Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-09-06
AMUSEM ENTS
NATIoNAI-Nitxi.

Delightful entertainment. with all
the charm Of romance. haunted cas-
ties. starving heroine, rich lover.
witty and humorous lyrics. pretty
music and an ideal star, who ranges
from the hoyden to the srands dame.
but always in suggestion. is pre-
sented in Lady Hiily." With the
tien.i Ts.., a' 1t al !. w ."s perhaps,
TO assume that everybody knows
Mitxi. who barely escaped being a
ltlitputian In size in order to ac-
comptisn heroic greatness IN tne
realm Of musical comedy. She simply
won't be described. Her aim is to
fascinate and then leave you to guess
Col. Henry w. Savage is aware Of
all this. and consequently with Lady
Billy" he has equipped his diminutivs
Of the stage can ofter in the way Of
establishment and charm-and yet
Mitzi dominates it all.
There Is something of the unique
In the staging Of the production. In.
stead OF the mass galaxy Of merry
the slightest provocation and attain
their highest moments in the roar
Of the big ensemble. or In the display
Of that dancing eccentricity for
which tho chorus Is famous. there Is
q double quartet Of genuine singing
girls and four robust harmcnists Of
the male persuasion. who add to the
attractiveness of the more important
lyrics and hank the little Mitsi like
a hodysuard of beauty and song.
The lyrics. too, some Of them really
beauty Of the romantic melodies,
which serve to set tho audience softly
whistling as though to help out tho
show. They begin with Just Plant
. kiss" by Mit1i. and include Come
Historic Hu.zies." gem of its kind:
Opera" THE Legend" duet by
Mitzi and Boyd Marshall; Love
Comes Like Butterfly" by Josephine
Adair and Mr.. Marshall. that won a
double recall. and the plaintive and
beautiful ballad, Goodbye. Good
bye" with others. All of them are
well sung. too. even though Mr.. Mar
shall appeared to be hampered by q
severe cold.
beautiful and in excellent taste, and
the opening scene Of the second act,
the studio of the futuristic Nine.
Koslankowski. where Greenwich
village entertainment is in full swing
and dash Of New York at it's most
remember.
The story Of Lady Billy Ia the ia
miliar one Of the Impoverished little
countess with her haunted castle and
walking ghost of beauty who died a
century before for love. = famous
echo and the rich American who ap-
pears and encourages Billy, the
gardeners boy" a disguise which she
has assumed, to come to America and
win fame as boy soprano-and how
they both fell in love and were happy
ever afterward.
Sydney Gresnstreet. as Bateson.
major domo to the countess, Is tho
outstanding player Of the cast In q
that shares honors with Mitzi herself,
Jean Newoombe. as Mrs. Wallingford-
Butler Daventry. a businesslike moth
er seeking to place her "one eve
lamb" In the care Of man sufficient
ly rich. also furnishes q character
portrait above the musical comedy
type. Beatrice Constance. as Anase
tasia, the cook. afterwaYd Nine. Kas-
lankowski; Arthur Uttry. as very
jealous lover Of the foreign type. and
Charles Gay. as the modest. but dis
Greet. valet to the rich American, also
merit notice for good work. Boyd
Marshall. in looks and in action, Is q
very satisfactory hero for the little
Viorca. star Of the dancing contin-
gent. Is a dream Of beauty and Of grace
full motion.
These are some of the reasons why
Lady Billy" with Mitxi. Is delight.
full entertainments; why it will be
probably one Of the brightest gems
OF the theatrical year.