The Washington herald., 1919-09-15
By EARLE DORSEY.

IN rumma glng InrOuSn Ine VOcaDu-
larry for a word that will hit OF
What's the Odds" the little old ad
jectiye. pleasing" seems to fit as
few other adjectiyes for place and
show on this musicalized and renova-
ted version Of Henry Blossoms 5
Checkers" but pleasing" is our bet
10 win
This three-act romance, set to Albert
Won Tilzer's music, gives the Victrola
people at least two numbers for early
winter issue 1t contains, by all odds,
one of the most poignantly romantic
second acts seen in musical comedy
hereabout since the date Of the big
thirst It is costumed almost as gor-
Eeously as The Royal Vagabond."
and it's much more funny than
The Velvet Lady was. 1t is not so
dainty, winsome, self-controlled nor
even tuneful as "Oh. Lady, Lady"
and it lacks the sophisticated inesse
and the formal delicacy that one finds
in the rest Of the Princess Theater
type OF show, but it is. nevertheless. a
breezy, funny, loveable little piece,
with much of the Checkers" racing
atmosphere retained and nearly all of
Checkers " romance.
What's the Odds?' will probably
Fcore.
IN a broad. general musical-com-
edy way it follows the Henry Bios
som plot-the story OF the race-Tack
gambler. Checkers" who. for love
Of maid, restored a calIow fiedgling
to his hinteFland home and general
store. and even. for the sake of the
same maid. went to work in the same
and EpaIINy rro, h.
ling industry and sad. doIorous in
tegrity. Edgar Allan Woolf, the jour
neyman play carpenter who was call
ed in to adapt the Henry Blossom
version to music, has done tolerably
well with the job, and he must be
credited with the discernment that
inspired him to retain a large por-
tion of the winning Checkers" at
mosphere. At most. the lines be-
come a bit wooden here and there.
but one shouldn't carp in these days
Of makeshift theatricalism.
Albert Won Tilzer. the man who
writes a few dozen popular ballads
every year OF so, IS credited with
the music and for a man with so
high a reputation one reaches the
conclusion that pounding out tunes
for musical comedy does not be-
occasional ballad on his parlor
grand. Out of some twenty-odd
melodies ne has written. or is cred
tied with writing. for What's the
Odds" he has not more than three
that promise whistleability, those
three being. to our mind, Il Love
To Fox Trot. Close to My Heart"
and a third number that we couldn't
locate on the program. There were
two other novelty songs that went
over well in the What's the Odds"
atmosphere-'They Not Doing
That This Season" and Tn the
Fellow-but national vogue for
both is not likely.
They have given the principal role
of "CheCers,'' the gambler, to William
j.. Meehan. and one must admit that
he handles it with a suavity and
an assurance that contribute ma
teriaIy to the Eoing-Over of the
three acts. His manner of inter
preta tiOn-an easy. Unmarried mel
lowness-contribute heavily to the
intpnsifying of the romantic pass
sages which make whats the
Odds" not a musical comedy, but
a romantic musical comedy. Miss
Mabel Withee who was Little
Simplicity" in the play of that name
and who appeared here last spring
or thereabout with Walter Catlett.
fzs found a part that gives her a
nice lot of elbow room She rises
fneIy to the romantic possibilities
Of the Checkers" scenes and she
drapes her winsome sweetness
about the plot very nicely.
Miss Marion Sunshine, presuma bly,
Of Tempest and Sunshine. has a pouty
role that sac makes effective. but it's
difficult to tell whether the role Of Miss
Tempest was pouty last night She
fills up her end of the performance
with a bit Of vaudeville dash that
aids along Tie motivation very pro-
foUndly. George Mackay. as a race
track tout, has a part that inclines
naturally to over-exuberance though,
By some miracle. Mackay does not