon him to
save herself from arrest for marrying z
under age. and for the full length
of the second act, the plot twists
and turns through mix-up after
mix-up. all quite truly farcical. The
| third act. however, furnishes a sur
prise when the young couple. having
decided that even 100000 is not
ground for a divorce. observe the
maiden aunt enter with the news
! that it's all test and that she
I just wanted to see if they were
really in love. All ends happily for
| all hands. with the drumless or
chestra fiddling away madly and the
curtain running down swiftly on
the finale.
The cast. unfortunately. will need
| revision. IL needs singers. Per-
sonalIy. We were glad to note the
temperance of Miss Alberta Bur-
A II, -,
Bow" that certain interested parties
in that production felt overshadow-
| ed. IL gossip runneth true. Miss
Burton is as pretty as a picture and
she has. quite a bit of stage pres
ence. but musical comedy is not her
forte. we believe. She'll find a part
sometime that will make certain In
dividuals drink the strong wine OF
| astonishment. Johnny Hines. late
| of the movies. who plays the young
| husband opposite Miss Burton. full
| fills very acceptably all musical
comedy standards. and there Is
nothing blameworthy about his
work that is visible to the eye. The
rest of the cast. with the exception
/ of Eleanor Daniels. Who plays the
part of the subsidized correspondent
fades off into a rather pale and
| bloodless assembly. with little to
praise and little to blame in their
performances.
The music is possible the most
! commendable element of the pro-
| ductiOn. George Gershwin Is re-
sponsible for the score. and he has
| written at least two songs Of prom
\ Use. These are Tee Oodle Un Bum
BO." and From Now On" The
! lyrics. by Arthur j. Jackson and
r. q. de Silva. is rather indefinite
to the stakeholder. and their values
Will he more apparent to those who
buy the music. Charles Previn. d.
rectinC the drumless orchestra
earned a round of applause for him.
self between acts.