The sun., 1919-10-08
THEIR LINGO EFFECTIVE
Dancing Numbers Are ,Espe-
cially Well DOne-Music
Is Lifting.
Hello AIexauder!"--At the Forty
Eourth Street Thcatre

1t was a pleasure to welcome back to
Broadway at the Forty-fourth Street
Theatre last night Mcintyre and Heath
in Hello Alexander" II only because
New York has been inundated of late
with 90 many black face comedians who
are not comedians. who speak a lingo
that Is more like the dialect of Harlem
than a darky's talk and whose appear
snce and demeanor generally put one
In mind of grimy stokers on steamer.
Mcintyre and Heath are two burnt
cork artists OF the old school, and their
speech is more like colored patois than
that of the Dixieland of the cabaretS
They don't strive to make their colored
characters ludicrous by making them
stupid and incongruous, and In spite OF
the time they have served on the stage
they are still more intent on inducing
audiences to laugh than they are on ex-
plotting their own personality and en-
pertaining theatregoers as a bit of neat
condescension.
So despite the years they have been
clowning II New York can always stand
more Of them, and the reception they
received when they first appeared last
night in this musical Extravaganza pre-
sented by Lee and ]. ]. Shubert partook
OF the nature of n race riot.
stiIl ms Adept ms Ever.
They are still as adept as ever In their
particular style of nonsense, which is
considerably furthered by the fact that
Heath, as Henry Clay Jones, Is conceded
to be the grandest liar that ever left
the truth out of his calculations. Once
again Jones, as proprietor of the Ever
Ready Colored Minstrels. lures Mcintyre.
DO. Of all Nrl- a N
mer minstrel to join his troupe by means
Of an ever ready tongue. an unlimited
vocabulary--much Of II self-made-ant
an Imagination as gaudy as his raiment,
which is positively inspired.
In the course of their wanderinSs with
this troupe during the two acts they
amble through nine scenes, which circle
around Tampa Bay and New Orleans
and on the whole have Southern ex-
posure. This gives opportunity for some
well done settings Of hotel, levee and
Mardi Gras ballroom scenes: diversity
Of colorful costuming and Jig tunes that
keep the audience rhythTn.ca!ly humping
the seats in front of them with theii
knees. There is some concerted jigging
by the male chorus in the first scene that
is 30 good one wouldn't be surprised to
see II on the Chautauqua Circuit.
OF course, there is an enjoyable min
strel scene that renews ones youth.
The minstrel may be inhrm and old,
but the public's appreciation of him is
more enduring than brass-yea, than
much fine brass. This number pro-
duced in Vivian Holt and Lillian Rose
dale two singers who could reach high
note without making one turn pale. No
matter how high they went. the audi
ence was right with them. When Nc
Intyre and Heath we're on the stage
fun went fast, but when the minor rev.
ellers were rampant most of the jokes
they wheezed out might better have been
at Atlantic City.
Not Too Much Jazy.
Fortunately there was not too luuc,
Jazz, though the amount which va.
compounded by Sophie Tucker seemed t
to the audience more benefit than
prescription. Besides floating througl
various other scenes she had turn b!
herself accompanied by her six kings o
jazzapation--now grown to seven, by
actual count-and sang songs which ap-
peared to make those present glow with
a generous. brotherly feeling toward her
and all her works.
The dancing numbers were particular r
ly well done, the performances that
stood out being those of Mabel Elains
and Boyle and Brazil. who did some
eccentric juggling OF their feet that was
unusual for being as Well timed as a
standard dollar watch. Rosie Quinn led
the chorus in n Pretty Baby" number,
during which they glided out on the
runway. powdered their own noses and
then powdered the nasal promontories OF
the nearest gentleman within their
clutches.
The music by Jean Schwartz was lilt-
ing without forcing itself on ones At
tention. The book by Edgar Smith and
Emily NJ Young was negligible, but the
dark faces of Mcintyre and Heath could
eclipse any book