Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-31
"FL0R0D0RA" A CURIO,
ALSO VERY LIVE SHOW.
Revival Rich in Historic Interest
and Abundant in Enter
tanning Qualities

shubert--The multitudnous member
nhip of the Original" sextet of Floro-
dora who have figured so often and 20
prominently in the divorce courts, the
scandal sheets, the society weddings and
The casts OF musical comedies. were for
tunately not mobilized for the revival
OF Leslie Stuart's and owen Hairs sue
csssful musical play OF a score Of years
ago. A chorus contingent. no matter how
de luxe. "vingt ans apres." would be
lacking in the most priced and praised
asset of choruses, the curvillnear graces
and the pretty faces that are precious
Attributes Of youthfulness. Fortunately
no such painful consistency has been
followed in this exquisite and elaborate
version OF classic of the musical come
dy stage. Hence the pretty matdens
Of the most celebrated number OF the
piece are sveite and not buNom and the
spectator does not have TO take the pret-
tiness yocalized by their cavaliers on
faith. but merely to take look. =,
The rest OF the revival, personally a.
rected by J. J. Shubert. staged by Lewis
Morton and drilled in the ensembles by
Allan Foster and Lewis Hooper and
set and costumed by Watson barrau,
maintains the same aspect Of freshness
and contemporaneoUsn5ss Nor mas
Harry b. Smith, who frcshCned the lines
spoiled the dialogue in translating the
topical alluSions and slang OF twenty
years ago into something currently
Understandable. He has done the work
with deft touch. so that his contributions
seem organic and not ohtrusive. He has
deiicateiy done like service for the lyrlcs
of Paul Rubens and Boyd Jones Whicn,
like the Gilhertian master-metrics which
they echo, have not been Corroded by
time. Leslie Stuarts tunes have not
dulied in melody or lost in harmony
over the years, either those OF the
original "F'lorodora" score or those in
terpolated from his other works. Tell
Me, Pretty Maiden" for instance re-
ceived several enCOres, which were
provided appropriately in slighty
travestied version. embodying the dane
period and a bit namely in the .seXtet
OF the future" sung by beyy OF chill
dren--this did not seem to belong. The
Shade of the Sheltering Palm"
noiogy"-it's surprising how many hits
the score ccntains-all won many re-
calls.
partly on the merits both in singing and
comedy, of the wholly admirable chorus
and the well-balanced cast Eleanor
Painter, the Dolores, though she lacks
magnetism and the dtabler!e OF the
Spanish girl, is really a grand opera
singer, and she sang in approved grand
operate style. There was little OF the
.hsut ton" about Dana Sykes, but her
vivaclty helped to compensate for the
smartness Edna Wallace Hopper IN
parted to the blase and aristocratc Lady
Hollywood Walter Woolf the Aoer-
cied, brought distinction both OF singing
and acting TO the role of the romantic
hero. The Gilfain OF r. C. Pitkin. a
familiar figure in musical shows. was
nicely vuigarlan without being vulgar,
and William Danforth, OF the older dis
pensation Of light opera comedians was
deliciously droll as the eccentric Twee-
dlepunch. Mace Bonville, who made
Leandro a properly sinister person, was
In the original cast
'Florodora" as revived has much his
toric interest, but deserves comnenda-
tion not merely as an antique; IL Is lively
and enjoyable entertainment Of the
present as we'll as Curo of the past