The Washington times., 1920-04-13
POLPS.
"yilisge" Folks Play
To Cspacity House.

"yilisge" Folks Play "''
To Capacity House.
"The Greenwich village Follies.". a
"revusical comedy" or New York's
Latin Quarter by Philip Bartholomae
and John Murray Anderson with
music by A. Baldwin sloane; staged
by John Murray Anderson; and pre-
sented by the Bohemians. Inc.
"The Greenwich viilsge Follles" is
not a bad musical review. 1t can
boast some unusually delightful
music, some songs that months ago.
became pronounced popular hits. And
II Is ihterspersed with: some truly
laughsble humor. st times pproarious.
side-splitting. r..gt. 2, % .-E'.,-
But II Is not q very elaborate pro-,
duction, as far as stage settings ana
startling color effects are concerned.
And the chorus. while fairly pretty.
does not make your eyes bulge and
does not display vast amount OF
enthusiasm. or dancing there Is
little bit, but II Is not sufficiently
above the ordinary to arouse COM
ment. 1t is a rather uneven produce
tion. In places somewhat slow ana
draggy. and yet In other spots noisy
with jazz and foolishness. But
withai. It's an enjoyable show. and
judging from the big nrst-nikht audi
ence. worth seeing.
James Watts. In the role of the
Lady Godiya, bold. bad. raw-boned.
large-mouthed. mannish vamp. Is q
scream and furnishes most OF the
foolishness in the show. With his
crack voice he presents some new and
a rd VAnditinna 81 nA and
as classic dancer he makes Snub
Pollard. OF movie fame. look like
piker. And he has a line of pseudo
feminine chatter that sets the audi
ence in an uproar. .f
Ted Lewis, the "jazz king" is
another bright spot in the show.
With four clown musicians he pre-
sents some very tricky music. It's
jazz. but a different jazz; not the
blatant Jazz OF the dance hall but a
strange syncopation that reminds you
of juggling. He plays a hue and
big brass saxaphone. does stunts
with his tricky silk hat. sings with
real emotion. and dances about very
gracefully. And two OF his from
bonists can actually make their in
struments laugh--honest-to-go goodness
ha-ha-ha's. Ted is worth seeing.
~. whOiu you Iu6y hdNV
seen At Keith's. 10 in a funny black
face act that you will enjoy II you
have not already seen him. He pulls
the same stun he did in vaudeville,
but it's all good. Ais q clever boy.
Frances White, tho "Mis-sis- -sip-pi
Kid" is billed As one OF the chief at
fractions. She is at her best In her
kiddish role, in which she won her
fame. In q gingham dress she sings
"I3ut What DO Care? They Can't
Make Fool Out of Me-" and Gee, But
I'd Like To Be A Cave Mans Kid"
Dressed up in spangles and evening
gowns. with her hair pIastered back
like yalsska Suratt. she sings other
songs. but they're, only mediocre. One
OF them. "You Know What mean"
could not be sung at a Sunday School
picnic.
Miss Irene Olsen, the ingenue, is a
dainty little gossamer-like blonde
with a teeny-weeny, cute voice. It's
sweet and you can almost hear the
words. Warner Gauft. the juvenile, a
tall young man. has about the only
real voice In thes sshow-but that's no
on a musical review: most
OF them don't have ONE.
Now for the Songs. Red AS the
Rose" is one Of the prettiest It'll
Javanese" is another. IT has an ORR
entail flavor. az Want A Daddy" is
another. but you've probably already
played that over on your piano.
There are others, but these are enough
to keep anyone whistling. D. -.
There are only two scenes worth
special mention. One is up in the
air with an aviator-stars twinkling
everywhere, clouds floating by. and
chorus girls gliding about Another
is at "The Sign of the Little Black
Bottle" with swinging doors, tables
to drink at, and big moon in the
distance. What atmosphere!
The costumes are pretty, and TO
rural visitor, might be magnificent;
but in these days of musical review
competition, the gowns have to go
some to get snap-and these go, Just
the average distance. X. w. Il.