New-York tribune., 1921-06-05
Snapshots
In a Score of
Click-Clicks
Many Theaters Employed
in Task of Putting the
Big Puzzle Together

esty entitled Snapshots of 1921"
which is now on view at the Selwyn
Theater, resembled nothing so much
as jigsaw puzzle. No one seeing it
in it's many sections during rehearsals
could have imagined that piece by piece
it would eventually fit into the unit of
| delicious nonsense which is the new
vehicle for Nora Bayes, Lew Fields and
De Wolf Hopper.
During this period Of sectional re-
hearsals one found group Of players
in one theater strenuously extracting
the satire from travesty on eternal
| Triangles," "Enter Madame" the be-
loved Barrymores. or the everlasting
detective story. In another Leon Errol
could be found daily putting his half
hundred dancing girls through intricate
PAGES. In still other theaters equally
important features of the big revue
gave the impression that they were
shows in themselves, dependent upon
nothing and no one for completeness.
Yet each was just one piece of the
jigsaw puzzle, designed to fit into it's
right place when the big pattern should
be put together.
OF all these pieces prepared for
the conglomeration OF fun none was
more interesting to watch in develop
ment than the musical episodes for
which Mel Franklin and Alex Gerber
are responsible. These are the clever
travesties on "Sally" and "Thc Gold
Diggers," other musical successes, with
their interpolated songs and comedy
twists. In Snapshots of 1921" they
| are like the filling between big layer
cake, holding the more solid numbers
| together with a flavor which will
appeal to every sort of taste.
Yes, Unity Is
The Thing
Finding the two good-looking young
men who worked so faithfully together
in the creation of the musical episodes
in Snapshots" the most natural ques-
ton to ask them was "How do you go
about writing the lyrics and music for
big travesty revue?"
simultaneously they wrenched their
attention from the rehearsal of their
humorous version Of the Florodora
sextet to reply
"By getting together" they said in
chorus, the phrase seemingly their
slogan.
"Unity is the thing" Mr.. Franklin
said "a composer and lyric writer
must be very close together in their
sympathes as we'll as in ideas. Whether
the lyric or the music is done first de-
pends on the song. In a production
which is dominated by one big musical
theme-like some lovely waltz song-it
is the melody which is written first
But in big travesty revue there is no
one theme to be carried through the
oduction-repeated variously at in
tervals--in which case the lyric is writ
ten first. Gerber and l spend a lot of
time together and our ideas come from
anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes
l sit at the piano and just play the
melodies that come into my thought,
| when some one of them will suggest to
my collaboration a good lyric"
ber, "and l often get an idea for a
lyric when riding on the subway, walk
ing up Fifth Avenue or talking to a
T! friend. It's very funny sometimes
what will suggest suitable rhymes for
music before the music has even been
| born"
A Glimpse Into
q Song Factory
"And when that happens friend Ger
Der comes to me with the lyrics, and
sit down at the piano as soon as
begin to mentally catch my melodies
and work out the music for them,"
Franklin interrupted.
$50 there you are!" Again they ex-
pressed themselves in concert.
"But when the trick is done, when a
song has been written as to both lyrics
and music, the most important thing
is yet to come" said Franklin.
"Yes?" came the question when he
stopped at this interesting point.
Exploitation" Mr.. Franklin spoke
solemnly out of long. and sometimes
sad experience.
'I know of many instances where
some of the biggest musical hits of
| productions have lain for years in
some out-of- of-the-way corner, utterly
neglected and unappreciated," Mr..
Franklin went on to explain.
'Glowworm' lay unnoticed in
bunch of foreign manuscripts at Joseph
Stern's for months before it came to
the attention of Lew Fields. After it's
exploitation it became one of the most
popular melodies of the season. My
own will o. the Wisp,' which was one
| Of the real song hits in "A lonely