The sun., 1919-04-01
TAKE IT FROM ME-"
AT 44TH ST. THEATRE
Musical Comedy Gets q Start
From Eccentric, Uncle's
Will.
IN A DEPARTMENT STORE
Designing Partner and Guile
less Young Heir Furnish
Most of the Fun.
Take IL From Mo'--At the Forty
fourth Street Theatre.

Rich uncles, 1t seems, will insist on
dying and leaving eccentric wills, 80 that
playwrights may make pot OF money.
II appears to be a fixed habit of uncles
In tho theatre. and one must humor II.
A wealthy avuncular relative died last
night at the Forty fourth Street Thea
tre-off stage-and left a will which
called into being tho musical comedy
Take 1t From Me-
This piece. for which VIII B. John
stone provided the book and lyrics; Will
r. Anderson meditated the music, and
Joseph NJ. Snites shouldered the pro-
ducing responsibility. Is another attempt
to convince the public that department
stores. since they contain practically
everything. can easily hold a musical
comedy. One OF the features OF such
establishments of course is the lingerie
so what more do you need except a
little music and a few thoroughly tested
jokes? It's ths ideal setting.
How to Wreck q store.
Briefly. the plot concerns a young
man. Tom EOoett, whose uncle be-
queathes him a fortune. represented by a
department store, which he is to lose at
the end of year IL the loss side OF the
ledger makes too heavy reading. Cyrus
t'rabb, a minority stakeholder. plots TO
have the store run at a deficit, since It
would then revert to him-by all the
laws Of jazz business--and the fight
centres about his efforts to achieve. this
successful failure
The young man decides he can't beat
Crobb at this game. and. abetted by
some comrades whose recklessness is
indicated by their soft collars, decides
to spite Crab by running the concern
himself. all caution being thrown to the
winds when one has the librettists be-
hind one. It is really an excellent de-
vice on the part OF authors to have their
hero decide to break up the party In
this way, for IL show falls. they can
then point out that they deliberately
wrecked II themselves.
The prologue passes in Toms bachelor
apartment. and the two acts are laid In
the executive offices Of the ED0eft Com
pdny and in Toms "cozy corner on the
'steenth floor of the store-the latter set
ting being a marvellous instance of
what a young man can accomplish when
the playwright gives him carte blanche.
Inc department store DaCkSrOun0 Oh tne
second act was not very prepossessing.
but as soon as the young sporting bloods
began spending money and Quitting the
shop girls in real musical comedy modes
the dramatic pulse beat higher, and when
Il assembled to the roof tho stock of the
play scared.
Some of the Good BITS.
Some interesting silhoutte tricks were
played with the Office partitions In the
second act. and in the next Edgar and
Airline Gardiner earned a salvo of APP
plause with a skating waltz that sur
passed the performance of one actor with
real roller skates who one expected
would do something. but who ended by
stroking his whiskers. Jack MCGOWAN
took care Of the role OF Tom, and Vera
Mlchelena as a movie vamp, wore at the
end n remarkable dress. suspended by
filaments. with back drop that was
nothing but a back drop. One deep
breath and that gown would have been a
wreck.
Mr.. Anderson's music has its tuneful
moments. and II remains 10 be seen
whether Mr.. tombstone will add to his
reputation as a newspaper cartoonist by
attracting the practical II tired business
man with hero who Is so extravagant
with the FIRMS money.